Flank Steak
The flank steak is a broad lean piece of beef about an inch thick, which is taken from the inside of the hind quarter, under the flank; the grain of the meat runs the length of the piece, but it is quite tender and full of flavor. To prepare it, score the surface across the grain on both sides, using a sharp knife. Spread with a dressing of dry bread crumbs highly seasoned with salt and pepper, chopped onion and a pinch of thyme and moistened with a little melted suet or butter. Roll lengthwise and tie. Lay in a pan, pour in half an inch of good stock, gravy or a tomato sauce, cover closely and braise in a slow oven, for two hours.
A stuffed, rolled braise rather than a grilled steak — the two hours in a covered pan is what makes the tough, coarse-grained flank palatable. Everything else is seasoning.
- Slow ovenAround 300F is the usual modern reading of a "slow oven," though period ranges vary from about 250F to 325F. Two hours in a tightly covered pan should bring a rolled flank to fork-tender; check at 90 minutes if your piece is thin.
- The cut todayModern flank steak is often thinner than the inch described here, and commonly sold at around 1½ to 2 lb. Flap meat (bavette) comes from the adjoining bottom sirloin and inside skirt from the diaphragm; either rolls and braises much the same way.
- Score, then roll with the grainThe scoring is not decoration: the shallow cuts across the grain on both faces sever the long muscle fibers. Roll lengthwise as instructed so the finished slices cut across the grain.
- TyingButcher's twine at 1½-inch intervals, plus one loop lengthwise, keeps the stuffing in. Silicone-coated string or metal skewers work; do not use waxed or synthetic thread.
- SuetBeef suet is the fat from around the kidneys, sold at some butchers and rarely at supermarkets. Melted butter, as the recipe allows, or beef drippings do the same job of binding dry crumbs.
- Crumbs"Dry bread crumbs" here most likely means stale bread grated or crushed at home — coarse, not the fine sandy commercial kind. The recipe gives no quantity; moisten only until it clumps, as a wet stuffing turns pasty inside the roll.
- Liquid and lidHalf an inch of stock in the pan is a braise, not a roast, so the seal matters more than the depth. A tight lid or a double layer of foil crimped to the rim keeps the roll from drying at the top.
- Finishing and yieldRest the roll ten minutes before cutting into ¾-inch rounds; the recipe gives no yield, but a piece of this size will serve about four. Reduce the pan liquid over direct heat for a few minutes to make the gravy.
Rolled and stuffed beef of this kind runs through nineteenth-century Anglo-American cookery under several names — beef roll, mock duck, and in German and Central European kitchens Rouladen — all of them ways of dressing a modest cut for the table. Flank was one of the less valued parts of the carcass, which is why books of this period so often present it with a dressing and a long moist cooking rather than as a steak. The preference for a lean, well-seasoned rolled joint over an expensive rib also reflects the period's household economy.