Papayas are in Season: So Marinate a Flank Steak!

By a conservative and rough measure (Google Maps), I have traveled over 19,494 miles between March 22 and May 28. That's 78 percent of the circumference of the earth. WHAT.

I have been to 13 states on 6 business trips and 3 personal trips, stayed at about 9 different hotels, celebrated a buddy's wedding, and eaten hibachi with a bunch of high school prom-goers (funny story*). Now I am home. For now.

My returning-home ritual includes, of course, a thorough shopping trip to restock my kitchen supplies. Now, I don't think I'm making any radical claims when I say it's best (and cheapest) to cook with fruits and vegetables when they're in season -- and Everyday Food magazine told me papayas are in season.

So, I went out and bought a papaya, using some Googled instructions (my smartphone is my friend) for picking a good, ripe fruit. And find one I did -- my papaya was enormous, heavy, soft, and delicate, with a flowery aroma. After cutting off the rind, halving it, and scooping out the seeds, I pretty much went to town on the delicate meat, eating spears of bright red juicy goodness until I was pretty much sick of papaya.

Then I was like, "Hey. I still have half a papaya."

So obviously I marinated a flank steak in papaya. Recipe after the jump!

Most of the recipes I found via Google suggested a very simple marinade, one using just the mashed fruit, soy sauce and garlic; I decided to add a little fresh ground ginger and some scallions to add a bit of spicy bite to the dish.

Papaya Marinated Flank Steak (serves about four)

• Half a fresh, ripe papaya
• 1/3 cup of soy sauce. Particularly when cooking, I go for low sodium soy sauce so I can better control sodium in the final dish with other seasonings.
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, finely grated. If all you have is powdered ground ginger, I'd skip.
• 3 scallions, white sections sliced in 1/4 inch pieces and separated from the greens.
• 1 1/2 lb. flank steak
  
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

1. At least four hours before you want to eat, marinate the steak. Cut the papaya into chunks and in a large bowl, mash the pieces to a rough puree. (If this is any way difficult, your papaya is too green. Go get a riper papaya.) Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the puree; to the larger amount, add the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and scallion whites.

2. Cut the flank steak into single serving pieces (about four 6-ounce pieces or three 8-ounce pieces). I like pre-cutting the steaks here because a) they will marinate slightly better and b) you'll have better control over doneness -- I like my steak on the rare end of medium rare; others like their steaks to be the consistency of boot leather.

3. Put the steaks into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Pour in the marinade, squeeze out as much air as possible from the bag, and seal. Turn the bag over a few times to really coat the steaks, then refrigerate at least 3 hours (but no longer than 12 hours -- the enzyme papain, found in papaya, is pretty good at breaking down the fibers in meat; too good actually. It will turn the meat leathery if you marinate too long. And yes, I'm aware there's less papain in ripe fruit, but better safe than sorry).

4. When it's time to cook, brush the grate of a grill or a grill pan with olive oil and heat to medium high heat. If using charcoal, spread coals evenly to ensure an evenly hot cook space. Remove steaks from bag, allowing the marinade to drip off the steaks, and discard excess marinade. Grill steaks to desired doneness, about 3 minutes a side for medium rare, flipping as little as possible. Serve with reserved mashed papaya and scallion greens for garnish.

BAM.

*Hibachi with high school prom goers story: So I'm Huntington, WV, with about 16 hours to kill because their airport apparently closes at 4 PM on Saturday afternoons. After 4 days of travel, I'm tired of eating by myself. So I figure, "hey, hibachi is a good way to not be eating alone! At least I'll be at a table with fellow diners etc!"

Yeah. I know I gave away the punchline -- turns out, it's prom night in Huntington, so obviously I'm sitting at a 12-seat hibachi table with 10 ABSURDLY DRESSED HIGH SCHOOL KIDS and their chaperone. And so, equally obviously, I was confronted with painful awkwardness and silly conversations all while eating my surf n' turf. Dinner fail.

Stay hungry!