Preparation:
Slice the flank steak on a slant as thinly as possible. Place each piece of steak between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound until one-quarter inch thick or about the thickness of a beer bottle cap. (This should result in rounds of steak 3 to 5 inches in diameter.) [Mine never look like this, but it doesn't really matter...]
Make the hot pepper paste: In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Rub the steak rounds with about 2/3 of this paste and reserve the remainder.
Grill the steak rounds over high heat for about 1-2 minutes per side, or until they are medium rare. Brush liberally with the remaining hot pepper paste.
Notes from Ross Thompson: Fair warning: I really like hot stuff, and I find this to be just barely tolerable. (Of course, I make about a 1/2 recipe and eat it all myself for dinner, instead of as an appetizer.) The author of the book [not known to JP] says "To this day I can count on one hand the customers who have eaten this dish and returned to eat it again." The last time I tried it, I used fresh Habanero peppers, and it was definitely the hottest version of it I've mad |