By David Tanis
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 1 hour's marinating
- Rating
- 5(1,018)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Featured in: Beef, Pepper and Parmesan: It’s Italian
Learn: How to Make Steak
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1flank steak, about 2 pounds
- Salt
- Black peppercorns
- 1small bunch rosemary (a fistful of sprigs)
- 6garlic cloves, sliced
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 5ounces arugula
- Pecorino pepato, Pecorino romano or Parmesan, for shaving
- 1lemon, cut in wedges
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Lay flank steak on a baking sheet and season on both sides with salt. Put a handful of peppercorns on a cutting board and crush them by pressing firmly with the bottom of a sauce pan (or use a spice mill or mortar and pestle to obtain a very coarse grind). Measure 1 tablespoon of crushed pepper and sprinkle on both sides of steak. Strip leaves from rosemary. Sprinkle meat evenly on both sides with rosemary and garlic slices. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons olive oil, then massage with your hands to distribute, pressing pepper, rosemary and garlic into surface. Leave at room temperature for an hour (or refrigerate for several hours and bring to room temperature before proceeding).
Step
2
Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 degrees. Place a cast iron skillet large enough to hold the steak (or a heavy roasting pan) on the upper rack. Let skillet heat for at least 30 minutes.
Step
3
Carefully put flank steak in pan and close oven door. After 5 minutes, flip the steak (it should be well browned on the bottom) and cook just until juices appear on surface of steak, 3 to 4 minutes more for medium-rare meat. (Alternatively, cook steak under broiler about 2 inches from heat.) Remove steak and let rest on a carving board for 10 minutes.
Step
4
Cut meat on a diagonal, against grain, into thin slices. Arrange sliced meat on a large platter and surround with arugula. With a vegetable peeler, shave about 2 ounces of cheese over arugula. Drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with lemon wedges.
Ratings
5
out of 5
1,018
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Cooking Notes
scotch37
Just got back from Rome and had a similar dish. I scraped off the garlic and rosemary from the marinade- they would get destroyed in a 500 degree pan anyway. sautéed them with 30 or so halfed cherry tomatoes, after cooking down, i added some chianti and reduced to a wine tomato sauce. this goes over the sliced steak and topped with arugula and shavings. was great
Frank Canaan
Alison,
The point of the recipe is to get to to where the chef who wrote it wants it to land. If they are aiming for rare or medium rare that's how the recipe is going to be written. If you like your meat a certain way it's your job to figure that out, or to pick recipes that are designed for your tastes.
Alison
While I realize that this is not your fault, it is really discouraging to me that every steak recipe that I see, especially ones that are cooked in the oven, the steak is cooked to medium rare or medium. Why not include instructions for people like myself and my husband that prefer medium well or well? I am not an expert at cooking steak so I need more guidance. Thanks!
BQW
Great recipe. Don't skimp on the preheating time. I did and the pan wasn't hot enough. I browned it with a quick shot under the broiler and managed to keep it medium rare, but it would have been easier to heat the pan properly in the first place. I also upped the arugula because it's spring, it's plentiful and delicious.
Kate
This cooking technique for the steak is perfect. But it's essential to preheat the pan as instructed; otherwise the steak won't cook properly.
This method works equally with a salt and pepper rub, or a marinade. I served the steak with asparagus roasted at 425 for about 30 min. and while that cooked, I added the empty steak cast iron pan to preheat. I also made a compound butter with rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Lovely with both the steak and asparagus.
Tomoko
Can the pan be heated on the stove top with direct heat instead of 30 minutes in the oven? Seems less efficient to heat it in the oven...
Michelle B
Like everyone says, delicious! But the steak needs to rest at least 15 minutes after being pulled form the oven. When I cut into the meat after 10 minutes, blood immediately drained and ran everywhere. After a few minutes on my plate, what had been a beautiful rare steak had browned and toughened up.
Otherwise, as the meat rested I cooked sugar snap peas and spring onions (tossed in olive oil and lemon juice) in the same pan at the same temp. Finished with mint. Also, delicious.
Benjamin
Because he doesn't want you to ruin your steak.
Morgan
If you must cook to this degree, then invest in an instant read thermometer. 155 - 160 degrees F before the resting period is what you should aim for. Any recipe set out for rare to med rare, just increase the cooking times.
Nick A
Hmm. This didn’t work for me at all. Ended up with more of a steamed steak, which didn’t really char at all. I cooked the rest in a pan on the hob and they were a lot better.
Penni
As others said I doubled spices. But be careful on adding too much salt Would have additionally added one more can of coconut milk but only had one. It worked out fineSo good but better the next day
LOVES TO COOK
Excellent recipe! Guests loved the steak and said it was perfect! Perfectly easy for me! All around excellent recipe from marinade to cooking technique. I don’t eat beef but my family does and it is nice to have a recipe that is easy and delicious to prepare for them.
All-K
I have made this many times. I discovered during the dark days of the pandemic living in a place with a very sensitive smoke detector and a less than awesome cooking setup. It helps if you have time to pre-heat the pan or plancha as instructed for the full 30 minutes. With as little as 10 minutes of pre-heatingit still will come out okay in my experience. If you don't have the time or inclination or whatever else to do sous vide, this is hands down the best indoor method for flank steak.
Kal
Cooked on grill over sear station. Marinated for 2 hours. Good as is, could have gone longer, not shorter.
Jerry
Hey Alison, Get a great instant meat thermometer (ThermoWorks are the best) and always test the meat's temperature. Cooking times are estimates and vary based on the size of your steak and your oven's heat. For medium-well done take off heat at 145-155 and well done 155 or higher. Err on low side.The temperature will increase a few degrees after you take it from the heat, about 3-5 degrees for steak. Always rest the steak before cutting to allow for juice reabsorption and heat transfer.
tintin
Delicious, and as others noted, no problem with garlic or rosemary burning. I didn’t have a cast iron skillet large enough to hold a 1.5 lb steak so used the top of a turkey roasting pan. Didn’t get the best outside sear but steak was juicy with great flavor.
Dana*
From the comments:Marinate the meat for about 6 hours prior to cooking. The flavors came together nicely. I reviewed other notes prior to cooking and I kept the garlic and rosemary on the meat and the oven temp did not scorch the garlic or rosemary.
Simon
I didn’t fancy the oven method as the thought of pulling a red hot cast iron dish out of the oven a few times to handle the meat with standard oven gloves didn’t sit too well with me.Instead followed the same recipe but used a skillet on top of the stove, heating it up for a good 15 mins before following the remainder of the recipe.I guess the intense heat is key here because unlike my usual stove-top method there was no smoke/smell. The meat turned out super tender.
bob p
Good recipe for any steak cut.
Luke
Will this turn out well in a pan that is not cast iron?
Michael
I have no idea how anyone could achieve a properly browned steak as instructed. The cracked peppercorns combined with the garlic will minimize surface contact with the preheated pan. The parts of the steak that *do* manage to contact the pan will immediately start a curling process on any normal flank steak that will fully doom any chance of a proper sear.Do yourselves a favor and find a reverse sear method. This was a waste of a great cut of meat.
mt note
Sorry 130-140 for medium rare
twosofas
We love this and make it regularly. I agree with another reviewer that it could benefit from a 15 rather than a 10 minute rest.
joansey
Our steak was pretty thick - I cooked it for 5 minutes, then flipped it and cooked it for 3 minutes more. Next time try 2 min 30 sec on second side. Leave garlic & rosemary on to cook. Terrific!
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