Balsamic Flank Steak Salad

Happy Fourth of July!  Is there anything better way to spend the holiday than sitting outside on a breezy summer evening, the smell of steak wafting off the grill, beer in hand? Unfortunately, Hubtastic and I do not have a grill, much less outdoor space to enjoy.  So to emulate the experience as best we could, we finished off a recent summer Saturday with a balsamic-marinated flank steak salad eaten by an open window.

We spent most of that day outdoors in our neighborhood, taking a long, leisurely stroll to our favorite local pub for a beer, followed by an hour of getting lost and found in a deceptively large park down the street.  After an entire afternoon in the sun, we absolutely did not want to spend a long time in a steamy kitchen making some sort of heavy steak dinner.  So we teamed up and made a new plan, divided the work evenly, and had dinner on the table in no time.

After doing about 30 seconds of research on flank steak recipes, we took our flank steak from Chestnut Farms and threw it in a marinade of balsamic vinegar (the cheap overly-acidic stuff – that tenderizes the meat better), olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper, and 6 smashed garlic cloves.  By “smashed,” I really mean smashed — put them in the bag you plan to marinate in and punch them until they are smooshy.  It’s fun!  We let the steak marinate for about an hour, flipping every so often for even coverage, but I’m sure you could leave it longer if you get distracted by a cold drink and good conversation.

To keep the meal light enough for a hot day, we paired the steak with salad — arugula, to be specific.  There’s something so sophisticated about the flavors of steak and arugula together, especially with balsamic.  We did not make a dressing since the steak juices would provide all the flavor needed, but at the last second, I did drizzle a bit of olive oil and flake salt over the bed of greens.  We also kept the salad toppings simple: local goat cheese from Vermont Creamery and the first corn of the season from Volante Farms.  

In a further act of teamwork, Hubtastic got a cast iron skillet with a touch of canola oil ripping hot while I cut the corn kernels off the cob, using Ina Garten’s technique to prevent making a mess.  (I made a mess anyway.)  He dried off and salted the steak thoroughly, then seared it until the internal temp reached 140F and the outside was crusty, about 3-4 minutes per side.  Skirt steak typically substitutes well in flank steak recipes, but honestly any kind of quick-cooking cut like strip steak, filet mignon, or ribeye will work well if you adjust the cooking time.

While the steak rested, I dumped the corn kernels in the same pan with a touch more salt to roast in the steak drippings.  As soon as they started to pop in the heat, I removed the corn to the bed of arugula and goat cheese, which gently wilted some of the greens and began to melt the goat cheese.

The steak still had a few more minutes to rest, time we used to clean up the corn kernels and steak splatter that decorated our kitchen.  If we had a grill, this whole process could have easily been performed without creating this mess, but c’est la vie.

We then sliced the steak as thinly as possible, against the grain for maximum tenderness, and layered it across the rest of the platter. As a final touch, we drizzled the steak juices and some better-quality balsamic over the top.

Hubtastic washed the last of the prep dishes while I set the “table” near an indoor cross-breeze. We cracked open a few beers, sat in the sunlight streaming through the windows, and dug in to our teamwork-created balsamic flank steak salad. Almost perfect.