Whenever I grill flank steak, I always think to myself, “Why don’t I grill flank more often?” Usually, I marinade flank steak and use it for fajitas. It’s sort of a one trick pony for me.

While flank is nowhere near a tender as meat from the loins, it has a rich and deep meaty flavor. Flank can do a lot more than fill a tortilla, in fact, flank is pretty incredible when you fill it. It’s time for slicing and stuffing. I do need to grill flank more often.

Grilled & Stuffed Flank Steak

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Grilling

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped salami

3 T coarsely chopped toasted pine nuts

3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/4 chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 T chopped fresh oregano

1 flank steak

salt and pepper

olive oil

Combine the cheese, salami, pine nuts, garlic, parsley, and oregano in a bowl.

Mix well.

In order to stuff the flank steak, it first needs to be butterflied. Think of it as making a meat book. Which, incidentaly, is one of my favorite types of books. Regardless of the author.

With a very sharp knife, slice the steak in half across the horizontal plane. The knife should run parallel to the countertop.

Continue slicing, while “opening” the book with your left hand.

Keep cutting all of the way across, but be careful not to cut all the way through.

Once the knife reaches the end, open the steak and keep slicing until the meat is lying flat.

Oil one side of the steak with olive oil. Transfer the meat to a large sheet of aluminum foil with the oil side down.

Spread the stuffing over the meat, keeping the stuffing back at least 2 inches from the edges.

Using the aluminum foil, tightly roll the flank steak.

The key is to not roll the foil in with the meat, but rather use the foil to keep the rolled flank together.

Once rolled, twist the sides tight and refrigerate for several hours.

After the meat has been refrigerated for 2-4 hours, prepare the grill for indirect medium heat.

There are two ways to grill the flank steak. The meat can be grilled in the foil indirect for two hours or, the method I prefer, removed from the foil and seared directly on the grate.

The foil wrapped method creates more of a tender steamed steak. While good, I prefer meat directly on the grill. The flavor is more intense and the texture is more interesting.

Remove the steak from the foil and tie up with butcher twine to keep the steak from unrolling. Sear each side over direct heat for approximately 2 minutes a side, 8 minutes total.