TERIYAKI-STYLE THIN-SLICED BEEF WITH MANGO AND LIME

Preparation

Baking Directions:

We love teriyaki, a classic Japanese technique in which you marinate meat (or fowl, fish — even vegetables) in a sweet-and-sour soy-based sauce and then grill it.

In this recipe we ring a little change on tradition by using half the soy mixture first as a light marinade, then adding some ginger and chopped scallions to brighten up the flavor and using the resulting mixture as a finishing sauce.

It’s a very nice, fresh, light treatment for beef.

Our choice for the beef cut in this recipe is the chuck top blade steak, the ultimate secret weapon of cooks who like tender beef but don’t like to pay a lot for it.

Unlike other cuts from the chuck, this steak is exquisitely tender; in fact, it’s the second most tender cut of beef you can buy, surpassed only by the tenderloin — and it’s about half the price of other, less tender steaks.

There is a catch, of course.

Running smack down the center of each top blade steak is a line of inedible cartilage.

But since you’re going to thin-slice the steak anyway, this is not much of a problem.

After you grill the steaks, you simply cut out the line of gristle before you slice the meat.

But if you can’t find top blade steaks or if that gristle really bothers you, you can always substitute more expensive top loin strip steaks.

Build a multi-level fire in your grill: Leaving one-quarter of the bottom free of coals, bank the coals in the remaining three-quarters of the grill so that they are three times as high on one side as on the other.

When all the coals are ignited and the temperature is hot (you can hold your hand about 5 inches above the grill grid, over the area where the coals are deepest, for 2 seconds or less), you’re ready to cook.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade until they are well combined and the sugar has dissolved.

Place the meat in a single layer in a shallow dish, pour half of the marinade over it, and turn several times to coat on both sides.

Add the scallions and fresh ginger to the marinade remaining in the bowl, mix well, and set aside.

Put the steaks on the hottest part of the grill and cook until just seared, about 5 minutes per side.

To check for doneness, poke the meat with your finger to check its firmness level; if you’re unsure, nick, peek, and cheat: Make a cut into the thickest part of the meat and peek at the center to be sure it is just slightly less done that you like it to allow for carryover cooking.

Remove the meat from the grill, cover it loosely with foil, and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Serving Directions:

Slice the meat very thinly against the grain and add the slices to the bowl of ginger and scallion sauce, tossing to coat.

Mix together the diced mangoes and the lime juice.

Divide the meat among serving plates, garnish with the mangoes and the cilantro, and serve immediately.