I cooked a flat iron steak in a pan the other day. It was one of the few times that I have had a flat iron and it was delicious. I wanted to learn more about it and share it with everyone in this post.
Flat iron steak is really tender, well-marbled, and flavorful. It is the second most tender steak behind the filet mignon. Flat iron steak comes from the top blade of the shoulder of the Chuck primal of a cow.
I bought a flat iron steak the other day because it is inexpensive and looked like a good steak to fry in a pan.
What is flat iron steak called at the grocery store?
The flat iron steak will mostly go by the original name of flat iron steak. The scientists who created the flat iron steak thought it looked like an old flat iron, so they decided to give it the name flat iron steak.
There are also a bunch of other names that the steak can go by:
- Boneless top Chuck steak
- Book steak
- Butler steak
- Top blade steak
- Oyster blade steak
Is a flat iron steak a tough cut?
Flat iron steak is a very tender cut overall. It is considered the second most tender piece of meat that comes from a cow. It does have some connective tissue that runs through it to make it slightly chewy at times.
The one that I had the other had a little chewy area in it where there was a collection of connective tissue or collagen. The rest of it was really tender. Surprisingly tender for the cost of the steak. I didn’t mind eating the collagen or chewy parts because I know that collagen is really good for you.
I talk about collagen in a post that I wrote here.
Why is my flat iron steak chewy?
Overcooking, cooking too fast, and poor butchering of the flat iron steak can make it chewy. It is a lean steak and needs to be cooked less and at a slower rate than steaks that are fatty.
Overcooking, which I talk about in this post here, happens with lean pieces of steak. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cooked a sirloin where it ended up dry and chewy.
Steaks like flat iron and sirloin do not have enough fat on them to keep them juicy and tender. They are great steaks for marinating. You can learn more about that in my post here.
Marinating will help the steak stay really tender. With lean steaks, I also recommend cooking them a little less done than you want it as well or keeping an eye while cooking to make sure that it doesn’t get too overcooked.
Lean steaks will cook faster and become dryer and chewier the more cooked they are. Plus, once you stop cooking a steak it is still warm enough to continue cooking inside for a bit.
If your flat iron steak is only chewy in certain areas that is because this steak usually has to have a lot of connective tissue cut off of it. This is a newly invented steak that used to be used as burger meat.
How was the flat iron steak invented and when?
According to thehustle.co, flat iron steak was invented in 2001 by Chris Calkins. He was given a $1.5 million grant to find a new cut of meat.
The beef industry was oversupplied and ranchers were filing for bankruptcy. It was decided that cows were being underutilized and a search for more popular steak cuts began. The flat iron steak was born and now brings in around $630 million per year.
Is flat iron steak a cheap cut?
The flat iron steak is cheaper than every other popular steak. It is cheaper than ribeye, porterhouse, t-bone, filet mignon, sirloin, and the New York strip.
According to the USDA in their national retail report for beef, the average price per pound for flat iron steak was recently $5.58. Which is extremely cheap compared to the other popular steaks.
The next cheapest steak is the sirloin steak which comes on at $6.28 per pound. Sirloin is a good lean steak but flat iron is more tender and cheaper.
Is a flat iron a good steak?
The flat iron is a good steak for the price. It is newly invented and for it being the second most tender steak, you can’t beat the price for a piece of steak.
Is flat iron steak the same as filet mignon?
The flat iron is not the same steak as filet mignon. The flat iron comes from the Chuck primal and the filet mignon comes from the loin primal. Both of these steaks are similar in tenderness and leanness.
Filet mignon is the most tender steak of a cow and flat iron is the second most tender. If you wanted something similar to a filet mignon but much cheaper then definitely go for a flat iron.
Is flat iron steak and flank steak the same?
Flat iron and flank steak are not the same. The flat iron is cut from the Chuck or shoulder part of the cow while flank steak is cut from the flank or abdominal part of the cow.
The flank steak is a leaner and tougher cut than the flat iron but can still be a good steak when cooked properly.
What is a flat iron steak comparable to?
The flat iron is comparable to the filet mignon. They are both similar in leanness and tenderness. The only thing is the flat iron is cheaper in price.
How is flat iron steak best cooked?
The easiest and simplest way to cook a flat iron steak is in a pan.
- Let the steak come to room temperature for an hour so it will cook evenly
- Salt the steak and let the steak sit for an hour while it comes to room temperature so that the steak can absorb the salt
- Use refined coconut oil or tallow because they have a high smoking point. Do not use oil that is high in omega 6 because we get way too many, which I talk about a little in this post here.
- Cook to desired doneness and temperature. You can learn more about this here.
I put a video below of how to cook a flat iron steak in a pan. Again, I do not use any oil besides coconut or tallow. Butter will burn at high temperatures and is best used to baste the steak after it is already cooked for more flavor.
Conclusion
I think flat iron steak is a great and newly designed steak that I will definitely be eating more often. When I had it recently I thought it had a really strong beefy flavor.
Not everyone will like how strong of a flavor it has but I enjoyed it along with how tender it was. And, you can’t beat the quality of steak that you get for the price.