Bloody Mary Flank Steak On The Grill

I’ve always liked the taste of a good Bloody Mary, and hey, it gives you the permission to have a nice drink before noon on occasion. It usually goes something like this:

“Hey, are you drinking already?’

“Yeah, but it’s okay, it’s a Bloody Mary…..”

“Oh, ok, maybe I’ll have one too…..!”

But the flavors in a Bloody Mary can be adapted to food as well, and in fact, they make a pretty good marinade. If you think about all the ingredients in a quality Bloody Mary mix, the spices and herbs, it makes sense that these can also be thought of a quick, ready-made marinade. Just use your favorite Bloody Mary mix, and please, use a good one. If you wouldn’t drink it, by all means don’t cook with it.

I took a good-looking flank steak,

put it in a non reactive dish, and covered it with the Bloody Mary mix,

in this case, I used Hoosier Momma’s Bloody Mary mix.

This is really good, nice and thick, almost like a pasta sauce. I chose the hot and spicy, but like I said, use the mix that you are accustomed to and like the flavor of. Although not necessary, I did include about a quarter cup of vodka. I don’t have a good reason other than thinking it was the right thing to do.

The steak has to marinade for several hours,  at least eight but preferably overnight, as this is a dense piece of meat and the extra time will allow the marinade to work a little more. When you’re just about ready to grill, take the steak out of the marinade.

Make sure the grill is nice and hot, ash covered coals, set up for direct grilling. You’re gonna have to pay attention to this one…..

Carefully put the Flank Steak on the grill directly over the coals,

You’re looking for a cooking time of around six minutes a side, give or take a minute. If you want, you can rotate the steak ninety degrees after about three minutes to get the cross hatch marks, but really, with a tomato based marinade, this thing is going to “bark” up pretty good, nullifying any cross hatch attempts.

After about six minutes, simply flip the steak, keeping it over the hottest part of the coals.

Grill for another six or seven minutes, depending on thickness, and then you’re ready to take it off of the grill…..

Now you must let this meat rest. Being the dense meat that it is, you want to give it every chance to soak up and keep the juices inside, or this is where you might get  a piece of shoe leather to chew on for dinner.

After eight or ten minutes, you’re ready to slice this beauty. Grab the sharpest knife you have, and start thinly slicing this meat at the sharpest angle you can, on the bias, or against the grain. This will assure a tender, flavorful piece of meat. And by slicing on an angle, against the grain, every bite will include the flavorful bark along with the tenderness of the steak, and it will make your mouth very happy.

With the addition of grilled zucchini slices, and a crunchy oriental slaw, a Grilled Bloody Mary Flank Steak can be an easy and unique take on an otherwise normal meal. And yes, while working with all these fresh ingredients, it’s only right that the cook give them a little taste to ensure the quality and freshness.

“Because Life Is Better Wood Fired”