Flank steaks are great cuts of meat that are typically marinated and grilled. Today I went in a slightly different direction and smoked a dry rubbed flank steak on my Z Grills pellet grill for a couple of hours.
I served the steak with some orange bell peppers and sweet yellow onions, sautéed on the smoker in a cast iron skillet, and was delighted with how everything turned out!
Prepare the Flank Steak
Preparation for this cook was pretty easy.
I was working with a Choice grade flank steak that had minimal surface fat.
I trimmed off the little bits of surface fat that was present and gave the steak a heavy coat of dry rub. For this cook the dry rub I used was Steer Season by Meat Mitch. This is the same rub I used for the awesome smoked chuck roast I cooked the other day.
If you need a dry rub recipe then here is an award winning brisket rub recipe that works with just about any cut of beef.
Let the flank steak sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and preferably an hour to give the rub time to work itself into the meat.
While the steak is sitting go ahead and slice up the onion and pepper. You might as well be busy doing something.
Smoke the Steak
I used the Z Grills L600E pellet grill for this cook and had it set at 225F. I was burning hickory pellets and getting some nice smoke flavor rolling out of the pit.
The L600E has a PID control system so once it locks in at 225F it holds there pretty tight.
Obviously, you can smoke a flank steak on a Traeger or Pit Boss pellet grill, it just won’t be as tasty as one cooked on a Z Grills!
Once your smoker has stabilized at 225F place the flank steak on the grate. I put the steak on the top grate and had a cast iron skillet on the lower grate. The only reason I was set up like this was I knew I was going to be using the skillet for the onions and peppers later.
Let the steak cook for about 90 minutes until the rub has set and the internal temperature of the steak is about 135F. This is a fast smoking meat so make sure you are paying attention and measuring temperatures.
I really love the color that the Steer Season dry rub provides.
Once the steak has reached 135F remove it from the smoker and cover with foil to rest.
While the steak is resting, toss the sliced onions and peppers with a tablespoon of peanut oil, a little salt and pepper, and toss them into the cast iron skillet. Go ahead and crank the grill to its highest setting.
Sauté the vegetables until they are tender and slightly browned, about ten minutes.
Slice the flank steak thinly across the grain, serve with the onions and peppers and enjoy!
Smoked Flank Steak on a Pellet Grill
Ingredients
- 1 flank steak about 1.5 pounds
- 3 tbls Dry Rub for Beef - Steer Season by Meat Mitch or our Award Winning Brisket Rub.
- I sweet yellow onion
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
Instructions
- Trim the flank steak of any large deposits of surface fat.
- Season the steak with dry rub and let sit for 30-60 minutes.
- Thinly slice the onions and peppers.
- Smoke the flank steak at 225F for 90 minutes with hickory to an internal temperature of 135F.
- Remove the steak from the smoker, cover, and allow to rest.
- Toss the peppers and onions with peanut oil and a dash of salt and pepper and sauté them until slightly brown and tender.
- Slice the smoked flank steak thin against the grain and serve with the peppers and onions.