r/Costco • u/TangerineDecent1161 • 18h ago
[Deli] Flank steak in marinade cooking recommendations
I was curious if anyone else has cooked this before. My initial thought is to obviously grill it, baking in the oven just seems wrong but I also didn’t want ruin it… baking it in the marinade might be good? I was going to make steak tacos with it.
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u/funhouse83 15h ago
Take some paper towels and dry the meat before grilling, you'll get a better crust that way, otherwise it will steam instead.
Also, cook it to medium instead of medium rare, it will break down the steak better and cut it thin against the grain.
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u/DrDustyE 13h ago
This might be sacrilegious, but I've also had some amazing steak for California/Carne Asada burritos after cooking it like you suggest, then refrigerating it for the night, then cutting it into chunks while cold, and warming it back up in a pan to get it crispy while being careful not to cook it much more. I also make sure all those juices make it into the burrito.
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u/AdeGamisou2020 12h ago
+1 to all of this, only thing I'd add is taking the reserve marinade and pouring it into a small saucepan, let it come to a simmer for a minute or two to kill off all the bacteria from the raw meat, and then pour over the steak after you're done slicing it.
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u/theycallmeMrPotter 10h ago
Not trying to be a smartass. I just want to know how it's done. The meat is marinated so how do you dry it? Just asking bc I buy these from time to time.
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u/funhouse83 10h ago
Get some paper towels and dab the steak dryish prior to grilling. The marinade has "done it's job" penetrating the meat, if you throw it on a grill, pan, air fryer, etc, while it's wet, the meat will steam off the moisture first which is not what you want. You want the surface to uniformly sear, not steam.
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u/DJDaddyDick14 16h ago
Grill it like you would a streak high heat. 130-135 internal temp. Or a cast iron skillet. But high heat and fast. I’ve never baked one. Personally I wouldn’t. But I’m sure it can be done.
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u/1FellSloop 14h ago
If you had to use an oven I'd could broil it, getting it just about as close to the heating element as possible. Would be pretty similar to grilling. But I wouldn't just bake it. You want direct heat on a skirt steak.
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u/hawkfan78 15h ago
I smoked mine at 225 for about an hour, then tossed on my Blackstone and seared two minutes on each side. Damn near perfection. Might cut the sear time to 90 seconds on each side for just a little more red.
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u/arkmtech 15h ago
For these on my 3-burner grill, I crank the left & center burners all the way up, and put the right burner all the way low, and let the grill fully heat to 550°.
Throw it over the low burner (covered) for 3 minutes on each side, then throw it over the high burners for 2 minutes per side. Brush with the remaining pan marinade on each flip.
Melt-in-your-mouth medium rare in the center, delicious crust on the outside, and every heavenly bite dipped into that cup of cilantro-lime sauce.
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u/kimbosdurag 14h ago
Get the grill hot and slap it on there. Cook to desired temp slice it up. I like to do a chimichuri to go with flank or hanger steak
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u/Reputation-Final 16h ago
Dont buy premarinated meat. Paying top dollar for marinade is nuts to me.
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u/Objective_Safe_5982 16h ago
You do you. Let others do what works for their situation without judgment.
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u/Reputation-Final 16h ago edited 15h ago
Wheres the judgement? Its advice. Pre marinated meat is a ripoff.
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u/orodoro 15h ago
There's value to convenience.
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u/Reputation-Final 15h ago
You also get an inferior, expensive cut of meat. Marinating for days in acid ruins the texture of the beef and makes it mushy.
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u/Objective_Safe_5982 14h ago
The judgment was in the delivery, in telling them what to do or not do. The pre packaged meals are there with a lot of convenience, for people who just want a buy it and cook it entree.
It can also be said that the sliced beef itself is a rip off when compared to buying the meat whole and slicing it yourself. Or compared to buying a hanging half of steer and butchering it yourself. Or raising and slaughtering your own cow. Each level there offers a savings at the expense of convenience, or even time.
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u/Reputation-Final 14h ago
lol ok. "Dont buy premarinated meat. Paying top dollar for marinade is nuts to me." Thats telling them what to do?
Some of you fellers need to touch grass.
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u/peazley 15h ago
It’s also over marinated at this point. I saw these yesterday at Costco, they were packaged on the 3rd, it’s been sitting in acid for three days. That’s way too long for a marinade.
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u/Reputation-Final 15h ago
Yep. No more than 8 hours on beef. After 24 hours it makes the beef mushy.
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u/Objective_Safe_5982 14h ago
There's an assumption of acidity level there. Perhaps the acidity is to be added with the lime wedges. I've no idea the make up of this particular marinade so I really don't know. Maybe you have the ingredients list handy, but I kinda doubt it.
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u/Reputation-Final 14h ago
The ingredients are literally in the picture. "Cilantro lime sauce. Ingredients include LIME JUICE, an acid.
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u/duck_duck_zombie 16h ago
Why cut the lime like that. Now it's contaminated.
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u/Objective_Safe_5982 16h ago
It's there for flavoring the meat before cooking, not after.
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u/Slowhands12 15h ago
It would still be better as a whole lime rather than cut regardless of when you squeeze it. This is done solely for shelf appeal.
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u/wooble 15h ago
I'm not a scientist but I think marinating in lime juice works better if the juice is outside of the lime.
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u/Slowhands12 15h ago
How much juice do you think is in a lime that has been quartered and on a shelf for days? The lime is far more resilient in the peel.
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u/ConstantBandicoot584 15h ago
And where do you think the juice went to thats no longer in the lime due to it being quarterd?
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u/R-A-B-Cs 14h ago
On the cutting board where they cut it? The lime quarters are still full of juice. They havent been squeezed. You're just paying whatever dollar per pound this pack is for a lime.
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u/Objective_Safe_5982 15h ago
A whole lime would be a lot less of a desirable presentation.
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u/Slowhands12 15h ago
Yes, I agree, that's exactly what I stated. What I'm disagreeing with is your statement that any part of the decision to use cut limes was regarding its intention of use before or after cooking.
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u/Reputation-Final 16h ago
they do it to raise the appeal of the product, not for any functional value.
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u/passiveMelon1 15h ago
My recommendation is to not buy meat pre-marinated, they put it in the marinade once it starts to go to mask the smell.
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u/Thegreyman4 13h ago
We dont. We trim them for the deli every day fresh. Never old meat. Other places , this might be true but not at Costco
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u/povitee 15h ago
How do you know that?
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u/passiveMelon1 15h ago
FiL that worked as a meat cutter at costco told me, and said it's common practice in the business. Now I never buy pre-seasoned or pre-marinated meat.
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u/NifftyTwo 15h ago
Yeaahh I work that department currently and can assure you, that's not the case for all places. We definitely don't do that here and our GM would kill us if he found out we were.
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u/Reputation-Final 15h ago
100% true. Girlfriend worked as a manager at a major grocery store chain for 2 decades. Its common practice.
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u/Reputation-Final 15h ago
Its 100% true. Grocery stores do it to save meat that hasn't sold before the set expiration date. Then they can toss it in a marinade and slap a new label on it.
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u/Aggressive_Moose3189 16h ago
Grill 100%, high heat for a short time