Most people are more familiar with cooking and eating flank steak than they are with hanger steak. Hanger steak gets its name from its location of the diaphragm muscle that “hangs” on the underside of the cow. Flank steak is also from the underside but it is from the flank area.
Hanger steak is long and typically three to four inches wide. Like flank steak, it has long muscle fibers that run the length of the cut of the meat. I find it to be more intensely flavorful than flank steak. And because it is so uniformly even in shape, it cooks quickly on the grill. Once cooked you can cut it into equal sized steaks or into thin strips like you would for flank steak.
Chimichurri sauce and hanger steak were made for each other. Known for its refreshing and intense flavors of Italian parsley and garlic, this Argentina inspired sauce goes together quickly and is brushed on the steak prior to cooking then drizzled over the top of the sliced cooked meat. My variation uses a little less garlic, adds a bit of mustard to keep the oil and vinegar together and a bit of lime zest.
Serve the sliced hanger steak with just the Chimichurri sauce or roll it in warm flour tortillas with guacamole and sour cream.
- 1 cup lightly packed Italian parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon lime zest
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- 1-1/2 to 2 pounds Hanger steak
- For the chimichurri sauce puree parsley, thyme and garlic in a food processor; scraping down sides several times. Add Dijon, vinegar, lime zest and red pepper flakes and process a few seconds, then add olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Set 2 tablespoons of the sauce aside and brush it on the skirt steak; cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to one hour. Transfer remaining sauce to a serving bowl.
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat.
- Grill steak 4-5 minutes, turn and cook until desired doneness is reached, about 4-5 minutes longer for medium rare. Remove from grill, cover lightly and allow sitting 5-10 minutes.
- Cut steak across the grain into thin strips or individual size steaks. Serve with remaining Chimichurri sauce.
