This flank steak recipe, with a brown sugar marinade, is pretty much a Saturday night staple at The Farm. And paired with the horseradish sauce, it’s just the best!
If you’ve stayed at The Farm, then maybe you’ve heard my dad, Jim, say in a serious voice, “I’ve been up since early this morning and cooking all day long.” You’ll see him smile a little then and dart his eyes toward my mom Helen, who is now pounding the bread dough into the counter a little harder than need be. I think he does it just to get a rise out of her, but when it comes to this dish, my dad does pitch in with grilling and slicing.
This steak is the best when grilled, which is the reason Jim volunteered for the job. He likes cooking outside. There is also a trick to slicing it right, so he’s also in charge of that. This recipe is the only one we all have a part in. Helen gets the meat ready. Jim grills and cuts it, and after he cuts it, I pick up the slices and place them in the serving dish.
Why this Cut of Beef?
Helen uses this cut of beef based on a recommendation from her food salesman. She needed something that was like a round roast but could be made for anywhere from 4 to 50 people. The salesman recommended flank steak. It’s the best parts of a steak combined with the best parts of a roast. When we can, we serve our own flank steak from the beef cow herd we raise on our farm.
About the Horseradish Sauce
In the cookbook, we pair this beef recipe with a mushroom gravy. But if you come for dinner on The Farm now, we do a horseradish sauce instead.
About 3 or 4 years ago, Helen was looking for a prime rib recipe, and she stumbled upon a horseradish sauce recipe that sounded interesting to her.
My mom loves horseradish, and being 100% Czech, she grew up with it. I remember her parents (my grandparents) preparing the horseradish root for canning. They did this outside and used a huge, red grinder. As a kid, I couldn’t get within a city block from their operation without my eyes and nose starting on fire.
Because of her love of horseradish, Helen adapted the recipe she found to her liking and replaced the mushroom gravy with it. It’s a nice nod to her (and my) Czech heritage!
buying horseradish
For this recipe, you’ll need to find a prepared horseradish. You don’t want a sauce that has eggs, etc in it. The ingredients will be primarily grated horseradish root, vinegar, and salt. I’d never bought this before, so I had a hard time locating it. I had to call my mom, and she said that it’s usually found in the meat section of your grocery store in a refrigerated case. And that’s where I found it!
Jump to Recipe
STEPS: EXPLAINED, WITH TIDBITS AND ADVICE
1. Place a 2 pound flank stake in a shallow pan or plate.
2. To make the marinade, in a medium bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
3. Pour the mixture over the steak.
4. Flip the steak over a few times to make sure the marinade has fully covered both sides of the steak.
5. Let the steak sit in the marinade for 10 to 15 minutes, flipping a few times.
NOTE: If you are short on time or you are going to pan-fry your steak, you can do a dry rub instead of a marinade. Helen is a little worried the soy sauce will make it hard to brown the flank steak in the pan.
To make the dry rub, mix together 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Rub this spice mixture in both sides of the stake with your hand, working the spices into the meat. Immediately cook.
6. While the steak is marinating, make the horseradish sauce.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup sour cream, 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, and 3 tablespoons of minced chives or green onions.
7. Go ahead and taste it. If it needs more of anything to your liking, add more! But if you find you added too much of something, you can try adding more sour cream to chill out those intense flavors.
8. After the meat is done marinating, place it on a hot grill or in a hot cast iron frying pan.
If grilling, sear the steak on high for 5 minutes on each side. Then turn the grill down to medium and continue to cook for 10 minutes on each side or until desired doneness.
If you can’t use a grill, heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy skillet on medium. Add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Brown the flank steak 2 to 3 minutes per side. Then, place the skillet in a 325 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until desired doneness.
NOTE: If you aren’t sure about the doneness, check the steak with a meat thermometer. For best results, the temperature should be between 140 to 150 degrees.
9. Once the meat is cooked, let it rest for about 10 minutes or all the juices will run out. Cover it with foil to keep it warm. This particular cut of beef will be too tough if you don’t slice it correctly. You want to cut it into thin slices at a 45-degree angle across the grain.
The salesman who tipped us off to flank steak had to teach Jim how to cut it. Here he is slicing beef this past holiday season.
Serve beef with horseradish sauce! Enjoy 🙂
Flank Steak with Horseradish Sauce
Ingredients
Flank Steak
- 2 pounds flank steak
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (if pan frying)
Marinade for Grilling
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Dry Rub for Pan Frying
- ¼ tsp seasoned salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Horseradish Sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 tbsp prepared horseradish
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp seasoned salt
- 3 tbsp fresh or died chives or green onions
Instructions
Flank Steak
- Place flank steak in a shallow pan or plate.
- If grilling, in a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, garlic, seasoned salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Pour the mixture over the steak. Flip the steak over a few times to make sure the marinade has fully covered both sides of the steak. Let the steak sit in the marinade for 10 to 15 minutes, flipping a few times.
- If pan frying, use a dry rub: to make the dry rub, mix together 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Rub this spice mixture in both sides of the stake with your hand, working the spices into the meat. Immediately cook.
- Grilling: After the meat is done marinating, place it on a hot grill or under broiler on high. Sear the steak on high for 5 minutes on each side. Then turn the grill down to medium and continue to cook for 10 minutes on each side or until desired doneness.
- Cast Iron Pan: heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy skillet on medium. Add about a tbsp of vegetable oil. Brown flank steak 2-3 minutes per side. Then place the skillet in a 325° oven for 10-15 minutes or until desired doneness.
- For best results, the internal temperature should be between 140° to 150°.
- Once the meat is cooked, let it rest for about 10 minutes or all the juices will run out. Cover it with foil to keep it warm. This particular cut of beef will be too tough if you don’t slice it correctly. You want to cut it into thin slices at a 45-degree angle across the grain.
Horseradish Sauce
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, prepared horseradish, balsamic vinegar, seasoned salt, and minced chives or green onions. Season to taste!
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