Grilled Flank Steak with Pecans, Black Beans & Chiles
Submitted by dickens
Red wine-marinated grilled flank steak with a pecan-serrano chile compound butter and a red wine black bean butter sauce. A Southwestern showstopper served with warm tortillas.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
8 hrsThis is restaurant-level flank steak with Southwestern swagger. The meat marinates overnight in red wine, soy sauce, jalapenos, coriander, and garlic, then hits the grill for a quick sear. But the real stars are the two accompaniments: a pecan-chile compound and a rich black bean butter sauce.
The pecan compound is basically a pesto without the basil. Toasted pecans, roasted garlic, diced serrano chiles, butter, and chives get crushed together in a mortar into a coarse, spicy paste. This goes on the sliced steak at serving, melting into the hot meat and releasing waves of smoky, nutty, garlicky heat.
The sauce is a classic French beurre rouge adapted with Southwestern flavors. Red wine, stock, vinegar, shallot, lime juice, and coriander reduce down to 2 tablespoons, then cold butter gets whisked in a little at a time to create a glossy, emulsified sauce. Black beans stir in at the end for pops of earthy protein in every spoonful.
Grill the steak to medium rare (5 to 7 minutes), slice thin on the diagonal, and spoon the sauce over generously. Warm flour tortillas on the side for wrapping.
Pro Tips
- Marinate at least 2 hours, overnight is better. The wine and soy sauce tenderize the flank’s tough fibers.
- Whisk the butter into the reduction slowly, 2 tablespoons at a time. Rushing this step breaks the emulsion and gives you greasy, separated sauce.
- Keep the finished sauce warm over simmering water, not direct heat. Too hot and the butter sauce will split.
- Slice the steak thin and against the grain. Flank steak cut with the grain is chewy no matter how it’s cooked.
Variations
- Use skirt steak instead of flank for even more beefy flavor and a chewier bite.
- Swap pecans for pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for a more authentically Mexican flavor.
- Add a chipotle pepper to the compound butter for smoky heat instead of serrano’s sharp bite.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the flank steak in a shallow non-aluminum pan.
Add 1½ cups of the wine and the oil, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of the coriander, Jalapenos, chopped garlic and the coarsely cracked black pepper.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
In a small baking dish , toast the pecans until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside.
Rub the remaining two whole garlic cloves with ½ tablespoon of the butter and roast in the oven until soft and light brown, about 20 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees.
In a mortar, combine the pecans, roasted garlic and Serrano chiles. Crush with a pestle.
Blend in 2 tablespoons of the butter and the chives.
Preheat a grill or the broiler.
In a medium nonaluminum saucepan, combine the stock, remaining ⅓ cup red wine, the vinegar, shallot, lime juice and 1 teaspoon of the coriander.
Bring to a boil over moderate heat and boil until reduced to 2 tablespoons, 10 to 12 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the remaining 2 sticks of butter, 2 tablespoons at a time.
Stir in the black beans and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
Keep the sauce warm over simmering water.
Lightly brush the flank steak with oil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Grill the steak over a moderately hot fire or broil until medium rare, 5 to 7 minutes.
Thinly slice the steak crosswise on the diagonal and arrange on warmed plates.
Spoon the sauce over each serving and accompany with warm flour tortillas.
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