Papaya Marinated Flank Steak
By | On Sep 09, 2011
Flank steak, like skirt steak can be a tricky piece of meat to work with on the grill. Cooked wrong it can get very tough, very quickly. Here we marinated the steak overnight in spice and papaya which tenderized the meat nicely. A quick sear on the grill and the juicy, tender and very flavorful beef was served with grilled corn with cilantro lime butter and a coconut curry jicama and beet slaw. Amazing!
Papaya Marinade
- 1 Papaya, peeled and seeds removed , rough chop
- ½ bunch cilantro, stems removed
- 1 onion, rough chop
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- Juice of 2 limes
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ½ Tbs Chili powder
- 1 chili pepper, split lengthwise and seeds left in
- 1 Tbs honey
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup dark rum
- ½ tsp fresh grated ginger
Combine all ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Add the meat and marinate at least four hours, preferably overnight.
When we were living in Hawaii, my mom used Papaya many times with tougher cuts of meat. She called it “nature’s tenderizer.” When we came to Florida, a Papaya tree was the first thing she planted.
Absolutely, the main enzymes are papain and bromelain which are present even in unripe fruit.