I got the idea for this years ago from chef John Pence, husband of the more famous Caprial Pence. They have a great little restaurant in the Westmoreland area of Portland, Oregon. My variation uses less salt, less sugar and cures for less time than John's--his was, to my tastes, overpoweringly salty, and too the longer curing time went too far in breaking down the meat's texture. Less of everything leads to the best result, in other words, and it's so good it has become a favorite treatment for flank steak--I who repeat few things will usually do this several times a year. The result is lightly sweet and exotically spicy, and it's excellent with a steamed rice cooked with sauteed seeds like cumin, fennel and khala jeera (I use all three).
1 flank steak
2 heaping teaspoons curry powder
3 generous tablespoons sugar
3 generous tablespoons kosher salt.
About six hours before dinner, dust both sides of the meat with the curry powder, then rub in the salt and sugar. Lay the meat in a shallow dish loosely covered with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dinner, turning once. Before grilling, blot off the accumulated moisture and rub the meat with olive oil. Note that because of the moisture loss during curing, grilling time is shortened--about 7 minutes for perfect rare (not blue!). Also, the sugar content will encourage flame-ups so do stand guard. A minor disadvantage since the sugar almost means the meat marks beautifully in no time.
