Grilled Culotte Steak with Chimichurri and Grilled Green Beans

Sometimes nothing will do but a big hunk of medium-rare, grilled beef. It doesn't happen to me often, but when it does, I tend not to shy away. I had intended to go buy a hangar steak at our local butcher, but the owner's wife told me her favorite cut for grilling was the Culotte steak, a piece taken from the sirloin, so that sealed the deal. I then headed down through the market (I'm referring to the new public market in our town called Pybus Market) and was super happy to see that one of the vendors had brought in their first round of green beans from their farm. I snapped up a bunch with the intent to pickle them for future bloody Marys, (which I did before dinner) but saved a pound for dinner. I also grabbed some cilantro (mine has since fried in the heat), a jalapeno (mine are wee babies in the garden still) and a lime to add to the ingredients I already had at home to make the sauce for the steak--chimichurri. I absolutely LOVE this sauce and think it will probably hit every grilled piece of meat that comes off my BBQ this summer.

Grilled Culotte Steak with Chimichurri and Grilled Green Beans
Ingredients
Steak:
2 lb Culotte Steak (you could sub a skirt, flank or hangar steak)
Maldon salt & pepper to season

Beans:
1 lb fresh, clean green beans, tipped & tailed
1 T chopped garlic
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
Maldon salt to season
Fresh lime, cut into quarters 

Chimichurri:
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 C fresh oregano
1 jalapeno
4 cloves garlic 
1 shallot
*all finely chopped
1/2 C red wine vinegar
3/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt

Start out by making the Chimichurri first. Combine all of the chopped ingredients in a small bowl with the salt. Combine the vinegar and oil, and add to the chopped mixture. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.

If you want to avoid the hassle of chopping, you could put the ingredients in a food processor, but be careful--you run the risk of making a runny sauce without texture

Start your coals about 30 minutes before you're ready to start grilling. As soon as you're done, remove the steak from the refrigerator and unwrap, allowing it to rest and come to room temperature.  Season liberally with Maldon salt and pepper. I like to use Maldon for this, rather than kosher, expressly because of its crunch, but if you're in a pinch, or just plain don't want to buy it, just use the salt that you have. Next, toss  your green beans in a bowl with some salt, garlic and olive oil. 

Take all outside to the grill. Make sure your grill is clean and oiled. Place the steak on the grill and cook undisturbed for 10 minutes. (This timing is based on a steak that is roughly 2 1/2 inches thick, with the intent to produce it medium-rare. If you're using a thinner cut, reduce the grill time.) Turn over, and place your beans crosswise on the grill also, turning periodically for 7 minutes. This may sound like a real pain, but initially I followed instructions from a cook that advised me to place the beans in a grill basket, normally used for fish. This sounded like a good idea, until it was time to flip the basket. Let's just say I lost a LOT of beans--far more than I did simply placing them across the grate. 

Remove the steak and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. Give it one more sprinkling of salt and pepper. Remove the beans from the heat. Place them in a serving dish and season with salt and a squeeze of fresh lime. Slice the steak across the grain and serve with a heaping spoonful of chimichurri.