Flank Steak with Lime Marinade Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long can I marinate steak in lime juice? ›

Place beef steak(s) and marinade in food-safe plastic bag; turn steak(s) to coat. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator 15 minutes to 2 hours for tender steaks; 6 hours or as long as overnight for less tender steaks, turning occasionally.

Make sure to let the meat marinate at least overnight for 12 hours before cooking if you want a more tender Flank steak. If you need to make the meat softer and you have 8 hours or less before it's time to fire up the grill, try the tip listed below that involves piercing the surface of the meat before marinating it.

Score Meat Before Marinating: To help the marinade penetrate as deeply as possible (especially thicker cuts like flank steak), prick the surface of the meat with a fork or score it with a knife.

Lime Juice: Including an acid, in this case lime juice, in the marinade helps to tenderize the meat and also adds flavor. Lemon juice will work equally well in this recipe if you need a substitute. Olive Oil: The oil helps to transfer flavor from the other marinade ingredients to the meat.

Marinating time - Lime juice will make the surface of skin white with 24 hour marinating time but it won't break down the surface. 12 hours minimum to really get the lime flavour into the chicken. 48 hrs is the max marinating time - after this, chicken will start to break down.

Always marinate foods in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter. Some older recipes call for marinating at room temperature. DO NOT FOLLOW THIS PRACTICE. Marinating at room temperature causes the meat to enter the “Danger Zone” (between 40°F and 140°F), where bacteria multiply fastest.

Grilling is perhaps the best way to cook Flank steak, but you can also pan-sear it in a skillet, broil it in your oven, or even use a specialty cooking method like an instant pot. The real trick is to keep your Flank steak grill time to a minimum.

Marinating the steak in salt

Salt not only makes the flank steak taste better, but also helps to tenderize it. Flank steak can be marinated with other ingredients, but if you add only salt and a little pepper, the flavor will also be very good.

Avoid marinating in metal containers as the metal can chemically react with the marinade and change the flavor of your dish. Not marinating in the refrigerator. Marinating in the refrigerator will help to prevent the growth of bacteria. Never marinate food at room temperature.

It is suggested that after you have marinated meat for a length of time – you should wash it off prior to cooking. However, this is dependent on what oils and spices you use, often it is down to personal preference.

Why is my flank steak always tough? ›

The critical reason for this is that flank steak, although lean and tasty, is tougher than other cuts of beef due to the many long, thin fibers running through it. To help tenderize flank steak, it is often marinated and cooked by grilling, stir-frying, broiling, or smoking.

Yes, if flank steak is marinated for more than 24 hours, the texture will begin to suffer as the proteins in the meat breakdown. What Is a Good Tenderizer for Flank Steak? Acids like balsamic vinegar and lemon juice or lime juice are commonly used to tenderize flank steak, but a lesser-known tenderizer is soy sauce.

While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. For beef, add a 1/4-teaspoon of baking soda for tenderizing. Additional seasonings are optional and vary from recipe to recipe.

If you're not from the south, it may not have occurred to you that you can cook with Coca-Cola. But the king of sodas has been used in southern cooking for years — particularly in marinades and sauces for beef and pork. Its sweet acidity can help to tenderize meat, making it an ideal addition for a long slow brine.

Regular or apple cider vinegar, wine or beer, lemon or lime juice, buttermilk or yogurt contain tenderizing acids. As well as acid, enzymes found in fruits like pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, and papaya disrupt the molecular structure of meat's connective tissue.

In a bowl, whisk together the cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Pour it over the flank steak and marinate anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hour or even overnight! When you're ready to cook the steak, you can grill, broil or pan sear it to your liking.

On the other hand, including lime juice in the beef's marinade will allow the flavor to work its way into the meat a little bit while the acid in the juice will help break down some of the meat's toughness.

Most recipes for marinating meat and poultry recommend six hours up to 24 hours. It is safe to keep the food in the marinade longer, but after two days it is possible that the marinade can start to break down the fibers of the meat, causing it to become mushy.

You will want to marinate at least 30 minutes, but I highly recommend longer than that. Up to 6-8 hours or overnight is best.