Italian Party Flank Steak
August 2, 2008 
Today I just finished reading Michael Ruhlman's book "The Soul of a Chef" and I had to laugh when I thought about last week's post, which addressed the habit of American restaurants undercooking vegetables. That exact topic popped up a couple of times in the book. Ruhlman was taught at the Culinary Institute of America that undercooking vegetables, especially green vegetables, was a no-no. And Thomas Keller talks about how to perfectly cook vegetables. It's a great read and has a lot of great behind the scenes stuff at The French Laundry, which was just fascinating to read.
This dish I am posting is an outstanding summer recipe because it's absolutely fantastic on the grill. It's a butterflied flank steak that is marinated and then stuffed with prosciutto, basil, peppers and Parmesan cheese. It's a great recipe, too, for a party because you can butterfly the steak and fill it and tie it way ahead of time and just keep it in the fridge until you're ready to throw it on the grill. And it is so delicious!
Italian Party Flank Steak
for a printer friendly recipe, click here.
Ingredients:
for the Marinade:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper ( I use Montreal Steak Seasoning)
- 1 flank steak, butterflied
for the stuffing:
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 6-8 thin slices of prosciutto
- a couple dozen fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
to butterfly a flank steak:
Run a sharp knife through the middle thickness of the meat, leaving about 1/2 inch at the long end to make a "hinge." Flip meat open to resemble a butterfly. Place plastic wrap over meat. Lightly pound flat.
Combine marinade ingredients in a gallon size ziploc bag and add butterflied steak and let it marinate for 2 hours at room temperature.
Preheat broiler. Halve peppers lengthwise; remove seeds. Place, skin-side up on foil lined sheet. Broil until skins are charred black.
Put peppers in a paper or plastic bag for about 10 minutes to steam. Slip off skins.
After 2 hours, remove steak from marinade . Lay meat opened on a long piece of aluminm foil on a flat surface. Reserve marinade.
Place the 4 pepper halves on top of steak to cover it. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoon of parsley. Cover with prosciutto slices. Arrange basil leaves in a single layer over complete surface of prosciutto. Sprinkle the surface with grated Parmesan, a little salt and black pepper.
With the long side of the layered steak facing you, lift it from the foil and roll it tightly away from you. (I did it without the foil but if you have never done this before, the foil helps you along.) It should look like a jelly roll.
Tie the roll with kitchen string.
Grill the steak for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like the steak, turning every few minutes and basting with the reserved marinade.
Let steak sit for a few minutes before cutting off string and slicing.
Reader Comments (20)
This is my kind of party food! Great ingredients with great flavor. Beautiful dish, love the step by step too!
That looks absolutely gorgeous. I'm thinking I'd like it with some pesto risotto. And a great bottle of Sangiovese! Wow! I'm ready to eat again.
so funny because i was thinking JUST YESTERDAY... where did i see that rolled flank steak, and then you commented on my blohg and then i looked again and HERE IT IS!!!
my fear of flank steak for a party is it may end up tough...any tricks?
i will start by going to a good butcher.
From The Italian Dish:
Mamamia: Don't worry about it being tough. When prepared this way and butterflied, it's very tender. Just be sure to cook it medium rare.
Of course, I have also stuffed a beef tenderloin this way, but that is much more expensive than flank steak!
This almost looks like a Braciole . . . do you have a great family recipe for it? I would love it if you do! Thanks so much. Judi
Looks beautiful! Have you ever made this searing it off on the stovetop and finishing it off in the oven?
Looks beautiful! Have you ever made this searing it off on the stovetop and finishing it off in the oven?
From The Italian Dish:
Naomi: No, I haven't but a friend of mine did, who did not have access to a grill and she said it turned out perfectly.
By the way, I'm making two of these this weekend for a dinner party!
may i ask what you will be serving with the steak? i'm thinking of serving it with pancetta roasted potatoes and a fresh tomato sauce. what do you think? thanks!
From The Italian Dish:
I'm going to serve mine alongside my Pesto Lasagna. Your menu sounds great. Happy Cooking!
In the marinade when you call for "red wine or balsamic vinegar" do you mean red wine, or red wine vinegar? Thank you for clarifying.
I can't wait to try this!
From The Italian Dish:
Michelle: I meant either red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Hope you like it!
I found this recipe & it looks good but I have 2 questions. In the instructions you call for 2 TBS of parsley & later for remaining 2 TBS of parsley. Now, you have 2 in the marinade & 2 in the stuffing. Are there 2 more to make 6 or do you not use it in the marinade or is the stuffing 1 & 1?????? The other question is allowing the steak to sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Is this a misprint ?? I have always been taught to keep meat in the fridge until I am ready to cook it. Thanks, Jim PS this looks good & I will attempt it and I just signed up for your new posts via email.
From The Italian Dish:
Jim: Sorry about that. That was just a little error. I corrected it. There is two tablespoons of parsley in the marinade and two tablespoons of parsley in the stuffing. But don't fret too much about this kind of thing - the recipe is flexible and just what you want it to be. You can add more or less parsley as you like it. As for letting the meat marinate for two hours at room temp, you don't have to do that if you don't want to. But if you marinate the meat in the fridge for a while, be sure to bring it out for at least 30 minutes before you grill and allow it to come to room temperature, otherwise the meat may be too cold for the grill. Hope this helps.
Yes, thank you, I am kind of new at this cooking thing, thanks again, Jim
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! I'm having a party for my son whos making his confirmation and I think this will be easier then Tri Tip as I will be having about 25. Question how many should I get to feed up to thirty. I was thinking of also doing eggplant roasted lazana and the white lezana and a meatone. I havent thought of a easy veggie what our your thought? And thank you again I have made quite a few of your recipes!
Much Love Monica from Cali
From The Italian Dish:
Monica: How about doing a huge green bean salad? It can be served at room temperature, which makes it easy. Just cook the beans until tender and drain and then toss with halved cherry tomatoes, a little diced red onion and either just some olive oil or a bit of pesto.
You could also try my Charred Corn Salad, which is also great at room temperature.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for this great recipe! It was amazing! I made it for my sons conformation. I will be making it again for my daughters birthday this weekend. Everybody raved about this dish!! I just have one question how many lbs for a party of 20-25? Thank you again! For all your inspiration! Oh and i also made the Pesto lazana everybody loved it!! Thanks again! Much Love Monica
FROM THE ITALIAN DISH:
Monica: Most times, people allow about 1/2 pound of meat per person. Hope this helps.