Chef Jimmy Bannos, Jr., of Chicago's The Purple Pig, swears by his double-marinating technique. Here, he marinates his steak before it goes on the grill in a tangy lemon marinade and then gives it a quick dunk in a clean batch of marinade when it's hot off the grill. Bonus: The high amount of acid in the marinade also makes tougher cuts like flank and skirt steak extra tender. Slideshow: More Steak Recipes
How to Make It
In a small saucepan, cover the garlic cloves with 1 1/2 cups of the olive oil and cook over low heat until the garlic is tender and golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Strain the garlic through a fine sieve set over a small bowl; reserve the garlicky olive oil for another use. In a small bowl, mash the garlic with 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper. Rub 3 tablespoons of the garlic paste all over the flank steaks
In a medium bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the remaining 3/4 cup of olive oil and the oregano. Place the steaks in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and coat with 1 1/2 cups of the lemony marinade. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Light a grill. Remove the steaks from the marinade, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Discard the marinade. Grill the steaks over moderately high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 125°, 8 to 10 minutes. Dip the grilled steaks in the remaining marinade in the bowl and transfer to a carving board. Spread the remaining garlic paste on the steaks and let stand for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the meat against the grain and serve.
Make Ahead
Serve With
French fries.