Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

The cover of the Explore: Wine & Dine section on Wednesday, June 8, will feature how to grill fish to perfection. Inside you'll find more recipes plus buying, cooking and health tips on a variety of food-related subjects.

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Grill flank steak today, make fajitas tomorrow

By Bill Daley, Chicago Tribune

Q: Looking for a beef steak fajitas marinade recipe for grilling published in the Trib in 1992-93. It was great! Leftovers made great fajita tacos. 

– Jeanette Armbrust, Batavia, Ill.

A: Turns out the recipe is actually from 1994. The grilled marinated flank steak with a chipotle marinade came from W. Park Kerr, author of the 1994 book “The El Paso Chile Company’s Burning Desires.” It was published June 30, 1994, in the Tribune as part of a story on summer barbecuing.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

Prep: 15 minutes. Marinate: 2 hours. Cook: 7 minutes. Makes: 8 servings, with leftovers

Adapted from W. Park Kerr’s “Burning Desires.”

• Chipotle marinade, see recipe below
• 2 or 3 small flank steaks (about 3 3/4 pounds total)
• 2 cups wood chips, preferably hickory
• Salt, freshly ground black pepper

1. Pour the marinade over the flank steaks in a shallow nonreactive dish. Cover and let stand at room temperature, turning them once or twice, 2 hours.

2. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for high heat. Wrap the wood chips partly in foil, creating a small packet that is open at the top. Set the packet on the hot coals or hot lava stones; position the grill rack about 6 inches above the heat source.

3. When the wood chips are smoking heavily, place the steaks on the rack. Cover; grill, 3 1/2 minutes. Turn steaks; grill, 3 1/2 minutes. Rake the coals to one side of the grill, or on a gas grill, lower the heat to medium, and continue to grill the steaks, 6 minutes for medium-rare.

4. Transfer steaks to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let stand 10 minutes. Carve the steaks at a slight angle across the grain into very thin slices; serve hot, warm or cold with salt and pepper to taste.

Chipotle marinade: In a blender, combine 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, and 1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar; process until fairly smooth. With the motor running, add 1/2 cup olive oil; the marinade will thicken slightly. 

This story was originally published June 4, 2016 at 3:07 PM.