Stuffed Flank Steak Pinwheels

Looking for something different to make with that flank steak that you found on sale?  These stuffed flank steak pinwheels may be the ticket!  You could probably stuff them with any of your favorite fillings, and you can certainly make them ahead of time and grill them when you get home.  They are simple enough to make on a weeknight, but special enough to make for company.  Don't you like when things are so versatile?  

I bought two of these flank steaks.  I'm not sure why.  I just did.  Then I thought, "Nah... I won't need that much."  Then I got a text from my oldest, "Hey Mom, Trey is coming over to study for a chemistry test later; and he wants to know what you're cooking!"  LOL!!!!  So... I pulled out the other one and away we went!  They were a little bit - okay, a lot - skeptical when they saw the filling, but the plates came back empty!  Yay!  A success (for kids who made the gagging noise when the word spinach was mentioned)!

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Ingredients:   

• flank steak (~ 1 1/2 - 2 pounds)
• boursin cheese spread with herbs
• sun dried tomatoes, julienned 
• fresh baby spinach, stems removed, rough chopped
• salt and pepper
• Romano Basil Vinaigrette  
• Oil for grilling

Step-by-Step:  

The flank steaks I buy come "rolled up."  So unroll them, make some shallow cuts, and pound flat between two sheets of plastic wrap.

1.7 # beef flank steak

Pound between plastic wrap so the meat won't stick to your meat pounder.  If you don't have a meat pounder, you could use a small heavy skillet, an empty wine bottle, or even a rolling pin. (??)  But we use the meat pounder ALL the time.  I highly recommend picking one up.

See how much larger it got when we pounded it out, versus the one on the left?

Spread them with the boursin cheese.  For each flank steak, I used about 2/3 of a container of boursin each, but put as much as you wish.  If you can't find boursin, you could use herbed goat cheese.  They have about the same texture,  creaminess and amount of tanginess.

Words can not begin to tell you how much I love this little girl!  What a joy she is!  She refused to even change from dance class to start cooking with me.  (Afraid she was going to miss out!)

Season generously with salt and pepper. 

Sprinkle the cheese spread with the chopped baby spinach, then a nice healthy handful of sun dried tomatoes.

chopped baby spinach

sun dried tomatoes

Roll them up tightly, using the plastic wrap to help you.  You can refrigerate at this point if you would like.   Actually, having it rolled up for a longer period of time will help the pinwheels hold their shape even better.

When you are ready to cut them into pinwheels, remove the plastic wrap and place skewers in the meat about every 1" - 1 1/2" apart.  

Cut equidistant between the skewers so each will be the same thickness.  You want them to have the same cooking time.  My recommendation is to leave the skewers in.  I tried it both ways.  The skewers helped to keep the pinwheels from unrolling during the cooking process.  If need be, you can break the skewers off a just little larger than the meat if you need them to fit better in a grill pan.  On a regular grill, you may not need to.

Look at all that yummy stuff!

Now be honest.... can you tell which ones Lovely Lily made, at four year old, and which ones I made?  Nope!   See!  It's that EASY!!! 

Yeah... I seasoned the cut sides as well.  I'm not a fan of bland food.  :)

I added some oil to my griddle and allowed it to get really, really hot before putting the meat on to sear.  Grill each side 4 - 5 minutes for a medium doneness, longer if you want them more done.  I also used my tongs to stand them "on end" to sear the edges.  For the last couple of minutes on each side, I drizzled them with the Romano Basil Vinaigrette (I used Wishbone brand).  This gave me a nice moist, tangy, silky finish on the meat.   I think you could totally make these under your broiler as well if that is how you prefer to cook your steaks.

Enjoy!  

I served these with skin on, garlic mashed potatoes and Lily's Maple Bacon Green Beans.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe!
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Written Method:

The flank steaks I buy come "rolled up."  So unroll them, make some shallow cuts across the grain, and pound flat between two sheets of plastic wrap.

Season generously with salt and pepper.  Spread them with the boursin cheese.  I used about 2/3 of a container on each, but put as much as you wish.  Sprinkle the cheese spread with a nice healthy handful of sun dried tomatoes, then then the chopped baby spinach.  Roll them up tightly, using the plastic wrap to help you.  You can refrigerate at this point if you would like.  

When you are ready to cut them into pinwheels, place skewers in the meat about every 1" - 1 1/2" apart.  Cut equidistant between the skewers so each will be the same thickness.  You want them to have the same cooking time.  My recommendation is to leave the skewers in.  I tried it both ways.  The skewers helped to keep the pinwheels from unrolling during the cooking process.  If need be, you can break the skewers off a just little larger than the meat if you need them to fit better in a grill pan.  On a grill, you may not need to.

I added some oil to my griddle and allowed it to get really, really hot before putting the meat on to sear.  Grill each side 4 - 5 minutes for a medium doneness, longer if you want them more done.  I also used my tongs to stand them "on end" to sear the edges.  For the last couple of minutes on each side, I drizzled them with the Romano Basil Vinaigrette (I used Wishbone brand).  This gave me a nice moist, tangy, silky finish on the meat.   I think you could totally make these under your broiler as well if that is how you prefer to cook your steaks.