Spinach Stuffed Marinated Flank Steak Recipe

Aside from my vegetarian daughter, everyone else in my family is a huge fan of flank steak. So, when she was left yesterday to go to an amusement park with a friend, I took advantage of the opportunity and decided to try a new flank steak recipe. I was running low on frozen vegetables, all I had was spinach, so I decided to make a spinach stuffed flank steak. My experiments in cooking don’t always work out, but I’m happy to announce this one was a hit.

First, I started with a 1.5 pound flank steak.

Then, I very carefully butterflied it (cut it in half starting at the right edge and stopping just before the left edge so that I could open it up and spread it out like a butterfly). Despite my caution, I did a terrible job. The end result was NOT pretty. I didn’t really care since the inside gets stuffed and rolled up, except now you don’t have a picture of it.

After I butchered butterflied it, I placed it in a shallow roasting pan and sprinkled it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then, I flipped it over and seasoned the other side. Next, I poured the marinade over the flank steak making sure it was completely coated. You could also use a large Ziploc bag instead of a pan. I put it in the refrigerator and let it marinate for 6 hours. You really need to marinate it for at least 4 hours. The longer it soaks, the better, so you could even prep it a day in advance.

When I removed it from the refrigerator, I laid it out ugly side up and covered the evidence of my amateur butchery with diced onions, diced red bell pepper, and the spinach.

Next, I carefully rolled the flank steak starting at the bottom, squeezing it firmly to make sure it was rolled tight all the way to the top. Then I set the rolled flank steak on a foil-lined baking sheet.

At this point, I probably should have used some butcher’s string to hold it together but I didn’t have any so I took my chances. I’m happy to report, the roll held its shape and didn’t unravel during the roasting process.

I let it sit for a few minutes and then cut it into 1/2-inch slices. Here was the end result:

Some notes: If I had been making this for just me and my husband, I would have added mushrooms and Gorgonzola. Since I knew I was pressing my luck with the spinach, I decided not to risk turning off all the children so I skipped them this go-round.

Spinach Stuffed Flank Steak

Ingredients

• 1 ½ – 2 lb flank steak
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• ¼ c red wine
• ¼ c Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ c soy sauce
• ¼ c olive oil
• 10 oz pkg frozen spinach, cooked and squeezed dry
• ½ onion, diced
• ½ red bell pepper, diced
• 4-5 mushrooms, diced (optional)
• 1 oz Gorgonzola cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Butterfly the flank steak (or ask your butcher to do it at the store) and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Combine red wine, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and olive oil in small bowl. Marinate flank steak in the mixture for 4 hours to overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Remove flank steak from marinade. Lay it out with cut side up. Top with spinach, onion, bell pepper, and optional ingredients.
5. Carefully roll flank steak into a log starting from the bottom edge. Secure with butcher’s string every 2 inches, if desired.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until meat thermometer reaches 145 degrees.
7. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch slices.