FTBBQ: ‘That Lady’s’ Sweet Bloody Mary Flank Steak
Editor’s Note: Before each Penn State home game this season, our friends at the 409 TAILGATE CLUB will offer up unique grilling recipes for your gameday menu.
At the precise moment when meat meets mouth and this succulent steak recipe takes your taste buds on pregame joyride, please, don’t thank us. Thank ‘That Lady.’
Which lady?
Honestly, we’re not quite sure. And though we never got her name, we’ll certainly never forget her. Therefore, she is and will forever be known as, ‘That Lady.’
As the story goes, back in 2017, the 409 Tailgate Club was still in its infancy as a business. Pretty sure we had about a baker’s dozen or so followers on social media. So to get the word out about our sauces and seasonings, we set up a little Free Sample Tasting Table – you know, like the kind that pop up randomly at Sam’s Club or Costco on the weekends – outside of a brick and mortar on Beaver Ave. during Arts Fest.
Well, one woman who came up and tried our traditional tailgate BBQ sauce turned to us and mentioned, “You know, this would be a very good base for a Blood Mary mix.” Like something out of a cartoon, a light bulb suddenly appeared over our heads. What a great idea! Through a laugh, the woman joked and told us not to steal the idea…to which we obviously replied: “Idea stolen.” But we did want to give her credit, so we asked her name – we’ll name it after you.
Not sure if she thought we were joking or what, but the lady just laughed some more and walked away. True to our word, after tinkering with the recipe for a few months and finally getting it bottled, we did pay homage to that kind stranger and placed THAT LADY’s Sweet Bloody Mary Mix on the labels.
Not long after that chance encounter took place in State College, another happy accident occurred – we discovered that That Lady’s Bloody Mary Mix made for a helluva beef marinade! Put it in your drink. Put it on your dish. Either way, it’s delicious….which brings us to today’s receipt: ‘That Lady’s’ Sweet Bloody Mary Flank Steak.
In honor of the Penn State Blue-White Game – an exhibition where coaches stick to basic offensive play calls and vanilla defensive sets – this will be the simplest ingredient list we give you all season:
Ingredients
1 lb. Flank Steak
18 oz. That Lady’s Bloody Mary Mix (half the bottle)
1-2 tsp. Salt
1-2 tsp. Black Pepper
That’s it. That’s the list. Now on to the recipe steps:
- Place your mix and your steak in a 1-gallon zip lock bag. Refrigerate overnight if you got the time, or at least 6 hours if you’re in a rush. More time marinating = more flavor. If you’re tailgating at Beaver Stadium on Saturday morning, keep the steak in the bag inside a cooler until you’re ready to grill.
- If you’re tailgating in State College and therefore forced to use a propane grill, preheat to 500 degrees with the lid closed for 15 minutes. If you’re watching from home, we recommend using charcoal.
- When you’re ready to grill, unseal your steak and let the excess marinade drip off. Other recipes call for the grillmaster to dab the meat with a paper towel until dry…which doesn’t make a whole heckuva lot of sense to us. So don’t do that. Just let it drip for a little.
- Apply salt and pepper to each side. Then, place steak directly on the grill surface. Sear for 2-3 minutes on each side. When the high heat tangles with the marinade, it forms a colorful, flavorful crust to the meat. Couple minutes after the first flip, check the internal temp., because if you like your steak medium-rare (130-135 degrees) then it’s probably done.
- Remove meat from heat. If you can resist the temptation to eat it right away, let the steak rest 3-5 minutes before slicing. If you can’t resist, go ahead and cut into it. We won’t judge.
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