This has become a tried-and-true favorite in the Nicholson household, and is a frequently requested dish from Rebecca's husband, Chad. While the preparation takes a little bit of time, the rest of the cooking is entirely hands-off which makes this great for everything from date-night to entertaining guests. The prepared steak pinwheels will appear fancy, befitting of a special occasion, and only you will know just how easy it was to make!
| Servings: 4 |
Prep: 15 minutes
|
Cook: 55 minutes |
Ingredients
- 1-2 pound flank steak, butterflied
- 2 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1.5 Cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/2 Cup soft/spreadable cheese of your choosing (i.e. Cream Cheese, Neufchatel, Boursin)
- 1 package frozen spinach - thawed and well-drained
- 1/2 Cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Butterfly your steak by lining your knife up parallel with the long edge of the cutting board and slicing through the center of the steak, stopping just short of cutting all the way through. This will make it so that you can open up the steak like a book, doubling the original height of the steak.
- Using a meat tenderizer, even out the thickness of the steak, aiming for ¼ to ½ inch thick.
- In a large bowl, add egg yolk and lightly whisk with a fork. Add spinach and panko bread crumbs, mixing with the egg. Finish off by tossing in the mozzarella, soft cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Top butterflied steak with cheese stuffing, spreading it out evenly. Leave a 1 inch border along the edges of the steak clear of stuffing. Sprinkle top of stuffing with ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
- Roll the steak along the “grain” (the ripples in the meat), starting with the smallest end first. Roll the steak tightly and tuck in any stray pieces.
- Using cooking twine (100% cotton string), snugly loop & tie the twine along the steak in 2 inch intervals. String should be snug enough to slightly compress meat but not so tight it begins to cut into the steak. About 5 strands of twine.
- Place stuffed & tied flank steak on a foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet of your choice (even a 9x13 baking dish works well). Drizzle the steak with olive oil and use your fingers to thoroughly rub it into the meat. Sprinkle remaining ¼ teaspoon garlic powder on top of the steak.
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, then set oven to broil and cook for another 5-10 minutes, to taste. Caution: Depending on how much juice the steak released while cooking, there may be a little smoke while broiling.
- Remove stuffed flank from oven and let rest for 15 minutes, exposed to air and undisturbed, before slicing into 8 pinwheels and serving.
Rebecca's Notes
- This is the baseline recipe - you know Rebecca loves a recipe that begs for variations! The cheese filling you use could take on so many different profiles, from French Onion to Philly Cheesesteak to Southwest and beyond. Just ensure you have a soft, spreadable cheese somewhere in the mix, as without it Rebecca has found the filling to be a little dry when eating the finished steak pinwheels
- This dish is perfect for date-night, as it is really helpful to have a second person on-hand to help while rolling and tying off the steak
- It is also perfect for entertaining, as you could easily prepare the steak in advance through Step 7 and then just keep in the fridge until you're ready to bake it off for your guests (let rest out of fridge at room temp for about 30 minutes before putting in the oven)
- Recipe based on the same by the Homemade Hooplah, with modifications made by Rebecca based on her learnings. Photo credit to Homemade Hooplah.