Stuffed Flank Steak Pinwheels

I always get excited when I get my issue of Cooks Illustrated (thanks, mom-in-law!). It is one of those magazines that you have to really read through. There aren't a ton of pictures, and most of them are illustrations. The pages aren't glossy, and there isn't a single advertisement. The recipes are well thought out and definitely were given a LOT of thought. The writers are from America's Test Kitchen after all!

Because of this great attention to detail, sometimes the recipes that result are a little too involved for this cook's taste. I tried making their oven steak fries a couple of times, but the sheer number of steps quickly wore me out.

Recently, however, I was intrigued by the title "The Best Grilled Stuffed Flank Steak". I had a flank steak, I had a grill. It was time to get cooking.

Preparing and filling the steak consists of 6 simple steps.

1. Butterfly the 2-3 pound flank steak (lay it parallel with the counter), leaving 1/2 inch at the top to "hinge" it open.
2. Open the steak up and pound it flat, trimming the rough edges.
3. Rub with your herb mixture, and add your fillings. (see below for what I added).Roll the steak away from you to form a tight log.

4. Place the steak seam-side down and tie with string at 1 inch intervals.
5. Skewer the steak directly through each string. (No, I didn't just turn into a sasquatch. The hubs helped!)
6. Slice the steak between strings into pinwheels.

A couple of extra hints to keep in mind:

1. By butterflying the steak and then pounding it open, you eliminate having to totally pound out the flesh. The butterflying itself was a little tricky for me. The magazine recommends placing the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes before splitting it open.

2. If you don't have butcher twine, and don't want to have to search for it, ask your grocery store butcher. The hubs asked ours for some and came home with about 3 yards.

3. Soak your skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before using.

4. Be conservative with your filling amount (have you ever tried to roll an overstuffed burrito?).

I didn't like the recipe that they provided for the stuffing, so I used what I had on hand, sneaking in some of my favorites!

For the herb mixture:
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons basil, finely chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1-1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil


For the filling:
these are approximate
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons capers
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

To cook the steaks, place them on your grill (the hubs used the charcoal grill) until they are to your desired doneness. Remove the butcher twine and skewers and enjoy!