South African Flank Steak

Hey everyone, Sarah here:

So as usual, I'm a few weeks overdue in posting this blog entry.  On the Fourth of July, I made one of my favorite flank steak recipes - Durban-Style South African flank steak.

The recipe is actually from a restaurant at a Disney World resort.  Becca is totally obsessed with all things Disney-related, and when her family goes to Disney World every year, she always comes home with more Disney souvenirs - blankets, pot holders, wine corks, and one year a cookbook entitled "Cooking With Mickey and the Disney Chefs".  While amusement parks aren't generally known for having the best food, Disney World is the exception.  This cookbook has a lot of variety and the recipes we've tried have been very tasty.

So a word about this flank steak.  It takes a lot of ingredients and spices that you may not have readily available in your kitchen if you don't do a lot of Asian/Middle Eastern cooking.  However, if you have the ingredients available or are willing to buy them, I promise you it is one of the tastiest steak marinades that I have ever eaten.  It isn't overly spicy but it is so flavorful that my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Anyways, here goes:

South African Flank Steak


In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

And 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

And 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

And 1/2 cup malt vinegar

And 1/2 cup safflower oil

A note about Safflower Oil - Becca and I happened to have this from other recipes, it comes in a bottle like the one posted below and we were able to find it with the rest of the oil (vegetable, olive, canola, etc) in the store.  It's a very mild-flavored oil, and it's just used in the marinade, so if you don't have it/can't find it, you can probably just use canola oil and it'll be fine.

Next, chop up a lot of garlic.  You're going to need about 1/4 cup.

I think it's easiest just to throw it in the food processor.

Next, peel some fresh ginger and chop that up too.  You'll need 1/4 cup.  It's definitely easiest to chop ginger in a food processor.

Add the ginger and the garlic to the vinegar mixture, along with 1/4 cup sugar.

And 4 tablespoons of ground cardamom (I used a less because I didn't have that much cardamom!)

And 3 tablespoons of ground coriander

And 3 tablespoons of dried thyme

And 3 tablespoons of ground turmeric

And finally, 3 tablespoons of crushed red pepper.

Whisk everything together until well-combined.

Now, grab a 3-to-5 lb flank steak.

Put the flank steak into a gallon-sized ziplock bag.

And pour in the marinade.  Marinate the flank steak in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, and up to 24 hours.

When you're ready to eat, heat your grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat.

Sear the flank steak until the meat easily releases from the grill or pan.

Turn and sear the other side.  Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until desired doneness.

Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.  Then, slice thinly across the grain of meat and serve.

Yum.  I won't lie.  Becca and I ate the whole thing.

It's so good.

Durban-Style South African Flank Steak and Marinade
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons ground cardamom
3 tablespoons ground coriander
3 tablespoons ground turmeric
3 tablespoons dried thyme
3 tablespoons ground red pepper
1 flank steak (3 to 5 pounds)

1. In a large bowl, mix Worcestershire, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, malt vinegar, and safflower oil.

2. Whisk in ginger, garlic, suger, cardamom, coriander, turmeric, thyme, and red pepper.

3. Add flank steak and marinate for 24 hours.

4. Over medium-high heat, sear the flank steak until the meat easily releases from the grill or pan.  Turn and sear the other side.  Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until desired doneness.  Remove form heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

5. Slice thinly across grain of meat and serve.

North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork with Macaroni and Cheese and Baked Beans

Hi everyone, Sarah here -

So I've been meaning to post this blog entry for a few weeks, since I made all of this over Memorial Day weekend.  Last year, a couple of my friends and I took a trip down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina (and we're going again next weekend!), and we stopped at this little hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint called Pigman's Barbecue.  They have some of the best pork barbecue I've ever eaten in my life.  Eating there gave me the motivation to try to make pork barbecue on my own, and I've found that it's actually quite easy to do.  So over Memorial Day weekend, I ended up making some for Becca and I, along with some delicious baked beans and macaroni and cheese as side dishes.  There was so much food...we ate it for days.  But it was totally worth it.  Anyways, here goes:

North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork (recipe courtesy Tyler Florence)


Start by making your spice rub.  Combine: 3 tablespoons paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon dry mustard, and 3 tablespoons coarse salt.

Next, you'll need one 5-7 lb pork roast, preferably pork shoulder or Boston Butt.

Coat the roast with the spice rub, making sure to firmly pack it in on every part of the surface.  Allow the pork to marinate in the refrigerator for as long as you've got time, at least one hour and up to overnight.

After the pork has marinated, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Place the pork in the oven and roast for about six hours, or until it's falling off the bone and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part measures at least 170 degrees F.

Meanwhile, make the barbecue sauce.  Chop a couple of cloves of garlic.

In a large saucepan, combine garlic with one and a half cup of apple cider vinegar

And one cup of spicy brown mustard and half a cup of ketchup.  (Sorry, no pictures of these steps.)  Then add in 1/3 cup of brown sugar.

Finally, to the mixture add in 1 teaspoon of salt.

And one teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

And about 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper.

Mix everything together and bring to a simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

After the pork has been roasting for about 6 hours, is falling off the bone, and registers at least 170 degrees F at its thickest point, remove it from the oven.

Place the roast on a clean surface and use two forks to shred the meat.

This will take a very long time if you're working alone, or not very long at all if you have some helpers :).  But, here are the results!

Mix the pork with the barbecue sauce, and it's done!  Enjoy.

But what is barbecue without the side dishes?  That's why I also made baked beans and macaroni and cheese!

Baked Beans (recipe courtesy Paula Deen)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Start by cooking a few slices of bacon in a large skillet.

Once the bacon is crispy, remove to a plate covered with paper towels to drain off some of the excess fat.  Preserve the bacon drippings in the pan.

Once the bacon has cooled slightly, crumble it into small pieces.

Next, dice one large onion.

Saute the onion in the leftover bacon drippings until soft.

Next, open two 16-oz cans of baked beans.

Combine the baked beans and onions in a large, oven-safe pot.  My pot was probably a little too large, but my smaller ones weren't oven-safe.

Add in three tablespoons of yellow mustard.

And one quarter cup of brown sugar.

And one quarter cup of maple syrup.

And four tablespoons of ketchup.

And one tablespoon of lemon juice.

Finally, add in the crumbled bacon, and stir together.

Bake, covered, for 45 to 60 minutes.  Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese (recipe courtesy Alton Brown)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Stir in half a pound of elbow macaroni and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat two eggs.

Add in six ounces of evaporated milk and half a teaspoon of hot sauce.

And 3/4 teaspoon of dry mustard.

Finally, add in 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Whisk everything together and set aside.  Once the macaroni is cooked and drained, put it back in the pot.  Melt in four tablespoons of butter.

Slowly pour in the egg mixture and combine. (Sorry, no pictures of this step.) Be careful not to let the eggs cook and become scrambled eggs.  Finally, add in 10 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded.  Stir it into the macaroni and allow to melt.  Enjoy!

North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork

Dry Rub:

3 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

3 tablespoons coarse salt

1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Cider Vinegar Barbecue Sauce:

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

1 cup yellow or brown mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12 hamburger buns

Mix the paprika, garlic powder, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl.  Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours.  Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.

To make the barbecue sauce, combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat.  Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter.  Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes.  While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds.  Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other.  Put the shredded pork in a bowl.  Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.

Baked Beans

1/2 pound bacon strips

1 large onion, diced

3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup light brown sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crispy on both sides.  Remove to a plate layered with a paper towel to soak up the excess fat, and let cool slightly.  Reserve the bacon drippings in the pan.

Dice the onion and saute in the bacon drippings until soft.  Once the bacon is cool, crumble it into small pieces.  

In a Dutch oven, mix onion, baked beans, mustard, maple syrup, light brown sugar, ketchup, and lemon juice.  Top with the bacon pieces.  Bake, covered, for 45 to 60 minutes.

Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 pound elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter

2 eggs

6 ounces evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

3/4 teaspoon dry mustard

10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain.  Return to the pot and melt in the butter.  Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper and mustard.  Stir into the pasta and add the cheese.  Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.