Recipes Ingredients Meat & Poultry Beef Recipes Flank Steak With Lime Marinade This warm-weather dinner couldn't be easier. Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe Our grilled flank steak recipe is just the thing for a laid-back summer night. It features an easy and aromatic marinade that brings big flavor to the quick-cooking beef cut. Toss together the marinade ingredients in a bag—you’ll only need scallions, ginger, lime juice, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes—and let it work its magic on the meat for about an hour in the refrigerator. From there, it needs just 10 minutes on a grill and a brief rest before it’s ready for slicing. Serve it with a side or two, tuck slices into sandwiches, or arrange it over a salad for a light yet satisfying dinner. With a recipe this easy and delicious, it’s hard to go wrong. 14 Steak Marinades for Grilling or Broiling Your Favorite Cuts Credit: Jake Sternquist Why You Should Marinate Flank Steak (And How Long To Do It) Lacking the kind of rich-tasting fat that keeps other steaks—like strips and sirloins—moist and juicy as they cook, flank steak benefits from a quick cook over direct heat. Adding a punchy marinade—something salty, tangy, and rich in aromatics—is an easy and effective way to enhance its flavor and add complexity. (A bold rub also works well.) When the marinated meat hits a hot grill or pan, it will brown more quickly and take on a more substantial (read: flavorful) crust than had it just been seasoned with salt and pepper. How Long to Marinate Flank Steak You don't need a ton of time to marinate this muscular cut. In as little as one hour, it'll absorb plenty of flavor, though you can leave it in the marinade for up to six hours. (Since there's quite a bit of lime juice in the marinade, you won't want to leave it for much longer than that lest it start to become mushy.) One key tip: Be sure to scrape off any bits of scallion and ginger after removing the meat from the marinade and pat it very well dry before cooking. Ingredients for This Recipe Flank steak: This cut doesn't require a ton of prep before marinating, though you will want to trim off any silver skin or bits of gristle. After cooking and letting the meat rest, always slice it against—or perpendicular to—the grain, which will make it less chewy. Lime juice: A few tablespoons of fresh lime juice adds tangy brightness to the marinade. Because lime juice is very acidic, it will eventually begin to denature the proteins in the meat, which can make them mushy and take on a grayish color. To be on the safe side, don't leave the flank steak in the marinade for longer than six hours. Ginger: You'll need 2 tablespoons of minced fresh ginger for this recipe. If you're pressed for time, you can skip peeling the ginger as you'll be scraping most of it off anyway, just give the piece a good rinse before grating. Scallions: Two thinly sliced scallions lend a mild allium note to this easy marinade. Slice up an extra one to sprinkle over the meat after grilling, or toss a few extras from the bunch with oil and grill them briefly alongside the meat for even more flavor. Soy sauce: Umami-rich soy sauce is this marinade's secret weapon, caramelizing beautifully over high heat to take on a deep, savory complexity. Both regular and reduced-sodium soy sauce will work well here, as will gluten-free tamari. Red pepper flakes: For a subtle kick, we add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Leave them out if you prefer a milder flavor or increase the amount for extra heat. Directions Credit: Jake Sternquist Make marinade; add steak and refrigerate: In a resealable plastic bag, combine lime juice, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, and red-pepper flakes. Add the steak, seal the bag (place it in a dish to catch any leaks), and marinate in the refrigerator, turning occasionally, for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. Credit: Jake Sternquist Credit: Jake Sternquist Heat grill; remove steak from marinade: Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. Remove steak from marinade, letting excess drip off, then scrape off any bits of scallion and ginger and pat steak dry (discard marinade); season with salt and black pepper. Credit: Jake Sternquist Grill steak, turning once: Place on grill; cover. Cook, turning once, until meat reaches desired doneness, 6 to 8 minutes for medium-rare. To achieve restaurant-worthy grill marks, rotate the steak 90 degrees halfway through cooking the first side, then repeat when grilling the second side. Credit: Jake Sternquist Let rest, then slice: Let steak rest 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain. Credit: Jake Sternquist Storing and Reheating Flank Steak If you find yourself with leftover flank steak, you can refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy thinly sliced steak cold or room temperature on sandwiches (they'd be delicious with a tangle of arugula and this tangy caper sauce), or reheat leftover meat for enjoying in rice bowls, tucked into tortillas, or on top of salads. How to Reheat Flank Steak So It Doesn't Dry Out Allowing flank steak to come to room temperature before reheating will reduce the time it needs in the skillet or oven, which helps keep it moist and juicy. To reheat sliced flank steak, add slices to a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat and cook, flipping occasionally, until heated through. If you have an unsliced portion, you can wrap it in foil and reheat it in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven until warmed through. What to Serve With Marinated Flank Steak Starches: This juicy marinated flank steak would be excellent accompanied by a starchy side like our ginger rice, this easy arborio rice, or—for something a bit more complex—this grilled asparagus and farro salad. Salads: Speaking of fresh greens, you could also pair it with this peppery watercress, strawberry, and toasted sesame number or this green salad with pickled-shallot vinaigrette. Vegetable sides: You can't go wrong with our grilled zucchini with miso, some sautéed green beans, or this aromatic creamed spinach with coconut. 5 More Grilled Steak Recipes to Try Marinated Flank Steak Sandwiches Grilled Skirt Steak Salad Soy-Marinated Flank Steak Grilled Cowboy Steak Grilled Porterhouse With Brown Butter and Horseradish Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.