Flank Steak (easy, fast, delicious)

              R3A2 5-INGREDIENT MARINADE
               Perfect for Flank Steak
  (based on Ann Arbor Hadassah Cookbook's Marinated Flank Steak)

This marinade can be used with 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of
      Flank Steak (or even 2+lbs)
      Boneless skinless chicken breast
      Fish (salmon steaks work well, or any fillets. Optional:
           replace some of the ginger with lime or lemon zest.)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. dry wine, any color but I usually use red
1/2 T. sugar (or a little less), which acts as a tenderizer
Ginger, raw (1+" long x ~3/4" diameter) peeled, chopped small       OR 1/2 tsp ground ginger but I prefer fresh.
1 clove garlic, minced or chopped same size as the raw ginger

(The original recipe had double all these amounts, but you don't need that much for a flank steak that serves 4 or even 6.)

1. Prepare the ginger by removing the skin with a carrot peeler and chopping small, maybe largest dimension no more than 1/8".
2. Put the meat, chicken or fish in a glass or stainless baking dish (not aluminum: too reactive).
3. Pour on the liquids, sprinkle on the sugar, and drop on the ginger and garlic. I like to rub the ginger and garlic in a little with the back of a spoon.
4. If I think of it half way through or even as late as when I preheat the oven, I scrape the ginger and garlic into the liquid, turn the meat over and then spoon the ginger and garlic onto the 2nd side, again rubbing it in with the back of the spoon..

Marinating Time per A2 Hadassh Book for flank steak:
      3-4 hours at room temperature or
      all day or even overnight in fridge.
If you have less time, it's OK, too.

5. When ready to cook, preheat grill or oven.
6. Remove from marinade (but don't toss it quite yet)
7. Broil on the grill or the oven, basting with a little marinade when you turn it over. -OR- Bake at 425: put a little marinade, but not all, in the baking dish to prevent sticking, and baste with soe more marinade part way through. If you bake, you don't have to turn the meat over unless you really want to.

Broiling Times:
If it's flank steak, 4 minutes on a side for rare.
If it's chicken cutlets, 5 minutes on a side.
If it's fish, depends on thickness and desired doneness.

8. For flank steak, cool a few minutes to make it easier to slice, slice about 1/2" thickness, and serve. Chicken and fish can just be served straight away.

Good cold. Great for leftovers.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Marinating time: 3 hours to overnight
Broiling time: 10 minutes

First typed 20020714 rjm, rev 20170315

Baked Chicken

R3A2 BAKED CHICKEN

I found this recipe in a newspaper in around 1970. It was called 'Chicken Venetian' but I don't know what is Venetian about soy sauce.

2 - 4 lb chicken pieces, with skin and bone, of course.
        I usually use either a whole cut-up fryer or just thighs.
1/4 c soy
2 T vinegar
2 T oil, divided
1 clove garlic or 1/8 tsp minced garlic or equiv powder
1/4 tsp oregano

Choose a baking dish that will let the pieces fit cozily without overlapping. I use pyrex or vintage Corningware. Pour ~1 T of the oil in the dish and put into the oil puddle each piece of chicken skin side DOWN. Move the chicken pieces around in the oil so that the skin is well coated. Leave the chicken with skin DOWN.

Mix together SOY SAUCE, VINEGAR and the remaining 1 T of the OIL along with fresh or jar GARLIC (but not the powder) and pour over the chicken. You can also just pour the liquids directly on the chicken one at a time. Then sprinkle with OREGANO and, if you use garlic in powder form, the GARLIC. I never measure the oregano or garlic, just sprinkle with neither a heavy nor light hand.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake at time/temp indicated, removing foil and turning to skin side up after 3/4 of the time has passed and basting. Baste again once after that if you think of it.

TEMP/TIMES: 400 [375] total time 60 [80] minutes:
45 [60] min (skin side down, covered with foil)
then 15 [20] min (foil removed, skin side up,
basting if you think of it after 7 [10] minutes)
Always yummy.

Notes:
1. The original recipe specified 400 degrees. I think chicken cooks better at a lower temperature for a longer time so I experimented with lowering the temperature and extending the time. I am sure that other temp/times would work OK, too, just keep the proportion of 3:1 for the times for [skin side down and dish covered] : [skin side up and dish uncovered].

2. For years my handwritten version of the recipe (a) did not specify greasing the dish but I always did, and (b) said 2T vinegar and 1T oil. When I gave my aunt the recipe back in the late 70s she wondered about that ratio. A few years ago I found the newspaper clipping, and sure enough it said 1T vinegar and 2T oil, just like in salad dressing. I was right, however, that it was silent about greasing the dish. I like vinegar, though, so I still use 2T of vinegar, and only about 1 T of oil for the sauce.

rjm, first typed up 3/3/03; rev 11/17/13, 5/10/14