Hey all,
Was in my local butcher a few months back and saw they had smoked, cured flank steak. I couldn't resist so I picked some up and it was delicious. Needless to say, it disappeared quickly.
Last week the grocery store had prime flank steak on sale so I picked up a 2lb piece and decided to give this a try. I decided to cure using a brine vs dry cure to keep it moist. I used cure 1 and used this link to calculate the amount of cure to use. http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/nitritecuringcalculator.html
I was going for a sweeter taste on this so I threw together a brine with salt, cure 1, water, garlic cloves, onion, bourbon, brown sugar, honey, black pepper and a bit of root beer. I really didn't measure much of what I put in. I just know I used 1/4 cup of salt and 1 tsp cure 1 for 6 cups brine. I don't think I would change the amount of salt next time around, it was just the right amount.
After the brine was mixed thoroughly, I poured it in a gallon ziplock with the flank steak. I let it cure for 4 days, flipping the bag each day just to be safe. After 4 days I removed from bag, rinsed, patted dry and let it sit out for an hour or so before smoking. I smoked at 160* with hickory until IT hit 120* (About 2 hours) and then cranked it up to 225* to finish it off. (pulled at 140* IT) After I pulled it, I double wrapped it in foil and let sit on the counter for 2-3 hours before placing in the fridge.
I like it best kept in the fridge and sliced thin to snack on!
Was in my local butcher a few months back and saw they had smoked, cured flank steak. I couldn't resist so I picked some up and it was delicious. Needless to say, it disappeared quickly.
Last week the grocery store had prime flank steak on sale so I picked up a 2lb piece and decided to give this a try. I decided to cure using a brine vs dry cure to keep it moist. I used cure 1 and used this link to calculate the amount of cure to use. http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/nitritecuringcalculator.html
I was going for a sweeter taste on this so I threw together a brine with salt, cure 1, water, garlic cloves, onion, bourbon, brown sugar, honey, black pepper and a bit of root beer. I really didn't measure much of what I put in. I just know I used 1/4 cup of salt and 1 tsp cure 1 for 6 cups brine. I don't think I would change the amount of salt next time around, it was just the right amount.
After the brine was mixed thoroughly, I poured it in a gallon ziplock with the flank steak. I let it cure for 4 days, flipping the bag each day just to be safe. After 4 days I removed from bag, rinsed, patted dry and let it sit out for an hour or so before smoking. I smoked at 160* with hickory until IT hit 120* (About 2 hours) and then cranked it up to 225* to finish it off. (pulled at 140* IT) After I pulled it, I double wrapped it in foil and let sit on the counter for 2-3 hours before placing in the fridge.
I like it best kept in the fridge and sliced thin to snack on!