Flank Steak with Garlic Butter Sauce

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Grilled Flank Steak with Garlic Butter Sauce, is the best flank steak recipe ever. Tender grilled steak topped with a 3-ingredient, restaurant-style garlic butter sauce -perfect for summer grilling. Serve with rice, potatoes or your favorite vegetables!

plate of flank steak with garlic butter sauce and sour cream and chives in the background

If you have been to my house for dinner in the last few months, there is a good chance that I have made you this steak. I think this was my 5th time making it. I love this recipe. It is easy and incredibly delicious.

I like to use flank steak, but you could use skirt steak, sirloin, or whatever you like. The garlic butter “sauce” is more like butter and minced garlic melted together. The garlic mellows as it melts into the butter, so it is not as strong as it sounds.


Pour the sauce over the flank steak and top with lots of chopped parsley. I serve it with grilled asparagus, and if I am really inspired, baked potatoes with my homemade ranch. It might sound a little weird, but it is basically herb sour cream, and it goes great with baked potatoes.

ingredients for flank steak with garlic butter sauce

Ingredients for Flank Steak with Garlic Butter Sauce

  • Flank Steak – Flank is a flavorful cut of beef, good for grilling, broiling, pan-searing, etc.
  • Olive Oil – is used to marinate and tenderize the steak.
  • Salt and Pepper – enhances the natural, delicious flavors of beef.
  • Garlic Cloves – are used to flavor the marinade.
  • Thyme and Rosemary Sprigs – These woody herbs enhance the flavor of steak without overpowering it (sprigs of sage and tarragon also taste great).

For the easy garlic butter sauce:

  • Butter – absorbs the flavors added to it and makes the steak nice and buttery. It’s a great base for many sauces.
  • Garlic – This is the perfect pairing with butter and just makes everything taste better.
  • Flat Leaf Parsley – adds fresh flavor, green color and livens up the whole dish.

How to Make – The Steps

raw flank steak on a pan with  fresh herbs
  1. A few hours before grilling, marinate your flank steak. Season both sides well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and rub with garlic cloves.
  2. Lay fresh herbs underneath and on top of the steak. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours.
  3. Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes before you are ready to grill. It was pouring outside, so I grilled mine on my indoor grill, but I prefer to cook it outside on the grill. Heat to high heat and cook 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until rare to medium.
  4. Cover the cooked steak with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. This is a really important step. If you try to slice your steak without letting it rest, the juices will release and it will not be nearly as tender.
  5. While the steak is resting, start the butter sauce. Add a stick of butter, 4 cloves of minced garlic and a generous pinch of salt to a saucepan.
  6. Melt over medium-low heat. The garlic will slowly cook in the butter.
  7. Slice the flank steak against the grain as thinly as possible.
  8. Pour garlic butter over steak and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

How to Make Flank Steak in the Oven //

You can make flank steak in the oven with delicious results using a cast-iron skillet. The key to getting flank steak cooked perfectly is quickly searing the outside and getting the steak cooked medium-rare to medium. Follow the grill instructions for marinating and then:

  1. In a cast-iron skillet, heat olive oil over high heat.
  2. Add marinated flank and quickly sear on all sides.
  3. Transfer the skillet to a 400-degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes or until steak reaches the desired temperature.
  4. Let rest and serve with garlic butter sauce.
freshly baked flank steak resting on a pan

Tips & Tricks

  • Always let your meat sit out at room temperature before cooking. Doing so produces juicier, evenly cooked meat.
  • Flank steak is best-cooked medium-rare to medium. Overcooked flank is tough and chewy.
  • While the steak is resting under the foil, the residual heat will cook it a bit further, so you may want to take the steak off the grill just before it reaches your desired doneness.

I am not a huge kitchen gadget kind of girl, but I am loving this garlic twist. Use the bottom to crack the skins off of the garlic, and add the garlic, and twist it around until it is minced. I usually use my microplane to mince garlic, but this works great if you need quite a few.

flank steak with garlic butter sauce and a baked potato with sour cream and chives

Why is Flank Steak with Garlic Butter Sauce So Good?

  • When marinated, flank is a tasty cut of beef. It tenderizes in marinade very well.
  • When prepared properly, the flank steak is juicy and tender -similar to more expensive cuts but a fraction of the cost.
  • Flank steak is a great way to prepare a steakhouse-style dinner for a large group for a dinner party.
  • There’s no need to hover over the grill. Flank grills up very quickly. The sauce is quick and easy to make too.
  • The mix of garlic and butter in the sauce is the perfect pairing for steak. You’ll want to drizzle it over everything!
flank steak with garlic butter sauce on a plate

Variations

  • Cuts of steak you could also use are flat iron, skirt steak, sirloin, and hanger. All of these tenderize well in marinade and grill up tender and juicy.
  • Try adding freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice to the marinade. The citrus adds flavor and helps soften the beef.
  • Mix olive oil with fresh chopped herbs like cilantro and parsley to make a chimichurri marinade.
  • Saute sliced mushrooms and onions in the garlic butter sauce to use as a steak topping.
  • Sprinkle blue cheese crumbles on the steak a few minutes before the steaks are done cooking for a deliciously tangy bite.
  • The garlic butter sauce is the best sauce for flank, but it’s also a star all on its own and can be used for seafood, breadsticks, pasta, etc.
flank steak with garlic butter sauce and a baked potato with sour cream and chives on a plate

How to Store and Reheat

Storing – Store cooked steak in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Reheating – When reheating cooked steak, to prevent it from overcooking as much as possible, sear all sides over high heat for 30 seconds.

Make-Ahead and Freezer Options

The garlic butter sauce can be frozen and quickly reheated (try freezing it in ice cube trays to have on hand as needed ). Cooked flank steak does not freeze well.

flank steak with garlic butter sauce on a plate with a baked potato with sour cream, chives and a fork

FAQ for Making Grilled Flank Steak with Garlic Butter Sauce//

How long should I marinate flank steak?

4 to 12 hours is ideal. In 4 hours, the steak will have absorbed plenty of flavors. The longer the steak marinates, the more tender it becomes.

How do you know when flank steak is done?

Flank steak is best cooked to an internal temperature of 125 degrees for rare to 145 degrees for medium. Do not overcook.

What’s the best sauce for flank steak?

The garlic butter sauce in this recipe. It’s quick, simple and delicious.

What is flank steak best used in?

This lean cut is best for fajitas, tacos London broil and stir fry.

More Steak & Beef Recipes

Steak and Potato Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing

Red Wine Strip Steaks

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Slow Cooker Korean Beef Tacos

plate of flank steak with garlic butter sauce and sour cream and chives in the background

Flank Steak with Garlic Butter Sauce

bakedbree
4.80 from 5 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Additional Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 52 minutes
Course beef
Cuisine American
Calories 189 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • flank steak or skirt, or really whatever cut you like
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • fresh thyme sprigs
  • fresh rosemary sprigs

Garlic Butter Sauce //

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • salt
  • 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley chopped

Instructions
 

  • A few hours before you want to grill, begin to marinate your steak. Season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and rub with garlic cloves. Lay fresh herbs underneath and on top of the steak. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours.
  • Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes before you are ready to grill. Heat to high heat, and cook for 4 to 6 minutes on each side. 
  • Cover the cooked steak with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. 
  • While the steak is resting, start the butter sauce. Add a 1/2 cup of butter, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and a generous pinch of salt to a saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat. The garlic will slowly cook in the butter. Slice the flank steak against the grain as thinly as possible. 
  • Pour garlic butter over steak and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 189kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 4gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 278mg
Keyword flank steak, garlic butter, oven baked flank steak, sauce for steak
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