The work of Kapiolani Community College’s culinary faculty goes beyond the bounds of the classroom or instruction kitchen and reaches into the community. Staff members take part in projects involving food, especially local food. They explore the best ways to promote items, advance food safety and even help local producers develop value- added products.

Right now, chef-instructor Alan Tsuchiyama is in the middle of a project involving Molokai Livestock Cooperative’s grass-fed local beef. Tsuchiyama was tasked with testing the best ways to prepare five cuts — chuck, sirloin roast, sirloin steak, skirt steak and flank steak — including cooking methods, temperatures and seasonings. The project is sponsored by the Kohala Center, an organization focused on food self-reliance.

Tsuchiyama’s best results are being served to the dining public through Oct. 5 at the school’s Ka‘Ikena Restaurant, where one cut will be featured on the menu each week.

I like the taste of local grass-fed beef when I dine out. I appreciate its leanness and almost fresh flavor. (Could it be all that grass?)

My problem: When I prepare it myself, I end up with a dry piece of meat, no doubt because grass-fed beef is so lean. So after hearing about Tsuchiyama’s project, I called to ask his advice.

He invited me to the school to tackle flank steak.

The upshot: Grass-fed flank is best when served rare or medium-rare.

This is probably no surprise since, in general, a rare steak is more tender and juicy than a well-done one. But the rest of Tsuchiyama’s preparation, which he arrived at after much experimentation, is rather surprising.

“The key is to keep the moisture in,” he said.

That means no seasoning of the meat before it’s cooked, and no extended cooking over the high heat of a grill. Both these procedures pull out moisture. For a charred flavor, the flank is seared quickly in a pan in very hot oil.

“Grass-fed beef is lean, so you can add fat to it,” the chef said. “Fat is good.”

Searing is followed by about 5 minutes in a low oven until the steak reaches a temperature of 120 to 130 degrees, delivering rare to medium-rare doneness.

Then comes seasoning. Sprinkle with sea salt — “basic and done,” Tsuchiyama said. “Or use a fancier finishing salt.”

The final step to a great grass-fed flank meal: slicing the meat thinly, against the grain.

I went home and tried Tsuchi­yama’s simple steps on my own, and within 15 minutes dinner was ready. The steak was a bit rare for my taste but absolutely tender and juicy. My husband, a steak lover and picky eater, gave it a thumbs up. I call that a success.

MAKING AN ONO MEAL

Though flank is not considered a top cut of meat, Alan Tsuchiyama’s work demonstrates that with the right cooking method, it can be tasty and satisfying to eat.

REMOVE GRISTLE

A slab of flank meat could include white and silvery connective tissue called silver skin and cartilage called gristle. Both are tough and are best removed before cooking. Tsuchiyama shared his technique for removal:

Start with a sharp knife. Place the steak silver skin-side up. Grab an end of the silver skin and pull it back until it’s taut, then run the knife along the silver skin and gristle, blade turned upward. Use longer strokes if possible, to prevent a jagged cut.

PORTION THE FLANK

If you have a large slab of flank meat and need to portion out steaks, start by considering what you want to end up with. Flank meat is best served in thin pieces sliced against the grain to promote tenderness. Portioning, then, would be best if the meat were divided along the grain into widths appropriate to those serving slices.

COOK THE STEAK

Heat oven to 275 degrees. In frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or other oil with high smoke point) on high until oil is very hot and starts to ripple. Carefully place flank steak into pan, starting on end of pan closest to you (this prevents oil from splattering on you).

Cook 1 minute, then turn steak over (the cooked side should show a nice, dark-brown sear) and add 1 teaspoon butter to the pan. The butter adds both fat and flavor but, because it has a low smoke point, should not be added at the beginning of the cooking process. Cook meat another minute, then remove to a pan that can go into the oven.

Place meat in oven and cook 5 minutes, then remove and insert a thermometer from the side of the steak into the middle of the slab of meat. It is done when it hits 120 to 130 degrees.

Allow meat to rest 5 minutes or so, then slice against the grain into thin pieces. This step is important to promote a tender consistency. Season simply with salt or serve with a sauce such as chimichurri, an Argentine parsley-based sauce that goes well with beef.

TEMPERATURE TIP

Tsuchiyama says when taking the temperature of a thin piece of meat, insert the thermometer from the side so it has maximum contact with the meat. When dealing with a roast or other thick piece of meat, go in from the top.

Is there a cooking technique you’d like explained? Email food editor Joleen Oshiro at joshiro@staradvertiser.com.