Les Jones

Food & Drink > Grilling: Flat Iron Steak

Tonight I cooked a flat iron steak, billed as a new cut of meat. It was much more tender than the tri-tip steaks from a few months ago, though I'll repeat my admission that I'm not 100% sure that what I got back then was a tri-tip cut. The flat iron was more expensive, at $6.99 a pound from Kroger's, but well worth it. I used a rub suggested on the package, but it was responsible for just a hint of the incredible flavor.

I'll tell you exactly what the grilled flat iron steak put me in mind of. It brought back fond memories of the Brazilian BBQ beef we had the last time we were in Manhattan. Great flame-cooked beef that's juicy, tender, and naturally delicious.

We loved it, and we're going to buy it again the next chance we get. Confessions of a Butcher has more about the flatiron steak:

Why haven't we heard about this cut until now?: Well, as previously mentioned, this is an non-traditional cut. But, in 2002, the National Cattleman's Assc. used the Checkoff Program, (a very cool program itself) to commission a muscle profiling study. In this study between NCBA’s Center for Research and Technical Services in partnership with the University of Florida and the University of Nebraska where every major muscle of the animal was analyzed separately for flavor and tenderness. The reason behind commissioning this study was to find better, more efficient cuts from the Chuck and the Round for both retail and food service uses. The results were pretty surprising. One of the most surprising things the study found was that the Flat Iron is in fact, the second most tender cut of meat from the steer, after the tenderloin. This cut then became the center star in a new promotional push by the NCA entitled "Value Cuts".

Is it a worthwhile cut of meat? The Flat Iron is, in this butcher's mind, one of the most versatile pieces of beef. It takes to a marinade like no other, it's tender beyond belief, and you can cook it with much success in many methods. Plus, it's cheap. Since it is from the shoulder, it can be found for as little as $3/lb here in the Midwest, and probably not much more than that elsewhere. You can grill it, use if for stirfry meat, use it for fajitas, braise it, fanfry it. Really, it is a great little cut that hopefully you will want to go out and try. If your butcher doesn't carry it, ask them to do some for you. IF they dont know how, refer them to the NCA's site, beef.org, or explain to them what I just showed. It will be worth your time.

More from Wikipedia. Shoulder top blade or top blade seem to be synonyms for flat iron steak. Even more from Gourmet Sleuth with recipes and name origins.

Photography note - There were a bunch of orange flames in front of the steak, but you can only see a hint of them in the photo. Gotta work on that.