Grilled chile-lime flank steak is the ultimate feed-a-crowd meal. Marinate it with a Arbol chile and Mexican lime marinade and we’re talking about a delicious main dish, fajita fixing or chopped carne asada for tacos.
With the 4th of July around the corner, I thought you might need this recipe in your back pocket. Marinate the chile-lime flank steak when you wake up the morning of the 4th and consider one of your “to-dos” crossed off the list. If you can’t find Mexican limes for the marinade, regular limes work just as well.
Grilled chile-lime flank steak is great on it’s own with a big chopped salad of romaine, tomatoes, avocados and black beans. Toss it with some of my jalapeño green goddess or super simple salad dressing. Add a side of okra, shishito peppers or grilled Mexican corn.
How long to marinate chile-lime flank steak?
My recipe suggests 12-24 hours, but you can do a “quick marinade” and let the meat marinate at room temperature for as little as 20 minutes. To opt for a quick marinade, heat the marinade ingredients in a medium pot until the liquid is simmering. Then place the meat in a small casserole dish roughly the same size as the meat, and then pour the marinade over the flank steak and let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before grilling. If you’re doubling or tripling the recipe, use a large Pyrex baking dish to marinate the meat.
Why Use Flank Steak?
Flank steak, also known as London Broil, is relatively inexpensive. If it’s cooked to medium or medium rare and cut against the grain, the result is tender and flavorful meat. Slice the meat into thin 1/4″ slices and it can feed a crowd!
A Few Grilling Tips
Preheat your grill to high and brush it down with a wire grill brush after it preheats. Soak an old kitchen towel or paper towels with some oil (I use avocado oil for this) and wipe down the grates where you’ll be cooking. Place the flank steak on the grill in the middle to back portion and keep the lid open. Don’t flip or poke or prod the meat until it’s ready to flip! Once the meat has seared, it should release from the grill easily and flip. Once you flip the meat, sprinkle it with crunchy sea salt so it can melt into the meat while the other side cooks.
Flank Steak Temperature
Grill the flank steak until an instant read thermometer inserted in the middle of the steak reaches 135 degrees, which is about medium rare. Let the meat rest before cutting it against the grain. Serve the meat drizzled with any of the meat juices, lime wedges and a sprinkling of cilantro leaves for extra color.
Useful Equipment
Microplaner for zesting the lime
Grill gloves if your grill is blazing hot like mine
Wire brush to clean your grill grates
Cutting board with a small moat around the edges that catches meat drippings
Happy grilling! Let me know if you make this or post a photo and tag me in on the photo and in the comments so I can see what you’re making.
D’Arbol Chile and Mexican Lime Flank Steak
Ingredients
- 1 ½-2 pound flank steak
- 4 Mexican limes zest and juice (2 regular limes are fine if you can’t find Mexican limes)
- 2 green onions white and green parts sliced thin
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground chile de Arbol
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In the base of a small glass or ceramic baking dish, mix the lime zest and juice, green onions, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, coriander, cumin, chile powder, salt, and pepper. Use the tip of your chef’s knife to score the flank steak lightly on both sides and place in the baking dish on top of the marinade. Make sure the meat is well coated by turning it in the marinade.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours or set out the meat and marinade at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Turn meat half way through marinating.
- Preheat grill to medium-high.
- Remove the steak from the marinade and discard the extra marinade. Grill steak, 3 minutes per side for medium rare or 5-7 minutes per side for medium to medium-well.
- Transfer the steak to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing thin against the grain. Finish with a sprinkling of course ground salt, such as Maldon, and serve with extra lime on the side.
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