Labor day is just around the corner and if you’re anything like me, you’ve been counting down the days to the three-day holiday. It’s the perfect time to enjoy the long sunny days with (slightly) cooler temperatures and grill out with family and friends.
Kabobs are my favorite things to grill – whether they’re shrimp or chicken or veggie skewers. They are so easy to throw together for large groups of people, plus they’re filling and nutritious. This grilled flank steak with veggies is no exception!
There are different theories on how long you should marinate flank steak. Some say that marinating it for a day or two makes for the most tender meat, while others say that it’s pointless because very little actually penetrates the surface.
I say, “Enough with your theories! You’re not the boss of me!” But in actuality, I’ve tried this both ways – I typically like to marinade overnight, but for this recipe, I marinated the meat around lunch time and grilled it after work. The meat was still tender, but the 6 hour marinade yielded slightly firmer results (still delicious though!). However, in my opinion, the amount of time you marinate is only a portion of having a good result. It’s also important to (1) have the right combination of marinade ingredients and to (2) know that the tenderness of your meat is a result of your cooking time. We like our meat medium rare, which means I leave it on the grill slightly longer than just searing the edges. A medium rare cut of meat will always be more tender than a well done cut of meat.
The essential ingredients for a good marinade should include: oil, salt (ex: kosher salt, soy sauce), acid (ex: vinegars, lemons/limes), herbs (ex: garlic, cumin, coriander), and sugars (ex: honey, brown sugar). This recipes uses a little of each for the marinade, then olive oil and salt and pepper are rubbed on the sliced vegetables, and everything is skewered on wooden sticks and grilled on high heat.
I grilled these on my indoor stove top grill (about 2-3 minutes per side) and served over warm rice. The meat was perfectly seared on the outside, but still tender and pink on the inside, and the vegetables were just starting to soften.
I hope you enjoy! And have a wonderful holiday weekend! π
- 2 lbs flank steak
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1 1/2 inch chunks
- 10 oz whole baby bella mushrooms
- 1 yellow squash, sliced into thick rounds
- 1 zucchini, sliced into thick rounds
- 1 small red onion, chopped into 1 1/2 slices
- 2 tbsp olive oile
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- wooden skewers
- 2 lbs flank steak
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- Slice the steak in 1 inch - 1 1/4 inch cubes. Place the chopped steak in a shallow container. Whisk all marinade ingredients together, then pour over the steak. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Before grilling, soak the wooden skewers in water for an hour to prevent burning. Heat an oiled grill to high heat. Rub olive oil, salt, and pepper on sliced vegetables. Skewer meat and vegetables onto each skewer, but be careful not to "overcrowd" them. When grill is extremely hot, place each skewer on the grill and cook for about 8-10 minutes, rotating every 2-3 minutes, until your meat has reached your desired wellness. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Use wooden skewers instead of metal skewers if you prefer the center to be pink. Metal skewers can start cooking the meat from the inside in when they heat.
Anna says
This looks amazingly delicious!!
Jasmine says
Thanks so much, Anna!!
koolaidmoms says
These look wonderful!
Jasmine says
Thank you!! π
Lynz Real Cooking says
What a lovely dish! Yumm this looks so good Jasmine! I love the marinade it sounds very tasty!
Jasmine says
Thank you so much!! This is one of our favorites to make!! π
Lynz Real Cooking says
It looks amazing! I don’t know why I missed you again dear! your food is so gorgeous and delicious! thanks!
Jasmine says
You are too kind π
Lynz Real Cooking says
love your blog and your pictures are amazing! I need lessons Jasmine!
Jasmine says
And I need lessons from you for your mouthwatering middle eastern dishes!! Sounds like a fair trade to me!! π
Lynz Real Cooking says
OK!! yes!
goatsandgreens says
Thanks for the pointer on wooden vs. metal skewers. I’ll reserve the latter for something other than beef or lamb, now.
Jasmine says
No problem!! I learned that recently too π