Grilled Flank Steak with a Roasted Garlic Milk Stout Marinade

Recently, I have been trying to incorporate some new flavors into the grilling or smoking we have been doing around the house.  Beer has been playing a role in those marinades.  This past weekend, inspired by Gus over at gusfacegrillah.com, we tried making a beef marinade out of a nice stout.

My choice was a nice and smooth milk stout from Southern Tier Brewing: Double Milk Stout 2X Stout.

This stout is smooth and creamy.  Not too bitter, not too sweet, and well balanced.  Perfect for this beef bath.

To prepare this marinade, I started off by roasting some garlic.  I do not roast whole heads of garlic.  Way too much garlic for what I need.  I just take the cloves that I need, slice the tips off, and place in a foil packet with some olive oil.  The packet goes into a 350 F oven for 30 minutes.  Perfect roasted garlic every time.

Here are the rest of the ingredients:

Roasted Garlic Milk Stout Marinade

1, 12 oz bottle of your favorite stout.  I choose a milk stout.  Just try and choose a well balanced brew
3 large cloves garlic, roasted
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp ground mustard powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
Fresh ground pepper.  I used 10 turns of my grinder

Put everything into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Then, lower your heat and simmer until reduced by 1/3.  Then cool to room temperature.

While the marinade was cooling, I tenderized my flank steak thoroughly on both sides.

Once the marinade was chilled, I placed everything in a plastic bag and put into the refrigerator to steep in the stout mixture.  I flipped the bag over every hour.  Total marinade times five hours.

After five hours, I removed the steak from the refrigerator and placed on the counter to come to room temperature.  Then, I wend outside and started my grill.  Once my coals were ready, the flank steak went on direct heat for about seven minutes a side.  I was looking for 130 F internal temperature.  Once done, I brought inside and let the meat rest for 10 minutes, covered with foil, before slicing.

Sorry about the picture.  As you might be able to see, the marinade created a nice caramelized bark on the outside.  We also nailed the medium rare that we prefer (at least on the thick end).

The flavor was great.  Better then I was hoping for really.  The roasted garlic, vinegar, and spices made for a nice combination.  The stout brought it all together adding a nice richness to the beef.  We will definitely be trying different variations of this marinade in the future.  So, if you have a spare stout hiding the the refrigerator at home, give this a try.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill