Grilled Flank Steak with Garlic-Shallot-Rosemary Marinade

Dear Loyal Readers, Followers, Fan Page Subscribers, Family and Friends,

I am in-love.  Deeply in-love. I am so smitten with an 800 pound senior horse, that I have little time to spend on my food blog, let alone anything else!  When I sent my horse to a distant ranch (125 miles away), to enjoy her golden years in retirement, I had no idea how much I'd pine for her.  Memories of watching "Savvy" pinning her ears, while being judged, in cutting (cattle) competitions and proving how she could work a cow by running circles around it and her athletic moves, still makes me smile with fond memories. I was too competitive nervous for me to do the cattle classes-- instead, I had a trainer who loved that horse almost as much as me.

That was before my son was born-- who turns 22 in November. Savannah Sue turns 27 years old this August, and she is still looking great.  Once I retired her from the show ring, she became my faithful trail horse. Nowadays, the  two of us have arthritis, so we both walk with a bit of a limp. I don't have the strength to climb up in her saddle anymore (unless I have a mounting block) and she's also a bit stiff in her joints. It's time for her to just be a horse, though I still find her to be that beautiful Arabian that I bought when she was just a yearling. How time flies!  Now that she's home again,  I find that I am anxious to get home from work, and in in a hurry to whip up a quick dinner. I'm looking for shortcuts to have enough daylight so that I can head down to the ranch to brush my girl, feed her carrots and enjoy the beautiful view where she resides in an enormous paddock. Just this week, I had thawed a flank steak and I happened to catch an episode of America's Test Kitchen, a couple of days earlier.  Thankfully, I had all of the ingredients and I was so pleased that it took all of 5 minutes to prep the meat:

You need olive oil, fresh rosemary (not dried, please), garlic and a shallot.  I used a mini chopper but a blender is fine, too.   I actually did a rough chop on the veggies and put the whole garlic clove in-- I figured the mini food processor would break it down just fine-- which it did!

Place steak on rimmed baking sheet or in large baking dish. Using dinner fork, prick steak about 20 times on each side. Rub both sides of steak evenly with salt and then with paste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.  This is when I raced down to the ranch to check on my horse...

There was not a soul around-- just a few horses, some goats and the evening Salinas Valley (CA) wind.... 

So much for brushing Savvy's mane....

I returned home about 7:15pm and it was too late to start the charcoals on our Weber grill.  Fortunately, we have a gas grill, so I took a chance and gave my husband instructions on what to do-- first, get the grill nice a hot:

Using paper towels, wipe paste off steak; season both sides with pepper. Grill steak directly over coals (or a gas grill) until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip steak; grill until second side is well browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Using paring knife, make small cut into thickest part of meat; if meat is slightly less done than desired, transfer steak to cutting board (meat will continue to cook as it rests). If steak is significantly underdone, position so that thinner side is over cool side of grill and thicker side is over hot side; continue to cook until thickest part is slightly less done than desired, then transfer steak to cutting board.
NOTE: The meat was ready in 9 minutes. I thought it seemed strange to cut a hole in the middle of the steak, but now I understand... you want a shallow hole-- not enough to allow the juices to escape (thus dry steak).  One more minute and the steak would have been overdone.

Loosely tent steak with foil; let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Using sharp chef's knife or carving knife, slice steak about ¼ inch thick against grain and on bias. Serve immediately.

I took this one, very  fast shot,  and we enjoyed this with grilled vegetables and a baked potato.  The meat was simple to make and flavorful. Had I marinated this overnight, I think it would have been even better. I do apologize that my photos aren't my best, but like I said... I'm so smitten with my horse, that I am taking a modified break from blogging recipes-- please forgive me, if I haven't been on your blog lately.  I will, but I need to enjoy the novelty of having a big pet that follows me around like a puppy dog.  My horse has given me 26 years of loyalty, beautiful trail rides, trophies, ribbons and joy.  She deserves a big welcome home, lots of carrots and the best quality of life.  People ask me how long horses live-- my answer is that I have known horses who lived to be in their thirties!  I'll be posting more photos of the ranch, because it is a very beautiful place to be.  In fact, I'm on my way as soon as I hit SEND.

ADDENDUM:  I lost my beloved mare on June 19, 2010.  For reasons we will never know, she colicked. The vet could not save her, and she was in great pain.  I'm thankful to have brought her home, closer to me. I will never forget my sweet family member.  Thank you, Savannah.

The printable recipes is at the bottom of this post.