The Hands-Down Best Cut Of Meat For Pepper Steak

Pepper steak is the perfect weeknight dinner dish. It's hearty, bursting with flavor, and well-balanced. Best of all, it's not particularly time-intensive, especially if you marinate the meat the night before. For the uninitiated, think of it as a Chinese version of fajita night — minus the DIY elements. But what kind of steak should you choose to make this delicious dinner?

According to Food Republic recipe developer Milena Manolva, flank steak is the ideal meat for a classic pepper steak. Not only is flank steak generally affordable, but it's also a leaner cut that packs a bigger, beefier flavor than you might expect, making it perfect for stir-frying.

Due to its leanness, flank steak can dry out quickly if overcooked. To get the right temperature on your flank steak, Manolva suggests cooking the steak, veggies, and cornstarch slurry combination on low-to-medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Now that you've got the recipe, let's talk about the preparation process for your meat. While flank steak is a great cut for home chefs, there are some pitfalls. If you follow these recommendations, your steak should turn out tender and packed with bold flavor.

When cooking flank steak, the most important step is to cut it against the grain. While this is true for many meats, the specific pattern of muscle in flank steak makes it especially important to avoid gristly mouthfuls. Luckily, the grain should be easy to spot — just look for the thin lines running along the meat and cut thin, perpendicular slices.

Once you've identified the grain, the next step is the cut itself. Cutting thin slices of raw meat isn't the easiest task in the world, especially if your knives aren't in peak condition, but there's a way to make it significantly easier: partially freeze the beef to achieve the perfect slice. You don't want to fully freeze the meat, as that will make clean cuts nearly impossible, but 30 minutes in the freezer will add firmness to the steak and give you complete control over your slices.

While you can cook pepper steak without marinating in a pinch, it's not recommended. Because of flank steak's leanness, it needs help tenderizing. A good tip is to marinate any flank steak for at least 30 minutes before cooking.