Coffee-Rubbed Flank Steak Crostini w/ Horseradish Cream Sauce

Prep time:

20 minutes

Cook time:

15 minutes

Difficulty level:

Simple

The flavors in this bite size, easy to eat, appetizer will leave your guests wanting more and more! I often eat just this for a my meal… yummm!

I put this recipe together for a football watch party a few weekends ago. I knew I wanted to do some sort of a steak appetizer, BUT, I knew with a larger group, I didn’t want to spend a ton of money. Since one of my favorite things on the grill is fajitas and I knew that flank steak was a great option for feeding the masses without breaking the bank. Of course, you can swap out this flank steak for beef tenderloin or even a little prime rib, but this is one cut of meat that I love to grill.

So, I knew I wanted flank, but what to go with it?? Well, I had a few different types of cheese in the fridge and one was a fantastic garlic and herb infused goat cheese that often accompanies my wine in the evening, and my husband loves a great baguette, so… voila! Lets combine these amazing flavors and create a taste-bud tickler.

Something I have been extremely interested in this year are coffee rubs… what spices go with coffee, what types of coffee go with what spices, etc. Believe me, I’ve made a few that didn’t please the taste buds quite so well, but hey, what are experiments for? This recipe, however, is insanely awesome on flank steak and then grilled over a charcoal fire. Trust me, you are going to want smell the bag of goodness before you put it on the steak. The aroma from the coffee and the rub ‘n spice is to-die-for. The reason I added the Hasty-Bake Rub in this recipe is because 1) it’s my favorite, but 2) a majority of the spices in Hasty-Bake Rub ‘N Spice pair amazingly well with coffee –that just shows you how versatile the HB Rub ‘N Spice really is! Also, you can buy one bottle of HB Rub cheaper than you can buy the 10 different seasonings needed to make this recipe. Whatever coffee rub you don’t use for this recipe, you can keep is your baggie and use next time!

I will say, horseradish is not my favorite item in my pantry, but there is just enough in this sauce recipe to give it the little kick needed. WOW! So. Dang. Good.

I hope you enjoy this appetizer as much as I do! PS: the great thing about this appetizer is that it is more filling than alot of appetizers so, for a party, this is great!

Ingredients

For the Rub:
1/4 Cup finely ground espresso or dark roast coffee
1/2 Cup Hasty-Bake Rub ‘N Spice
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp coriander
1 tbls dry ground mustard
8-10 oz spreadable goat cheese
3 lbs flank steak
1 large baguette (sliced)
For the Sauce:
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/3 cup light mayo
2 tsps olive oil
1 tbls prepared horseradish
1 tsp each fresh chopped rosemary, oregano, minced garlic, chives, and parsely
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Prepare the coffee rub by adding Hasty-Bake Rub ‘N Spice, coffee, ground mustard, ginger, coriander and kosher salt together in a ziplock baggie. Shake bag to mix ingredients thoroughly
Coat flank steak generously with prepared rub and set aside for 15-20 minutes.
While steak is coming up to room temp, prepare your Hasty-Bake for baking/grilling and load your firebox with approximately 1/3 to 1/2 pan full of hardwood charcoal, light fire with hood open.
Once 60-70% of coals are glowing red, raise your firebox to approximately bake setting without the heat deflector and close the hood to allow cooking grills to get hot.
Once cooking grills are hot, place flank steak directly over flame. Cook 5-7 minutes per side, or until internal meat temp reaches 140 degrees for medium rare. While steak is cooking slice baguettes into bite size circles.
Let steak rest for at least 7-8 minutes. This will allow the juices to absorb back into the meat. The steak will actually rise another 5 degrees or so to reach 145 degrees internally. Place baguette slices on the indirect side of the grill (not over direct heat) and allow to toast briefly.
While steak rests and baguettes toast, prepare horseradish cream sauce (this can also be prepared ahead of time). Add sour cream, mayo, olive oil, horseradish, chopped herbs, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste, together in a bowl and mix together.
Pull hot toast disks off the grill, spread goat cheese on top of one side, then place small strips of steak on top of goat cheese, followed with a small dollop of horseradish cream sauce, garnish with fresh chives (optional).
Serve immediately and enjoy!