Spanish herbed flank steak is easy to make, full flavored, and a family favorite dinner!
You guys, I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately. Like life and I aren’t on the same page. Because I frequently find myself feeling this way I like to have an arsenal of meals that are easy to put together, but fancy enough to feed company. You know what I am talking about…like you could eat it on a Wednesday night, but you would feel equally happy about serving it at a dinner party.
I find that to be a rare combination, possibly even mythical, like a unicorn! But at our house, one of those “unicorn” foods is the herb rub flank steak. We make them ALL the time, and have tried dozens of different flavor combinations. This one rates really high!
So before we go any further I want to talk to you about flank steaks. They are very tasty, but if they are not cooked right, and cut right, they are not very good. I find them to be one of the pricier cuts as well, so I would hate to have you waste a perfectly amazing flank steak because you made some mistakes. So let’s talk flank for a minute.
Where does it come from on the cow? And what does that mean to you?
The flank steak is not actually found on the cow’s flank (is that even a place, I keep thinking it means hind side? What word am I thinking?), it is located across the belly between the ribs and the back legs. Because of the location, it is a very well exercised part of the body. This means a chewier cut of meat with a LOT of flavor. The chewiness comes from the strong muscle fibers, and the flavor from the increased blood flow. Good stuff.
So what does this mean to you? It means you have to cook it right, or it will be too tough and chewy.
How to cook flank steak “right”
While I am no expert, I have found, through research and trial and error), some methods for cooking flank are more successful than others. For example, a marinade is always a good idea with flank. Marinades contain salts and acids which can help break down muscle, and make the meat less tough. So when cooking flank marinate for 1-24 hours, but not longer.
Tenderize your meat. Did you know you can ask your butcher to do this for you? It sure saves time in the kitchen, especially if you don’t have that handy Jaccard knife butchers usually have and use for tenderizing. If you are planning to tenderize yourself, simple take a knife and run it across the grain all along the flank steak, cutting about a quarter of an inch deep and an inch apart.
Cook quickly, on a high heat. Broiling or grilling is best. The longer it cooks, the chewier it gets. So cook quickly to the desired temperature. I love a good medium rare, but here are the temperatures and approximate cooking times you will need:
- Rare: 125°F or 4-7 minutes per side
- Medium Rare: 135°F or about 5-8 minutes per side
- Medium; 145°F or about 6-9 minutes per side
- Medium Well: (Not recommended) 155°F or about 7-10 minutes per side
Rest your steak when it is done cooking. It will continue to cook and raise a few degrees in temperature. Letting it rest will help to seal in juices and let the muscles relax for a steak that is tender and moist.
Cut against the grain at an angle. Look for the muscle grain, which is very obvious on a flank steak, and cut going the other direction, or perpendicular to that grain, and on a 45 degree angle. This will give you flavorful, melt in your mouth slices that are not too tough to chew. Slice thin.

Spanish Herbed Flank Steak
Ingredients
- 2 lbs flank steak
Marinade
- 2 tbs minced garlic
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 a lime juiced
- 1 Tsp chopped jalapeno optional
Spanish Herb Rub
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 1/2 Tbs smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 Tbs regular paprika
- 1/2 Tbs dried cilantro
- 1/2 Tbs onion powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Mix marinade together in a large bag
- Add steak to back and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, can be in marinade up to 24 hours. Mix together herb mixture
- Remove steak from marinade, and rub herb mixture all over and let rest for 30-45 minutes to allow to come to room temperature before cooking.
- Preheat broiler.
- Broil med-high to desired temperature for doneness (See post for approximate times)
- Remove from heat and let rest for 5-10 min. before slicing
- Slice thinly, against the grain at a 45° angle
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
Choi Minzu says
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Connie Farina says
I’m starting marinade, anticipating dinner tonight.
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