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Volume 35

Dinner This Week: Grilled Flank Steak

By Keith Dresser Published

This week’s menus include Grilled Flank Steak, Broiled Shrimp Skewers, and Fish Meunière for dinner in about an hour.

Every week, Executive Food Editor Keith Dresser pairs each main dish with a side to give you a complete, satisfying dinner without the guesswork. Look for the game plan section to learn tips on how to streamline your kitchen work so dinner comes together quicker.

Dinner 1: Latin Spice-Rubbed Grilled Flank Steak and Grilled Corn

Game Plan:

Start by heating your grill. While the grill heats, prep the ingredients for the steak and corn. Grill the steaks. While the steak rests, grill the corn.

For our Latin Spice-Rubbed Grilled Flank Steak, we use a heady spice rub to give the steak a rich, flavorful crust. We cook the steak over high heat for a short period of time to develop substantial char on the exterior while keeping the interior rare or medium-rare. Grilled Corn with Flavored Butter starts with browning the corn on a hot grill. We then transfer it to a roasting pan containing flavored butter. We cover the pan with aluminum foil and continue to cook the sweet, toasted ears until they pick up flavor.

Printable Shopping Lists: Latin Spice-Rubbed Grilled Flank Steak and Grilled Corn

Equipment Review Grill Tongs

What qualities separate the best grill tongs from the pretenders?

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See the Chart

Dinner 2: Broiled Shrimp Skewers and Green Bean Salad

Game Plan:

Prep the ingredients for the shrimp and salad. Prepare the salad through step 2, keeping the components separate. Broil the shrimp, tossing the salad right before serving.

Broiled Shrimp Skewers start by crowding the shrimp onto the skewer, which prevents them from overcooking. We remove the shrimp from the heat before they are completely cooked and finish them in a sauce waiting on the stovetop. To ensure the beans in Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Feta are tender, bright green, and deeply flavored, we blanch them in highly concentrated salt water (¼ cup of salt to 2 quarts of water). This quickly softens the pectin in the beans' skins, so they become tender before losing their vibrant color; it also seasons them inside and out. 

Printable Shopping Lists: Broiled Shrimp Skewers and Green Bean Salad

Equipment Review Large Saucepans

Most of us use a large saucepan daily, so it’s important to own one that performs flawlessly and will last for years. But how much does high quality have to cost?

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See the Chart

Dinner 3: Fish Meunière with Browned Butter and French Potato Salad

Game Plan:

Prep and make the potato salad through step 2. Prep and cook the fish, tossing the salad (step 3) right before serving.

Our Fish Meunière with Browned Butter produces delicately crisp and golden brown fillets that are moist and flavorful on the inside. To create the lightest coating, we dry the fillets, season them with salt and pepper, allow them to sit for five minutes, then dredge them in flour. We then cook the fillets in a mixture of oil and butter in a nonstick skillet to prevent sticking. To eliminate torn skins and broken potatoes in our French Potato Salad, we slice creamy red bliss potatoes before boiling them in heavily seasoned water. To flavor the slices through and through, we pour a vinaigrette flavored with mustard and garlic over the warm potatoes.

Printable Shopping Lists: Fish Meunière with Browned Butter and French Potato Salad

View more weeknight dinner ideas below, or check out all of the Dinner This Week menus.

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JC
JOHN C.
16 days

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.

MD
MILES D.
JOHN C.
9 days

Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!

CM
CHARLES M.
11 days

John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.