[karlington8]

Hi, I am a beginner in cooking meats and am making a flank steak in the slow cooker at 6 hours on high temperature. My question is, I washed my flank steak in cold water first and then I seared it on the pan in oil till it turned a light brownish color and then I added it to my other ingredients in the slow cooker..... did I make a huge mistake washing the flank steak? Will it still be edible and safe to eat when it's done cooking?

I did not remove any fat or skin from the flank steak also because the recipe video I watched said you don't have to.

Thank you for your help!!

 

[koukouvagia]

Yes it will be edible and possibly very good depending on what other ingredients you've put in there, but it won't be a "steak."  It will be more like a stew.  A steak is a tender cut of meat that is cooked fast at high heat, either in a pan or on the grill.  

It's ok to rinse meat with water (cue everyone who disagrees lol), but if you want to get a good sear on your meat you'll have to pat it dry with paper towels.  That water on the surface creates steam on impact with the heat and won't let you get a good color on the meat. It's these tiny details that take a dish from being merely edible to spectacularly flavorful.

 

[flipflopgirl]

Just to be sure that all the nasties such as bone fragments and whatever else is left after processing the animal are not going into my dish I rinse and dry before cooking.

I have a question re not removing the membrane.

How did that come out?

Completely cooked thru and none to be found?

Or little bits of annoyingly chewy strings that you have to park in your cheek and politely spit into a napkin?

Be honest now...you are on a widely read forum and don't want to lead anyone down the wrong path.

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/cool.gif

mimi

 

[pete]

It's ok to wash your meat, but I feel that it is a totally unnecessary step.  Just pat it dry and season liberally before searing.  You said that you seared to a light brown.  I would take it further than that and get a nice, rich brown looking surface.  It will contribute more flavor that way, taking the dish up a notch.

As for removing the fat and sliver skin, unless there is a really thick piece of sliver skin I wouldn't bother removing it.  After 6 hours in a slow cooker it shouldn't be an issue.  Now, if you were grilling it (a short cooking method) I would remove as much as possible, but in this application you should be fine.

 

[flipflopgirl]

So in theory that thin membrane will hold the cut together long enuf to not be stringy but will eventually break down to nothing?

This is good to know as flank has so much more flavor than "stew meat" and would be a nice twist in a guisada dish.

mimi

 

[pete]

I've never cleaned the sliver skin off of a flank steak, unless it gets really thick, and have never had an issue.

 

[flipflopgirl]

It can be a problem.

So I clean them all just like I pull it off ribs.

Only took one time for me to get the idea that spending a couple of extra min in the kitchen is better than listening to guests complain re the chewy "meat".

OT... the worst PITA is when dealing with a deer.

Kinda have to "butterfly" it without loosing too much of the muscle.

mimi