A Fajita Fiesta, Cooked Without a Mess
As a lean cut of meat, flank steak is best when it's cooked fast over high heat. That doesn't mean you can't cook flank steak with your favorite cooking tool and working mom time-saver, the Crock-Pot. With the right recipe and settings, you can make a delicious flank steak without the mess. This Mexican-inspired flank steak recipe makes a good filling for tacos or fajitas.
Flank steak is a tougher cut of meat because of its location on the cow. It comes from the hard-working, heavily muscled abdominal area. As a leaner cut of beef, flank steak has a very meaty flavor that works best cut thinly against the grain. Marinades not only add flavor to this steak, but are often used to help make this tough cut of meat a little more tender.
Tip
If you have a favorite marinade for your flank steak, use that as the liquid base for your cooking in your Crock-Pot. However, because the Crock-Pot adds steam to the dish, only add about 80 percent of the liquid from your marinade to the Crock-Pot during cooking. Also, because flavors intensify with the duration of cooking, be light-handed with the spices, onion and garlic, cutting the amounts in half.
Total Time: 6 to 7 hours | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Serves: 8
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds flank steak
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 cup beef broth
Directions:
- Coat a 6- to 8-quart Crock-Pot with oil.
- Place your steak in the Crock-Pot and top with all ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
- Once done cooking, shred meat with a fork.
Serve your flank steak in a soft tortilla with shredded cheese, pico de gallo and lettuce.
Tip
For extra flavor, place sliced peppers and onions in your Crock-Pot before the steak and cook as directed.
If you prefer Asian-style flank steak, marinate sliced flank steak in teriyaki sauce overnight and place meat in Crock-Pot and cook on low-heat for 4 to 5 hours.
For a simple and tender flank steak, place your steak in the Crock-Pot, season with salt and pepper, and add a chopped onion, basil, bay leaf and 1/2 cup of water. Cook on low-heat for 8 hours. Your steak should come out fork-tender and full of flavor.
Warning
Food can sit in your Crock-Pot after it shuts itself off for 2 hours. Anything beyond that, and you risk the food falling below the safe temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The warm setting on your Crock-Pot helps keep foods at the right temperature if you get stuck in traffic or have a late meeting.
References
Writer Bio
Jill Corleone is a registered dietitian and health coach who has been writing and sharing her love of food, nutrition and health with anyone who'll listen for almost 20 years. Her work has been featured on the Huffington Post, Diabetes Self-Management and Working Mother.