What Should You Know About Flank Steak?
As its name indicated, flank steak is a kind of meat lying in the belly muscles of the cow. It is not a kind of steak technically.
People also call them jiffy steak, London broil, or bavette in some regions.
The meat is versatile, flavorful, and inexpensive. Often, people cook the whole flank steak. They do not divide it into small pieces cause it might reduce the slightly sweet flavor of the beef in the food processor.
Concerning its size, most flank steaks are around one inch thick and a foot long. To identify the flank steak, you can directly look at its cross-grain.
When you taste the flank steak, you will find its flavor assertive, rich, and beefy enough to be the center part of any dish. On the other hand, it does not offer a fatty and silky mouthfeel as further cuts of beef with more marbles.
Of course, you can marinate and tenderize the flank steak with a wide variety of ingredients such as fruit juice, citrus-like pineapple and orange, mustard, soy sauce, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and other enzyme-rich spices. That tends to enrich the flank steak’s flavor incredibly.
7 Ways to Best Substitutes For Flank Steak
You might be unable to find the flank steak in your pantry from time to time. That is when you need a suitable replacement. That includes hanger steak, tri-tip steak, flat iron steak, skirt steak, top round, bavette steak, and tofu.
1. Hanger Steak
When you find it is hard to choose between many substitutes, I suggest hanging steak as one of the best options. Firstly, you may not want to reject its delectable flavor.
More than that, it takes less time to prepare this kind of steak. Plus, being incredibly delicate is another highlight of the cut of beef.
For more details, you can notice the hanger steak lies in the lower abdomen of the cow. Strong and luscious tastes are another impressive characteristic of the meat.
To create a meaty flavor, you can finely slice the steak and soak it in fat. When you try the meat, it might remind you about the cut of livers. They feature a similarly lush and sweet flavor.
Moreover, the flank steak can be cooked in many ways, ranging from pan-searing to grilling. Mainly, it can be an excellent replacement for flank steak in fajitas.
Remember that you should grill the hanger steak for one to two minutes only. If you do that for a long time, it might lead to excessively rough steaks. Plus, finding this food might be more challenging than others.
2. Tri-tip Steak
A tri-tip steak is a perfect option for those who want to save a budget. It comes from the tip or bottom of the sirloin. The triangular boneless beef is also called triangle steak.
The tri-tip steak has a flat edge, making it trimmable as another beef part. Keep in mind to chop the steak before cooking to increase flavor’s impression and save time.
You can find the tri-tip steak in many regions, especially in Santa Maria-style barbecue, California wine country. It would help if you used the red oak fire to cook the sirloin.
Talking about its origination, tri-tip steak is made by a local grocer called Bob Schutz. While he was looking for ways to transfer the cuts of triangular boneless beef, he created the tri-tip steak.
Before that, it is often used in stew meat or ground format.
3. Flat Iron Steak
Flat iron steak can be an excellent substitute for flank steak for they are easy to find in most groceries in the United States.
The flat iron steak is crafted and sliced in half from the premium steak. According to many cooking, experts cutting those steaks could ultimately go up the density of the fat tissue.
There are many ways to cook the flat iron steak, ranging from pan-fried, grilled to slow-cooked. Of course, avoid overdoing the ingredient if you do not want to make it challenging or chewy.
You might find it challenging to locate the flat iron steak from time to time. Then, noticing it on the bottom sirloin or top sirloin would help.
4. Skirt Steak
When it comes to the skirt beef, you would be satisfied with its sufficiency in any local butcher. You can notice it in the diaphragm area of the cow.
Compared with the flank steak, skirt steak offers more fat and juiciness. Suppose you are not sure about the option; think about the marbling-fatten and slender feature of the beef cut, to be more specific. It also has leaner pieces than its counterpart.
For the limited thickness, the skirt steaks should be cooked in a shorter time than usual. If not, a tougher mouthfeel is unavoidable.
5. Top Round
For someone who has not known, both flank steak and top round have another name as London broil steaks. That is to say; full round can be an excellent substitute for the flank steak in many cases. Primarily, it is useful when the food contains marinade.
Both top round and flank steak are tough and lean, similar to other members of the steak family. Hence, when you come to any butcher shop and ask for a London broil, you might get different beef, the flank steak, and top round or other tough cuts.
For those who have not known, while its name is London broil, the cooking style might not have in its root London. Instead, according to some studies, it comes from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1930s.
6. Bavette Steak
When you feel tired of trying to find a cheap, albeit delicious, substitute for flank steak, think about the bavette steak as a practical option.
Bear in mind that you should cook it with high heat cause it might be more tender than other types. Moreover, the steak’s rigid structure can effectively and quickly absorb marinades.
It might be pretty similar to the skirt steak when you have a close look at the bavette steak. However, the bavette steak offers denser muscle fibers, leading to a thicker structure. In some cases, that could make it harder to let the marinades come into the steak.
7. Tofu
Suppose you seek a non-beef replacement for the flank steak; take a look at the tofu. It could be a vegetarian-friendly and nutritious ingredient. More than that, tofu can replace well with other soy-based meat due to its flexibility in absorbing smells and tastes.
Some of my friends do not like the tofu taste much from time to time. Then, I would add it into the stir-fries to enhance the dish’s flavor. More than that, the flavor is rich in protein, promising to bring you a fresh taste.
Is sirloin and flank steak similar?
While both are parts of the cow, they lie in different areas. For more detail, the flank steak sits under the sirloin and loin. It belongs to the abdominal position of the animal, helping it walk and twist easily.
What are the other names of the flank steak?
They also call flank steak skirt steak and London broil. It lies behind the animal’s chest, right in the abdominal muscles of cows.
Which tastes better?? Flank steak vs Flat Iron Steak — steak experiment
Conclusion
In conclusion, above is a standard list of the seven best substitutes for flank steak.
Hopefully, you will have the best meals with your friends and families, following the suggestions.