Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri White Beans

Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri Marinated White Beans
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During the summer months, I lose my interest in food. I mean, not entirely. If that were the case I would have a full-blown identity crisis. But my appetite does tend to recede. It’s the humidity. My body rejects it. But as the old saying goes “you gotta eat”, so I choose to exist on salads. And while the word “salad” conjures images deprivation, putting the word “steak” in front of it totally changes the picture. Suddenly the meal sounds refreshing but decadent, cooling but satisfying – the opposite of austere. And today’s Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri White Beans definitely fits that description. This salad features a marinated, grilled hanger steak sliced and served on a bed of white beans soaked in a tangy and fiery Chimichurri dressing. This is such a good one, so let’s make it!

Hanger steak sprinkled with salt on a plate

What I love about this recipe is most of the magic happens without you and far away from your stove. Exactly what you want when the humidex is off the charts. We’re going to kick things off by whisking up a marinade for the steak. Hanger steak doesn’t require a marinade. You can cook it with a bit of salt and pepper and be perfectly happy. But since the white beans need to be marinated, you might as well marinate the steak. It does make for a more tender flavourful steak anyway.

Flat leaf parsley on a cutting board ready to be chopped.

In a bowl whisk to combine garlic, Dijon mustard, finely chopped anchovy fillet, soy sauce, and olive oil. Essentially we’re making a big old bowl of umami. Add the steak and toss to coat. Cover and let chill for a minimum of three hours. Overnight is best, though.

Chimichurri ingredients in a bowl ready to be mixed.

With the steak off getting happy, let’s turn our attention to the beans. But before the actual beans enter the picture, we have a fair amount of chopping to get through. Finely chop parsley, oregano, and mint. Mince some garlic and finely dice a Shallot. And finally, thinly slice a few red chilies. Feel free to knock back the number of chilies you use. Heat tolerance is very personal. Add some olive oil, lime juice, salt, and red wine vinegar and whisk to combine. Congrats! You just made Chimichurri.

Cherry tomatoes on a cutting board.

Now, I realize there are a lot of Chimichurri recipes online that come together in a food processor. You can absolutely go this route if you really hate chopping by hand. But I will say, the food processor does give the Chimichurri a more mulch-like consistency. Everything gets broken down a little too finely and it loses some of its brightness and texture. For this reason, I prefer to chop everything by hand. But again, if that doesn’t appeal to you, pop everything into a food processor. Just be sure to pulse rather than blitz it together. That will help you avoid over-processing.

White beans, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl.
White beans, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and chimichurri in a bowl ready to be mixed.

Now that the Chimichurri is done, we can pile the white beans, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers into a bowl. Pour the Chimichurri over the beans and toss to coat. Cover and place the salad in the fridge. Leave it to marinate alongside the steak, once again, for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight, and – you know what I’m going to say – overnight is preferable. This is what I mean when I say most of the magic happens without you and away from the stove. The beans and steak gain most of their flavor and personality while they sit in the fridge. I just love that.

Hanger steak sliced on a cutting board.

When you’re ready for dinner, take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. We want the meat to come up to room temperature before we introduce it to a screaming hot grill. Heat your grill until smoking and add the steak. Sear the steak on both sides and continue to cook until the meat registers an internal temperature of 120-125 F. Take the steak off of the heat and tent with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests so by the time the meat hits the plate it should be sitting pretty at 130-135 F, which is rare to medium rare. You can cook it a little past this but I recommend being conservative. Hanger steak can become quite tough if it’s cooked much beyond medium.

Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri White Beans

When the rest time is over, transfer the steak to a cutting board and slice against the grain into thin slices. Pile the beans onto a platter and drape the steak slices on top. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and edible flowers if available. I went with oregano and sage blooms because that’s what I had in my garden.

Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri White Beans

And that’s everything you need to know about this Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri White Beans. A rich and decadent meal that still delivers refreshment and asks very little of you in terms of preparation. So basically, this salad is ideal.

Enjoy!

Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri Marinated White Beans

Hanger Steak Salad with Chimichurri White Beans

This Hanger Steak Salad features meaty slices of tender marinated hanger steak draped over tart and tangy Chimichurri-marinated White Beans.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Marinating Time 12 hours
Course Main Course, Salad
Servings 4

Equipment

  • 1 grill or cast-iron griddle

Ingredients
  

Marinated Hanger Steak

  • 1 hanger steak **
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 anchovy fillets finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard heaping
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 lemon juiced

Chimichurri Marinated White Beans

  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 shallot finely diced
  • 3-4 red chilis finely sliced
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh oregano finely chopped
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 lime juiced
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 2 cans white beans drained and rinsed
  • 2 mini cucumbers sliced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved

Instructions
 

For the Steak

  • Sprinkle the steak all over with the salt and set it aside.
    1 hanger steak **, 1 tsp kosher salt
  • In a bowl whisk to combine the remaining ingredients.  Place the steak in the bowl and toss to coat. Cover and marinate for a minimum of three hours but overnight is better. 
    2 cloves garlic, 2 anchovy fillets, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 lemon

For the Beans

  • Place the garlic, shallot, red chilis, parsley, mint, oregano, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
    2 cloves garlic, 1 shallot, 3-4 red chilis, ¼ cup fresh parsley, 2 tbsp fresh mint, 2 tbsp fresh oregano, ½ cup olive oil, ½ cup red wine vinegar, ¾ tsp salt, 1 lime
  • Place the white beans, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl. Pour the chimichurri on top and toss to coat. Cover and let marinate for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight. 
    2 cans white beans, 2 mini cucumbers, 1 pint cherry tomatoes

To Assemble

  • Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking.
  • Heat a grill or a cast-iron griddle over high heat until smoking. Take the steak out of the marinade and place it on the grill. Sear the steak on both sides until grill marks form. Continue to cook until the steak registers an internal temperature of 125° F. Transfer the steak to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes. **
  • Spoon the bean salad onto a platter and slice the steak. Drape the steak over the beans and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Notes

** A whole hanger steak has a tough membrane that runs through the center of the cut. Typically a butcher removes this membrane, thus separating the hanger steak into two pieces. This recipe calls for just one of those pieces as they are usually sold as separate steaks. 
*** This will give you a rare to medium rare steak. The internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests. 130°F is rare. 135°F is medium rare. I recommend not cooking the steak beyond this point as this particularly cut can get quite tough. 
Keyword chimichurri, hanger steak, steak, white beans

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