# Red Wine-Braised Flank Steak with Roasted Peppers, Onions & Gruyere



## ibglowin (Jul 22, 2011)

This recipe comes right out of Tom Colicchio’s "Witchcraft" sandwich cookbook. It is absolutely to die for good. We have fixed it more than 6 times now and each time it is amazing!

*RED WINE-BRAISED FLANK STEAK WITH ROASTED PEPPERS, ONIONS, AND GRUYÈRE *

My wife purchased Tom Colicccchio's latest cookbook Called "Wichcraft" a few months back. I think we have made and served this recipe to friends and family at least 6 times and each time we get the same response....

"OMG thats the best thing I've put in my mouth in a long time!"

Needless to say this "sandwich" is tops. We have found that an inexpensive Merlot (slightly fruitier) seems to work better than a Cab. I think a good Zin goes great with it but any bold Red should work just fine.

Enjoy!

_This is a sandwich that was so good we had to take it off the menu! Conceptually similar to a cheese steak, it was offered as a pressed sandwich, and when too many people ordered it at once, we had a traffic jam on our premises. So while you can no longer find it at ’wichcraft, you can make it for yourself. Flank steak is wonderfully easy to work with because it’s lean—there’s no waste, and it has an excellent texture for braising. There are so many schools of thought about the right wine to cook with. Some advocate cooking with the best wine, or at least a wine that you would want to drink; others believe in using the cheapest wine available. We suggest going with the wine that you can afford to use for cooking or the one you have lying around. At home, whenever he has some leftover red wine at the end of a meal, if he doesn’t drink it the next day, Sisha puts it in a container in the freezer. He keeps adding to that container, and when he needs wine for braising, there it is. The blend is never the same twice—and always good._

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound flank steak
1 medium carrot, cut into large dice
1/2 white onion, cut into large dice
2 garlic cloves, quartered
2 to 3 cups red wine
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 large red onion, sliced crosswise into 3/4-inch wheels
8 tablespoons roasted peppers
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar
4 ciabatta rolls
8 slices Gruyère cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Choose a heavy-bottomed ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven that’s large enough for the flank steak to lie flat but is as snug as possible. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the skillet over high heat. Once the oil starts to smoke, add the meat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, until deep brown in color. Remove the meat from the skillet and set the meat aside.

Add the carrot and onion to the skillet, followed by the garlic. Sauté the vegetables over medium-high heat until they start to brown but are still firm. Add the red wine—enough to come three-fourths of the way up the side of the meat. Add the thyme and 1 teaspoon of the salt, cover the skillet, and transfer to the oven. Braise the meat for about 2 1/2 hours, until the meat can be pulled apart with a fork. Transfer the meat to a plate to rest and cool.

Reserve and strain the pan juices and pour into a saucepan. Over medium-low heat, reduce the juices until thickened (it should coat the back of a spoon). With two forks, separate the meat into chunky strings and roughly cut them crosswise into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Place the meat in the pot with the reduced juices and coat well.

Brush the red onion with the remaining 2 tablespoon vegetable oil. In a grill pan or cast-iron skillet over high heat, grill the red onion (without separating into individual rings) until charred on the outside and slightly cooked on the inside. Place a bowl and separate into rings. Add the peppers, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and remaining 2 teaspoons salt and mix well.

Slice the ciabatta rolls in half. Place 1 slice of cheese on the bottom and top halves. Arrange the meat on the bottom halves of the rolls and the onions and peppers on the top halves and place all the roll pieces in the 350°F oven. Remove once the cheese is melted. Close the sandwiches, cut into halves, and serve.


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## Runningwolf (Jul 22, 2011)

WOW does that look good Mike. You make the best stuff!


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## Wade E (Jul 22, 2011)

Now your talking my speed! Dan, you wouldnt eat that with all those veggies on that!!!!


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## Runningwolf (Jul 22, 2011)

Oh Yeah, I'll do pepper and onions!


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## ibglowin (Jul 22, 2011)

The veggies make it! I roasted the red bell peppers on the searing station of the new gas grill. cook them till they are charred black on all sides and very soft. Put them into a bowl with a plate on top to steam the skins off. Peel the skin off with the side of a fork and then slice into long sections. Don't rinse with water as you will rinse off the nice roast flavor. This is truly amazing. I used a crock pot. Just brown the meat first in a pan then toss then into the crock pot and let it slow cook. I used a bottle of my CC OVZ to cook in. If I was on death row I could die after eating this meal. Its that good!


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## Runningwolf (Jul 22, 2011)

Very cool, I might have to try this sometime.


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## Wade E (Jul 22, 2011)

Why peel the skins off?


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## Truebrew (Jul 22, 2011)

Mmmmm, my mouth is watering…and I just had dinner!


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## ibglowin (Jul 22, 2011)

Wade E said:


> Why peel the skins off?




You have to on a roasted pepper. It's hard and chewy otherwise.


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## Runningwolf (Jul 24, 2011)

Ok Mike I'm on my way to a delicious dinner tonight. Peppers and onions are grilled and I'm putting them in with the Flank Steak. I have a feeling I wasn't suppose to do that but thats ok they'll still be good.


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## ibglowin (Jul 24, 2011)

So your serving special "invisible" flank steak eh!  Peppers are looking good!


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## ibglowin (Jul 24, 2011)

Don't forget to reduce the sauce down at then end. It gets mixed in with the shredded meat. 

Peppers are usually mixed in with the onions on the side and then just added on top just before serving. We use the oven to melt the cheese and bring it all up to a nice serving temp.


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## Runningwolf (Jul 24, 2011)

As soon as I started slicing them and saw how good they looked I figured that out. This is the first run so next time will be even better. Browned the flank real good outside on the Bayou mega burner and now it's in the slow cooker.


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