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These Flank Steak Pinwheels are quick and easy and so full of flavor without the need to spend time marinating! The flavor comes from slathering it with a mixture of Caramelized Onions, Cream Cheese and Blue Cheese. Next, it is rolled up and seared and cooked to desired doneness, then sliced and presented in pinwheel form. It is the easiest way I can think of to really wow your guests with flavor and presentation, and as I said, it takes very little time!
Flank Steak I feel, is an under appreciated cut of beef. It is not glamorous like the Filet Mignon, or Sexy and Cowboyish like the Ribeye. It is kind of like the guy who was always sitting in the back of the class, unnoticed, until one day you read about him making his first Billion. Nobody cared until they saw what he could do! Ok, maybe this is a little dramatic, but my point is that Flank Steak should not be ignored! In this recipe, my mission is to prove to you how he can be just as jaw droppingly good as those other guys.
Ingredients
- 2 lb Flank Steak
- 1 8 ounce Package Cream Cheese
- 1 sweet onion
- Brown Sugar
- Blue Cheese Crumbles
- Salt and Pepper
How to Make the Filling
Most flank steak recipes require marinating. This is a no flank steak marinade recipe! The ingredients in this recipe are all so flavorful and full of texture, that there isn’t a need for more than just a few items!
You will start by slicing the onions thinly. Then place them in a sauté pan on medium heat to slowly caramelize.
Once they are caramelized, dark and soft, add them to a bowl on top of the the cream cheese and blue cheese. The heat from the onions will soften the cheeses making them easier to blend.
Mash everything together until the cheeses and onions are all fully incorporated. Season it with a little salt and pepper, and it’s ready to go!
How to Roll Flank Steak Pinwheels
One of the things that will make this process even easier, is having your flank steak tenderized in advance. If you buy your flank steak from a butcher, or even the meat counter at your grocery store, just ask them to run it through the cubing machine. It will take them 30 seconds and trust me, it’s a game changer! Not only does it make it fork tender, but it also makes it a piece of cake to stuff and roll. And stuffing and rolling it is what makes it seem way more bougie a meal than it actually is!
If you already have a flank steak and didn’t have it run through the cuber, that’s ok! Just get out your tenderizing mallet, or can of whatever you have in your pantry, and start pounding away! Pound it until it is tender and floppy and about 1/2 inch thick.
How to Stuff and Roll it
Next, lay it out flat with the short side closest to you. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Normally you marinate a flank steak to tenderize it and to add flavor. However, with this technique, it will be tender from the cubing, and the delicious flavors will be found in the filling that almost forms a cheesey, oniony sauce. I promise, you’ll save time and ingredients and you won’t miss the marinade a bit!
Smear your onion and cheese mixture all over the meat. Leave about an inch on each side. You will need the inch because you will be rolling it and tying the ends shut to keep all the goodness from oozing out. To start rolling the steak, just tuck the short end over onto itself and roll! Make sure it is rolled as tightly as possible without squishing the mixture out the ends.
How to Tie it up
Watch the video below to see a demo of how to tie it up. I will say it isn’t the prettiest tie job, but the string is purely functional. The magic happens once it’s cooked and sliced into pinwheels! Because the wrapping is done so quickly in the video, I will just explain briefly how it works. Here are the steps:
- Cut a 3 foot section of bakers twine, like this organic one.
- Wrap the string around one of the short ends and tie it tightly and knot it.
- With the seam side up, pull the string along the seam about 3 inches.
- Hold the string in place at that 3 inch in spot, and then use the other hand to wrap the loose end of the string around the steak, and then through the part you are holding, so it is secured in place.
- Pull the string along the seam another 3 inches and repeat this process until you have reached the end of the steak.
- Tie the end off. That’s it!
Cooking Technique
Once it is rolled and ready to cook, you can choose which technique you’d like to use. If you have a nice big cast iron pan, you can heat that up until it is almost smoking, and then sear the meat on all sides, and then finish it in the oven.
The other option is to sear it on all sides on a hot grill and then finish cooking it on a cooler spot on the grill.
Either technique should take about 20-30 minutes depending on the degree of wellness or rareness that you prefer. For medium rare steak, cook the steak until your thermometer reads 128-130°F. If you need a grilling game changer, check out this Meater wireless thermometer. If you need a gift that the griller in your life will LOVE, I promise you, this is it!
Once you pull it off the heat, let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing it in 1-2 inch pinwheels. Serve it with roasted asparagus or potatoes and a green salad and you have a fresh and delicious, yet comfort food-like meal!
End this decadent meal with a decadent treat like these Brownies with Tahini Buttercream…!
More Delicious Recipes
- Short Rib Fettuccine– RIch, decadent and delicious.
- Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps– Easy, delicious dinner!
- Honey Polenta Fries with Gorgonzola Sauce– Serve these as a side with these Flank Steak Pinwheels as a spin on Steak Frites!
- Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Toasted Sesame Aioli– As pretty as they are delicious!
- Brownies with Salted Tahini Buttercream– Decadent and dreamy!
I hope you decide to make these Flank Steak Pinwheels! If you do, I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Thank you and thank you for visiting Mollie in Montana~*! ♥️
Flank Steak Pinwheels
Ingredients
Flank Steak Pinwheels
- 2 lb Flank Steak Have the butcher run it through the cuber to tenderize it to make it easier to roll, or pound it yourself.
- 1 8 ounce Package Cream Cheese
- 1 large sweet onion, sliced
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- ½ Cup Crumbled Blue Cheese
Instructions
Stuffing, Rolling and Cooking the Steak
- Sautée onions on medium high heat in skillet until onions are soft and translucent. Turn heat down to medium low and let them caramelize slowly, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
- Once the onions have cooked down, add the brown sugar and salt and pepper and let them cook 5 more minutes.
- Add warm onions to a bowl with Cream Cheese and Blue Cheese. Stir it all together so that the Cream Cheese melts and mixture is combined.
- Spread Cream Cheese mixture onto Flank Steak, leaving a 1 inch border around the entire steak.
- Tightly roll the steak, being careful to keep the filling contained.
- Cut 3 feet of kitchen twine.
- Tie one end of steak tightly so that filling is contained.
- Pull twine 3 inches up the steak and then wrap it around and loop it back through itself to create a contained section. Continue this for the length of the steak. Tie the other end off. (see the video above)
- Sear all sides of the steak in large cast iron skillet. Place skillet in 350° oven for 20 minutes. Alternately, you can grill over high heat to sear all sides, then lower heat, or move steak to a spot on the grill and cook for 20-30 minutes depending on desired doneness. With either technique, cook until instant thermometer reads 128°-130° for medium rare.
- Remove steak from heat and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove twine and slice crosswise into 1 inch pinwheels.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Notes:
- For another layer of flavor, add 2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar to the onions and cook them down before adding the brown sugar.
- When you take the temperature of the meat, make sure you place the thermometer in the thickest part of meat. This part takes the longest to cook. The nice thing about flank steak is that the thinner parts will cook to more well done than the thicker interior parts, so there is something for every well done preference!
- If you are with a crowd that prefers more well done steak, cook until the interior temperature of the thickest part of steak reads 150-155°F.
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