Howdy!

(I went with "howdy" because I'm not sure how our ancient friends would have said hello...)

Are you tired of cleaning your grill grates?!?!

Looking for a fun party trick to impress your friends?!?!

Or perhaps you're here because you're looking for an incredibly tasty steak?!?!

You're in luck, today I'm cooking steak caveman style which doesn't need a grill, is pretty much a guaranteed spectacle for anyone who hasn't seen it and is easily in my top three choices for steak!

What is caveman style steak you ask? Good question, read on to find the answer!

Step 1: Tools and Materials/Ingredients

Righty-O, on with it!

(Is what I assume a proper caveperson would say...)

Tools:

A way to make fire.

I use a charcoal chimney and light it on the side burner of my grill.

Someplace safe to put said fire.

This could be a fire pit, a hole in the ground or a BBQ.

Long Tongs.

Large Cutting Board.

Materials:

Salt

Pepper

Aluminum Foil

I like the heavy duty foil, but whatever you have on hand will work.

Flank Steak

I know, a bit of a shock that it's not a big 'ol ribeye or porterhouse, but it has so much um... beefy?! flavor that really comes out when cooked this way. Trust me on this and go with a good flank steak!

Lump Charcoal

Lump charcoal is important, it burns hotter and doesn't have binders or other stuff like you find in charcoal briquettes. I used Royal Oak Charcoal, feel free to use whatever lump charcoal you like. This is a good article on types of charcoal if you'd like to read more

Safety:

Oven Mitts.

I prefer the silicone ones when I'm BBQing. The coals are super hot on this one, I've singed the hair on the back of my hand cooking this way before.

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Step 2: Prepare to Walk the Flank!

How about a caveman joke since I've failed at talk like a caveman day?

Why do cavemen never get angry? They're no-mads!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, don't quit my day job right?! 🤣

Where were we? Of course, time to prepare the steak.

Get your steak out of the fridge. Unwrap the butcher paper. Add salt. Add pepper. Flip steak over and repeat the salt pepper routine.

That's it. OK, no that's not quite it, you need to go wash your hands now.

But that's it with the steak. Time to grab a beverage and go light the charcoal. It'll take about 30ish minutes to get the everything going, just leave the steak alone until you're done with your beverage. You can cover it with foil if you'd like, but leaving it on the counter to come up to room temp is fine.

In this instance we're not really worried too much about bacteria since the steak is only out for an hour max and the steak will be in direct contact with coals that are around 1400*F (760*C)! To put that in perspective, aluminum melts at around 1200*F. It's hot. Reminds me, I should remember to wear oven mitts this time!

Step 3: Fire Meet Steak, Steak Meat Fire!

No jokes, it's go time.

We want the coals to be glowing hot! If you're using a BBQ, open the intake and exhaust dampers all the way and let 'er rip!

Once your coals are evenly lit and glowing hot, get your steak, tongs and oven mitts.

Moment of truth, I know it feels wrong but put that flank steak right on top of the coals!

Surprisingly, it won't burn and the coals really don't stick. The moisture in the meat keeps everything in check for a minute or two.

OK, depending on thickness, you're going to cook the steak for about 1 minute per side. Yep, you read that right. I'm targeting about 60-90 seconds a side for my steak here. Yes that seems a little insane, but you can always cook it more if needed later. I don't think you will.

Once done, put the meat on the foil. If you have more than one steak it's fine to stack them on top of each other. Wrap them up tight and let it rest for 15 minutes. Now is a good time to finish that beverage!

(Yes, don't be like me, I got excited forgot to wear the oven mitts... fortunatly no burns this time, the long tongs saved my behind!)

Step 4: Slice and Eat!

No plate, caveperson eat with hands!

But seriously, this steak is so good you'll just want to slice and eat right on the cutting board! At least that's what usually happens in my house... My "supervisor" also highly approved of this project!

My only tip at this stage of the process is since flank steak can be a little tough, try to cut across the grain. That's about it, bon appetit!

OK, that's not quite it... I know, I do this everytime... If you enjoyed this instructable please consider voting for me in the Outdoor Cooking Speed Challenge!

P.P.S. - I first learned about this method of cooking from Alton Brown and have been cooking flank steak this way for years now. Go check his video out too! OK, that's it, for real, (talking in caveman now) bye bye!

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