This is our favorite Flanken Roast…and if you don’t know if you like lima beans, you’re about to discover that you really do.
This has been one of my family’s favorite flanken roast recipes since October of 2022 when I gave a ride to a friend’s daughter and she mentioned that her mother-in-law makes a great flanken roast.
I didn’t just let that comment go in passing. I made sure she gave me her mother-in-law’s number and I called Mrs. Miller the following Monday.
The notes I wrote down during that phone call read, “Lima beans salt brown sugar and 2 heads of whole cloves. Flanken roast on top salt pepper brown sugar. Cover bake low and slow. 275 for 5 hours.”
Really, that’s all you need to know. Most often I would make a wet rub for the top of the roast instead of just sprinkling the spices on top. But I never really measured. Until this year, when my friend Esti R. asked me for the recipe and insisted that she needed amounts and specific instructions!
It was time to measure and write it down officially.
Frozen baby lima beans used to be available, but I haven’t seen them in awhile. Canned lima beans would become too mushy after baking, and so, I now use dried baby lima beans and just give them a headstart by boiling for 45 minutes to an hour. If you do find frozen lima beans, you can just throw them into the roasting pan without any prior boiling.
Once your baby lima beans are boiled (this can be done ahead), add them to the bottom of a roasting pan. Add the salt, Montreal Steak Seasoning (black pepper is fine too), lots of whole garlic cloves, and brown sugar.
Add the roast on top. I sprinkle it lightly with salt before adding the rub, but that depends on how salty you like it.
To make the rub, combine olive oil, crushed garlic, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and brown sugar.
Spread over roast.
Add a little water to the baking pan. Cover well and bake for 4 hours. Big Note! If you have a larger roast, or if you are using a glass or disposable baking pan, it will take longer! Keep tabs on it.
The quantities and baking time in the recipe below are for a very average sized 3lb roast. Adjust accordingly for a larger or smaller roast.
Flanken Roast Over Lima Beans
Ingredients
- 3 lb flanken roast
Lima Beans:
- ¾ bag (12 oz) dried baby lima beans
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Montreal steak seasoning
- 20 whole garlic cloves
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Rub:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp Montreal steak seasoning
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 – 3 tbsp crushed garlic
Instructions
- Boil lima beans for 1 hour. Drain.
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- In a black roasting pan, combine beans with salt, Montreal steak seasoning, and brown sugar.
- Add roast on top and sprinkle lightly with salt.
- Combine rub ingredients and spread over roast. Add 1 cup water to the bottom of pan.
- Cover well and bake for 4 hours, until roast is tender and very springy to the touch. Note! If you use a Pyrex it will take longer and if you use a disposable it will take much longer!
Notes
This looks great. Will I get the same result without the Lima beans?
The baby limas are a main part of this recipe, but if you want a Flanken Roast recipe without lima beans, we have others on the site. These are both popular:
https://betweencarpools.com/flanken-roast-with-shallot-sauce/
https://betweencarpools.com/flanken-roast-over-potatoes/
Think it will be just as good with a brick roast?
Most probably – bone-on meat, though, gives lots of flavor to the beans, so won’t be precisely the same. Baking times will be less.
Can I use chick peas instead?
No idea, never tried. Give limas a chance 😉
Can I use just flanken? If so, how would you adjust the recipe?
Yes for sure. Or short ribs. Anything with a bone. The only adjustment would be a shorter baking time. You know it’s ready when it’s springy to the touch and it feels like if you poke it, your finger would go right through (i.e. when it’s not ready, it still feels rubbery).
A quick tip if you ever have a boneless meat is to add a marrow bone when cooking to add the missing flavor.