Flank Steak With Arden’s Amazing Asian Inspired Chile Pepper Marinade

As promised – Recipe at the top:

Directly quoted from the Great himself:

‘I use variations of this to do either one.  The objective is to tenderize (acid) and flavour the meat in the Oriental ideal (salty, sour, sweet, spicy/hot).

½ cup lime juice, ¼ cup fish sauce, tablespoon Datu Putti chilli vinegar, tablespoon of sesame oil, tablespoon of chilli oil, 3 ounces canola oil, 5 garlic cloves minced, and a tablespoon of minced ginger, (bottled garlic and ginger work instead- use about two teaspoons of each), a couple of thinly sliced serrano chiles or other medium heat chile like jalapeno, some onion about 4 scallions coarsely sliced or some finely diced yellow or red onion, about two teaspoons of sugar (to taste) and some salt (about a teaspoon) or soy sauce (a tablespoon), about ½ teaspoon of white or black pepper, and a bunch of chopped  cilantro.  Taste the mixture and add what is needed to balance.  Don’t worry if a bit too salty or too hot, when cooked the punch will be just fine, but add sugar, if too sour.  You may also need to add more ginger and garlic if using bottled (up to a teaspoon more of each) depending on the product potency.‘

This recipe was sent to me by my loving dry humoured uncle Arden. A great hunter has turned him into an unbelievable chef and this inspired marinade and dish is unreal.

After putting together the marinade i poured it over the flank steak, covered, and let marinade overnight in the fridge. As Arden mentiones at the top the acid in the marinade helps to tenderize while the salt seasons the meat well into the muscle. Meat head from amazingribs.com has some unreal articles on food science that have changed my life – The Science of Salt –

I have tried to take every step possible to learn about the science, methodology, and figure out why we do the things we do in the kitchen. If I am ignorant on a subject please teach, learning is one of my great loves.

There is a lot of ‘this is how it has always been done’ that doesn’t quite fly with my brain. Tradition can have its merits, but I like to figure out the best way forward. That being said classic family recipes, historically accurate reproductions, and doing things just to experience different perspectives all have great virtue

After 24 hours it was ready for grilling – I got my Big Green Egg (BGE) fired up for a big sear – my external temperature gauge had the temp at 500f – will have some more conversation on the benefits /drawbacks of charcoal vs gas. The main argument comes down to much more work, same product, but somehow more fun 🙂

Turned out great – the thick fibers in the flank steak cut were clearly visible after taking it out of the marinade and let the marinade get deep into the crevices. Final picture shows the finished picture, looks a little more cooked than it was, but I would sear a little hotter next time to ensure a great taste and rare cook (the BGE does not have the ability to adjust the height of the grill, which I think if closer to the coals would have returned a better result).

Cole Rating 8/10