Sounds pretty good. I usually just buy the bottled marinades (Emerill's "Lemon, Rosemary and Gaaaahlic" is a favorite) because they're easy, but this one doesn't sound particularly cumbersome.

And I like the Australian Shirazes. Alice White makes a nice one that I can usually pick up around $6 a bottle.

What kind of a grill do you use? If you are not already using a similiar product, allow me to make a suggestion. Head over to biggreenegg.com and look into purchasing one of these puppies. I picked up the mini model back in August, and I am now a true believer. They are pricey, but if you cook on it three or four nights a week as I do, it is well worth it. Your flank recipe here would bring tears to your eyes it would be so good cooked on an 'egg'.

Another good marinade is some spicy homemade salsa. I use my sister's and sometimes add a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Charcoal rules! I refuse to have a gas grill. Maybe I'll have to grill something tomorrow night (it's not *that* cold in Denver yet).

Damn, one more reason to move out of this third-story/no-balcony apartment. Gotta get a grill.

That sounds really good.

If you haven't already, you should try getting "real" hardwood charcoal. I've been buying mine from Whole Foods, and I've never thought of going back to briquettes. It lights quickly if you use a chimney, and it burns considerably hotter than the briquettes. The only downside is that it seems to also burn faster. But for most grilling, charcoal lasts long enough.

One other thing: I was making a Korean rib recipe a month or two ago, and one of the recipes I found for the marinade included a small amount of kiwi*, which the recipe said would tenderize the meat. I didn't test the recipe using both kiwi and non-kiwi marinades, but it seemed to work very well to me. I believe the kiwi has an enzyme similar to that found in papaya. Because I only used a small amount in proportion to the rest of the marinade, there was no noticeable taste of kiwi*.

Cheers,

Robert

*The fruit, not a resident of New Zealand.

Wow. Another amatuer Gourmet who has a blog. Cool.

Of course, I haven't been all over the blogosphere, so I'm not sure how many there are, but . . . damn, I like your style.

That sounds like one fantastic recipe. I will try it. And you are absolutely right about grilling. I have one of those big barrel type smoker/grills and the only fuel that goes in there is hickory or mesquite, apple, dogwood, oak, etc.

If you're going to cook with a gas, why not just use an electric oven?

I cook with gas because any flames--sorry about saying this with you non-gas fanatics out there--are better than no flames! I've used charcoal, charcoal with various wood chips, and also a gas grill. While I prefer charcoal w wood chips, a gas grill--to ME, anyway--is quite acceptable and is much faster than waiting 20-30 minutes before you can even start cooking. By then it's even later, I'm tired, and a bowl of cereal starts looking better than ever...!

I'm a Alton Brown/Good Eats fan (from Food TV) and a tip he had for no flameups on a hardwood chunk charcoal fire was to put the skirt directly on the coals after using a hair dryer to blow off the majority of the ash.

You get the sear and the flavor but no flames.

I grill with gas...(hangs head in shame), it was a gift from the GF.

This recipe is very similar to Julia Child's marinade for Leg of Lamb. Use your marinade on a boneless, butterflied leg of lamb and then grill to medium rare. Delicious for Easter dinner.