Flat Iron Steak
The Grillin Fools are big steak eaters. Rib eyes, NY strips, porterhouses, filets, whatever. You name it and we like to grill it and have even more fun eating it. Off the beaten path a bit is the flat iron steak. It’s not nearly as popular as its brethren mention above but we still love it. Not many places carry it. Not all that many people had heard of it until recently when a number of restaurant chains began offering the flat iron as an entree. Why the recent rise in flat iron steaks at restaurants? It’s much cheaper per pound than a lot of other cuts of steak and, if done properly, can be really good.
At this point I will hand it off to my dad to show you exactly how to do it properly….
The flat iron steak has been, until recently, a little known cut of steak, from the shoulder of a steer, and is a grilling favorite with this Grillin’ Fool. This tasty cut is now beginning to appear in restaurants and meat markets as a result of research at a couple of universities into what was previously regarded as a waste cut of beef. The result is a nearly perfect steak for our grilling pleasure.
Recently all three Grillin’ Fools were touring around the city and stopped at a local meat market, Kenrick’s, and discovered they offered flat iron steaks on a daily basis. They were cut correctly for grilling so I picked up a couple to enjoy and share the experience with you. Here is one of them:
The flat iron steak, a non-loin steak, benefits from marinating and shouldn’t be cooked beyond medium. It has been suggested that the steak be grilled over medium high heat to prevent the outside from charring before the middle is heated rather than over high heat like we normally do steaks on this site. I usually go for medium rare doneness and have had good results in the past with the flat iron.
The flat iron was marinated in a mixture of equal parts Andria’s Steak Sauce and Diet Coke in a ziploc bag over night:
Immediately prior to grilling, the steak was removed from the marinate and dusted with granulated garlic and coarse ground pepper:
Note on marinades: This is the same marinade I use on my rib eye steak sandwiches and am very fond of it but you don’t have to use this marinade. Particularly since Andria’s steak sauce is not available much outside the St. Louis region.
The brinkman was stoked and it was time to grill. The meal plan included a chopped romaine salad and grilled yukon gold potato slices to go along with the steak. The salad was simply eight finely chopped Romaine stalks, 1/8 red onion, 2 large mushrooms, one hard-boiled egg white, and ½ cup of fresh grated parmesan-reggiano. These ingredients were all finely chopped and then a very light drizzle of Italian dressing was added. Very simple but the textures and flavors combined to be very tasty. That was enough to serve two.
The yukon gold’s were boiled in water for 10 minutes to soften them up a but then thickly sliced as shown and ready for the grill – garlic butter to the right:
The coals were ready and the yukon gold slices went on first:
Once grill marks were achieved they were flipped and brushed with garlic butter. I reserved a bit of the garlic butter to put a finish on the steak:
Once the taters were toasted a bit on both sides they were moved to the upper grate to bake while the steak was grilled:
The steak was grilled approximately 3 minutes per side over medium high heat (results will vary by grill and the heat of the fire) then the fire was lowered and the garlic butter brushed on and the steak was allowed to bake for about 4 minutes:
The steak was removed from the grill, loosely foil covered, and set aside to rest for 5 minutes:
I used the “thumb test” to check for doneness and remember, I was going for medium rare here.
The flat iron was sliced and it was time to plate the meal and dig in. Medium rare?? I nailed it as you can see:
Earlier Mimi had set the table and omitted steak knives so I suggested we put them out. What a mistake!! We never touched the steak knives as the flat iron was “fork-tender”! This steak virtually melted in our mouths! We enjoyed this tasty treat with the delicious salad and garlic butter basted potato slices.
I paired the steak with a 2005 Rosenblum Syrah that just got better the more it breathed:
Should you be counting calories you could omit the potatoes from the meal and have a really lean and low carb dinner. The flat iron could also be sliced and placed over a salad or it would be a great addition to grilled fajitas. It could be interchanged with almost any recipe calling for similar cuts such as skirt or flank steak. I suggest giving this a try on your grill soon. It’s an inexpensive cut of lean beef with no waste and the leftover possibilities, if you have any, are endless.
If this recipe intrigues you, then you may like these other steak recipes by clicking here.
As usual, if you have any questions about the flat iron or potato cooking process feel free to comment below or email me.
Also, you can follow the Grillin Fools on Facebook and post your own grillin pictures or on Twitter @GrillinFool.
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Great job on the thumb test. I am working on that now, and coming close (not as close as yours, but close)
To ‘My Year on the Grill”–thank you for your interest in our site and you have quite the blog yourself. I’m pleased to know you’re a Raichlen fan–he has been a great inspiration for us to do what we do. Be sure to try the Flat Iron Steak. It’s quite tasty and of course be sure to sip a good red with each bite!
Great article! I used this technique/recipe for grilling a London Broil last week and it was perfect. In my house, Kenrick’s is the equivalent to BBQ Mecca. Keep up the great work!
Beef steak has always been my all time favorite dish and i am always looking for some new recipes that has steak as the main ingredient.-~’
Grilled Flat Iron Steaks yesterday (from Kenrick’s).
Marinaded them overnight in Andria’s and Dr. Pepper.
Also, grilled corn on the cob and pineapple spears. The whole meal turned out great.