Nutrition: 346 Calories | 5.5g Net Carbs | 34.9g Protein | 19.4g Total Fat
Perfect for a special meal, these flank steak pinwheels are stuffed with spinach and roasted peppers, wrapped in bacon, and topped with blue cheese sauce.
For our very first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, I made these stuffed flank steak pinwheels for my husband. He loved them, and so did I. With fresh spinach, roasted red peppers, bacon, and a creamy blue cheese sauce, what’s not to enjoy? Flash forward 14 years, and my husband was noting that I haven’t made the pinwheels for him in years, which is true. So, I decided to make them for Father’s Day. It was the ideal way to celebrate the special man in our family, and the girls loved them too. And now I get to share this special recipe with you.
Pre-Cook the Bacon
Stuffed flank steak is not hard to make. It just takes a little time. The first step is really easy. Lay slices of bacon in a single layer between paper towels on a plate. Then, microwave the bacon for about two minutes. You only want to partially cook it. It will shrink a little, but still be flexible enough to wrap around the pinwheels. By partially cooking the bacon you ensure that the bacon and steak are fully cooked at the same time. Otherwise you end up with raw bacon or overcooked steak. Partially cook twelve bacon slices in batches, and set them aside for later.
Butterfly the Flank Steak
Part of the beauty of flank steak pinwheels is the perfect spiral of steak and stuffing. In order to create this impressive spiral, the steak needs to be pretty thin. So, you need to butterfly the steak. Start by identifying the grain of the meat. The grain is the alignment of the muscle fibers in the meat. In flank steak they are pretty easy to see, just look for the parallel lines running through the meat.
Orient the flank steak so that the grain is vertical. Then, slowly and carefully slice the steak in half keeping your knife parallel to your cutting board. You will open the steak up like you’re opening a book. Don’t slice all the way through. Leave a half-inch to a quarter-inch holding the steak together creating one long, thin piece of steak.
Here’s a quick time-lapse video showing you how to butterfly a flank steak.
Pound the Steak and Add Stuffing
After you have butterflied the flank steak, open it up on your cutting surface. Then, cover the steak with a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Next, use a meat mallet to pound out the steak to one quarter-inch thick. This will make the steak even thinner as well as tenderize it. Finally, it’s time to stuff your flank steak. So, layer baby spinach leaves on top of the steak, and then layer roasted red peppers. Leave a little room at the edges when you’re layering the stuffing.
Roll Up the Flank Steak
Now that your flank steak is layered with flavor, it’s time to roll it up. So, starting on the short side of the steak, roll away from you keeping everything as tight as possible. The grain of the meat should be running across the length of the roll. Roll the flank steak up all the way, and let it rest seam side down.
Wrap in Bacon and Slice the Pinwheels
With the rolled up flank steak resting seam side down, lay six pieces of bacon across the roll and secure them with tooth picks. Then, turn the roll over. While holding the roll together, secure the remaining pieces of bacon to the roll with tooth picks. Add extra tooth picks as necessary to keep the flank steak roll together. Finally, slice the roll between the pieces of bacon creating six pinwheels. Now you will be cutting across the grain of the steak, making it extra tender.
Grill the Flank Steak Pinwheels
Grilling the stuffed flank steak is the same as cooking any other steak. Grill the first side for six to seven minutes, and then repeat on the other side until the steak has reached your desired doneness. Lastly, let the flank steak pinwheels rest for a few minutes before serving so the juices can redistribute.
Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce
While the steak is grilling, make a creamy blue cheese sauce to top it off with. In a small saucepan, combine cream cheese, crumbled blue cheese, and milk. Heat the sauce pan over medium heat until the sauce is smooth. Then, remove the pan from the heat. Let the sauce cool and thicken while you finish grilling the steak. After the flank steak pinwheels have rested, serve them with the blue cheese sauce on top. Enjoy.
Other recipes to check out: Applebee’s Parmesan Steak and Shrimp, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, and Grilled Cornish Hens.
Impressive Stuffed Flank Steak Pinwheels with Spinach and Peppers
Perfect for a special meal, these flank steak pinwheels are stuffed with spinach and roasted peppers, wrapped in bacon, and topped with blue cheese sauce.
Total Time: 40 min
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Flank Steak
- 2.5 oz Baby Spinach
- 10 oz Jar Roasted Red Peppers
- 8 oz Bacon (12 slices)
- 2 oz Cream Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Crumbled Blue Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Milk
Directions
- Line a microwave safe plate with paper towels. Place one layer of sliced bacon on the paper towel, not overlapping, and cover with another paper towel. Microwave for 2 minutes. Continue in batches until all the bacon is partially cooked. Set aside.
- While the bacon is cooking, butterfly the flank steak. Cut the steak in half keeping your knife parallel with the cutting surface. Cut through the steak in the direction of the grain. Continue cutting the steak almost all the way through to the other side leaving 1/2″ to 1/4″ to hold it together, then open it up like a book. (see pictures and video above) Cover the steak with a piece of parchment or plastic wrap, and use a meat mallet to pound it flat to about 1/4″ thick.
- Layer the baby spinach on top of the flattened steak almost all the way to the edge. Drain the jar of roasted red peppers, and layer them on top of the spinach.
- Roll up the flank steak from the short side, so that the grain of the meat is horizontal across the roll. Roll away from you, keeping everything as tight as possible. When the flank steak is all rolled up, let it sit seam side down so it stays together.
- Lay 6 pieces of partially cooked bacon over the flank steak roll and secure with tooth picks. Turn the roll over and wrap the remaining bacon around the roll, securing with tooth picks as necessary. Cut the flank steak roll, across the grain, between the slices of bacon.
- Grill the flank steak pinwheels for about 6-7 minutes per side to desired doneness.
- While the pinwheels are grilling, heat the cream cheese, blue cheese and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the sauce is smooth (about 5 minutes), remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool and thicken.
- When the pinwheels are finished grilling, let them rest for 3-5 minutes. Top with the blue cheese sauce and serve. Enjoy.
Nutrition:
Yield: 6 servings, Serving Size: 1 Pinwheel
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 346, Total Fat: 19.4g, Saturated Fat: 8.3g, Cholesterol: 108.3mg, Sodium: 781.4mg, Carbohydrates: 5.8g, Fiber 0.3g, Sugars: 3g, Protein 34.9g
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