More Bourbon Flavor Needed?

[bluesbassdad]

I'm not much of a cook. Tonight I tried something unusual, mainly becaue my wife has been out of town for a while, and I'm getting bored with my usual fare.

The following recipe came from my daughter-in-law.

***

Bourbon and Brown Sugar Flank Steak

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup minced green onions

1/4 cup bourbon

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 (2-pound) flank steak, trimmed

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

To prepare steak, combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add steak. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally. Remove steak from bag, reserving marinade.

Prepare grill.

Place steak on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut diagonally across grain into thin slices.

Combine reserved marinade and cornstarch in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

***

I followed the recipe closely, save for the green onions, which aren't available now. I scored the meat in a diamond pattern on both sides, as recommended in many other recipes I consulted, but I think I made the cuts way too deep. When cooked the meat resembled half of a Belgian waffle iron. Broiling on HIGH eight minutes on one side and six on the other left the middle a bit too red for my eye.

It came out pretty well, but the soy flavor dominated. I'd be inclined to halve the soy and double the bourbon (I used WT 101) if I were to try it again. Does anyone have enough experience to know whether that's a plausible modification?

Also the amount of marinade remaining was insufficient. I think the marinade portion of the recipe should be at least doubled.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[T47]

Dave,

I have never tried to change the recipe? I don't see why you can't try it, we use the low sodium soy, so I imagine it is more for flavor than anything else. We have always had enough for a little gravy on the mashers. I used WT101 as well, but I don't know if my kids or wife would like a stronger Bourbon flavor. Anyway, good luck.

[cowdery]

I've made something similar with a marinade of soy sauce, sherry and black pepper. Mainly it gives the meat a sweet, flavorful crust. I guess I'm saying that this type of marinade is pretty forgiving so you should feel free to modify it at will. You won't go too far wrong. Also, I have been advised not to make sauce from used marinade. Although you would think that cooking the sauce will kill any beasties, just like cooking the meat does, that apparently is a bad practice. Better to make enough of the marinade so that some of it can be used for marinade and the rest can be used for sauce.

[brendaj]

Thanks Dave, for an excellent recipe.

I intend to try this soon. And Todd has plated it so beautifully (cool Fiesta plate...;-) that it is for sure on the menu this week.

Bj