Flat Iron Steak Grilled and Cooked in a Delicious Asian Steak Marinade {Recipe}

Flat Iron Steak is an extremely flavorful, amazing cut of meat. It is the most juicy and tender steak when cooked to perfection! This delicious flat iron steak recipe is soaked in an Asian steak marinade, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, and is grilled 4 minutes per side for medium rare on a hot preheated grill.

WHY IS FLAT IRON STEAK SO FLAVORFUL AND TENDER?

Flat Iron steaks are the second most tender cut of beef next to the tenderloin. Also known as top blade steak, this cut of meat is evenly richly marbled and comes from the beef chuck shoulder clod with the connective tissue removed.

The flat iron is one of the juiciest and flavorful steaks you can quickly cook or grill with just salt and pepper. Its natural beef flavor makes it one of the most popular and affordable steaks you can buy with all the quality of expensive steaks often found on restaurant menus. For the record, I think it tastes better than its more expensive counterparts like New York strip and comparable to filet mignon.

To experience the great beefy flavor of a flat iron steak, all the steak needs is to be rubbed with a little olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. The steaks should be cooked medium-rare and no further done than medium. Otherwise, the steak will become less tender and tougher.

THE BEST WAY TO COOK FLAT IRON STEAK

One of the best qualities of the flat iron is its thickness. As its name suggests, the steak is flat and not too thick – slightly thicker than 1-inch. This makes the flat iron steak ideal for home cooks who want to cook a fast weeknight meal. Whether by itself or cut into thin strips for salads and tacos, this steak will not disappoint you and will become your new favorite cut.

The two best ways to cook the flat iron steak is by either grilled in a hot preheated grill or by pan-seared in a hot cast-iron pan. Allowing the steaks to come to room-temperature by setting it on the counter for 30 minutes before cooking will ensure the steaks are not raw in the middle. Whether grilled or pan-seared, both methods will require cooking the steak about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, and 5-6 minutes for medium. Grilled flat iron steaks is my preferred method of cooking.

ASIAN-INSPIRED FLAT IRON STEAK MARINADE

This flat-iron Asian steak marinade recipe is so good and slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman. The recipe is from Ree Drummond’s Black Heels to Tractor Wheels book where she prepares her husband, the Marlboro Man, a flank steak dinner in their dating days. I love the headnote, “Finished product should not look like leather.” – Amen to that, sister! In this version I decided to use flat iron steak because it’s a little bit more juicy and tender than its flank steak cousin.

For this steak marinade you will need these ingredients:

• Soy Sauce
• Sherry
• Honey
• Sesame Oil
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Red Pepper Flakes

To Cook the Flat Iron Steaks:

You can use this steak marinade for different cuts of meat. The Pioneer Woman uses it on flank steak, but I really enjoyed it as a flat iron marinade. And to make the grilled steak dinner complete, I also use a little bit of roasted sesame seeds and green onions as a garnish, but you can easily omit them.
To make the marinade, whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl and then transfer to a ziplock plastic bag. Add the steaks to the marinade allow it to marinate for 3-6 hours before grilling. You can also prepare the steak marinade the night before so it will be ready the next day.

FLAT IRON STEAK RECIPE

The Book: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
As many of you know, I am a contributor to Ree’s Tasty Kitchen site. So listening to her story through the filter of our friendship and having spent a little time getting to know Marlboro Man made me love her and their story all the more. It’s so easy to look at her life through the lens of her blog and come to the conclusion her life is perfect. After all, she’s a celebrity blogger, New York Times Best-Selling Author, and is married to a very handsome cowboy. She beat Bobby Flay in a Throwdown. But when you read her love story, you realize how human (brokenness and all) she is.

Update: When I originally wrote this blog post in 2011, I included a book review along with the recipe for this Asian-Inspired flat iron steak while drinking a glass of red wine. I decided to remove my review of the book from this post and give it its own page which can be found here.

ALICE RECOMMENDS THESE OTHER BEEF RECIPES TO TRY!

Kalbi
Bulgogi
London Broil