Thursday, April 12, 2007

Flat Iron Steak grilled with a Southwest rub

Last year while visiting the Indianapolis Children's Museum, we stayed at a nearby hotel that had a TGIFriday's in it. It had been years since our last visit to Friday's and the menu had changed quite a bit from what we remembered. When served, we were pleasantly surprised, and my dish impressed us the most. I had the Flat Iron steak, which the menu said was "hand-cut especially for Friday’s®". I'd never heard of this cut of beef before, but it looked good and I was hungry... I asked for it medium rare and it was cooked perfectly, and more tender than I could believe for the price. The flavor matched it's tenderness and I was quite satisfied by the time the obligatory "save any room for dessert?" question was asked (No, I didn't...Boogie had the "Cup of Dirt", though!)
Now I know why it was so good. According to Wikipedia, the Flat Iron steak is:
"a relatively new cut of steak from the shoulder of a cow. The steak was discovered by researchers at the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida during the course of a study of undervalued cuts of beef. The study also found that this specific cut is the second most tender cut of meat, after the tenderloin. "

I'd forgotten about the Flat Iron until I discovered them in the beef case on a recent visit to the grocery. I had to try it out at home.
On the peel-away label was a recipe for a southwest rub - what the heck, lets try that...
So here it is a bit more legible than the photo:

Flat Iron Steak grilled with a Southwest rub
Ingredients:
1 - 1 ½ pound Flat Iron steak
2 Tablespoons Chili powder
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (Cayenne)
a hot grill...

Directions:
Fire up the grill, get it good and hot...
Mix all of the seasonings, dry and wet in a small bowl:
Spread ½ of the mixture on one side of the steak, then toss it on the hot grill seasoned-side down.
Spread the rest of the mixture on the on the top of steak:
Grill to medium rare - try to turn it only once if possible,the less handling/flipping of the beef, the better.
Remove it from the grill and place on a plate to rest for 5 minutes:
Then slice the steak straight across, not on the bias:
and serve:

I served the steak medium-rare with the leftover Mashed Sweet Potatoes ( a fantastic and simple recipe from Cook's Illustrated) and Classic Green Bean Casserole from Sunday's Easter Dinner. For the Green Bean casserole, I always use frozen French style green beans. It's what I grew up with so, of course, it's best that way!


Enjoy,
Lorence

4 comments:

Amy said...

Also a big fan of the Flat Iron Steak. It cooks up quick and is usually on sale at Kroger.

Anonymous said...

My family and I have been grilling flat iron steak for 2 years now.
I have used all kind of rubs and marinade but my favorite way is to just use teriyaki, worcestershire then sprinkle with crushed peppercorn and garlic.
We like all our beef rare to med rare.
Cook over a med hot fire 4 minutes per side turning only once and let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
If we have any left over we slice real thin and place on a hogie bun with chesse and a horseradish sauce.

Lorence said...

I'm right there with ya, wkestep! My very favorite cut is a flank steak - I'll buy some and right when I get home I seal them up in a gallon ziplock bag with soy, crushed/minced garlic, worchestershire and some cayenne. I stick that right into the freezer. Then the morning before the night I'm going to grill one, I'll thaw it out tin the fridge while it mariniates. Yum. And of course, medium rare at most.
Have you ever tried Horseradish cheddar? Great stuff, especially on thin sliced beef!
Enjoy, and thanks for the comments!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Lorence, for posting this recipe on your website. I had it written down, but somehow misplaced it. I, too, had gotten the recipe from the flat iron steak I bought at Kroger. However, the more recent cuts they have for sale do not include the recipe. So I was in a panic when I couldn't find it among my other recipies.