Smoked Flank Steak Recipe: Tips for Smoking Flank Steak

Flank steak is a lean cut of meat taken from a cow’s abdominal muscles, under the loin. Compared to other cuts of beef, it’s particularly tough due to its dense concentration of muscle fibers, much like skirt steak. Although it’s tough, flank steak has plenty of beefy flavor and is great at soaking up marinades, from soy sauce to balsamic vinegar. Marinating flank steak will also help tenderize the meat while adding robust flavor.

Flank steak recipes typically call for cooking the meat over high heat and slicing it thinly for dishes like carne asada tacos, London broil, steak salad, and steak fajitas. Still, this cut can also benefit from low-and-slow cooking methods like smoking.

Smoked flank steak is a preparation of flank steak cooked through the indirect heat of woodsmoke. While smoking flank steak takes longer than grilling or searing it on the stovetop (about two hours versus ten minutes), the resulting smoky flavor and tender meat are worth the wait.

Serve smoked flank steak with your favorite BBQ sauce or chimichurri, a popular asado (barbecue) condiment in Argentina.

Here’s how to make tender, flavorful smoked flank steak at home.

1. 1. Use a marinade. The process of marinating your flank steak has two benefits: It adds flavor and helps tenderize the meat, as long as at least one of your marinade ingredients is acidic. Typically, the acid-to-fat ratio in a marinade is two parts acid to one part oil. Experiment with different acids (like lemon juice and red wine vinegar) and fats (such as olive oil, coconut oil, or canola oil) to find your perfect marinade. Marinate your meat for a maximum of twelve hours—any longer will over-tenderize the exterior, leaving your protein with a mushy texture.
2. 2. Choose the right smoker. Decide what kind of smoker you’re going to use: Pellet grills or smokers are user-friendly but can be difficult to troubleshoot because of how high-tech they are. Charcoal smokers benefit from the addition of wood chunks to add extra flavor, though most of the smoke comes from charcoal. Learn about the different types of BBQ smokers.
3. 3. Select your wood. Choose the wood that works best for your smoker, which will always be a type of hardwood such as hickory or mesquite. Different types of smokers require different types of wood, so it is important to do your research. You’ll need wood chips for grill smoking, whereas wood chunks are best for kettle grills.
   
4. 4. Get an accurate temperature reading. Remove your flank steak from the smoker when the internal temperature of the thickest part of the steak reaches 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a digital thermometer with an external probe or check the doneness frequently using a meat thermometer or instant-read thermometer to know exactly when to pull your flank steak.
5. 5. Slice against the grain. When it comes to smoking flank steak, the cooking doesn’t stop when you pull the meat out of the smoker. You have one more opportunity to get tender meat: slicing. Slicing flank steak against the grain shortens the muscle fibers, effectively tenderizing the meat.