Flat iron steak, like skirt steak and flank steak, is perfect for fajitas. All three are super-flavorful and benefit from marination and being sliced thin. They’re often called butcher’s cuts because they’re favored by pros for their flavor; flat iron steak, also called blade steak, is sometimes called a restaurant cut. That’s where it usually ends up.
It’s more tender than flank or skirt steaks because of its position on the cow (click to enlarge). It’s from the chuck top blade roast and like cuts of chuck used for pot roast, it becomes both tender and chewy — and wonderfully beefy-tasting. When I saw one little flat iron at the supermarket I didn’t hestitate. And even though it was well within its sell-by date, it was already reduced, making me wonder if it got there by mistake. It went into the freezer, pulled out now as I cook with what’s on hand.
There aren’t a lot of recipes for flat iron steak so I created the marinade, using double acids to make it almost meltingly tender and keeping fajitas in mind with the ingredients. The result was a simple, tangy marinade giving me slices that sometimes tasted just a touch lemony even though I used lime juice. This is suitable for any of the butcher’s cuts for fajitas and if your market doesn’t stock any of them, a 7-bone chuck can stand in. My steak was only 12 ounces — flat irons usually are larger — so the amounts reflect that. If you’re lucky enough to find a larger one, just scale up.
One problem for us consumers when buying beef is the lack of standardized names of the cuts. They seem to vary by region and you can find some of the variations, as well as learn where on the cow the cuts are, at the interactive cow at Mistupid.com.
Ella’s Flat Iron Steak Fajitas
Marinade
2 TB light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 TB red wine vinegar
1 TB lime juice
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (12-ounce) flat iron steak or alternative as above
2 or 3 (8″ or soft taco size) tortillas, warmed
vegetable and cheese toppings as desired
Combine the marinade ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and squeeze and/or shake to mix. Add the steak, turning to coat, and refrigerate 6 hours or more, turning once.
Discard marinade. Broil or grill the steak 3 to 5 minutes per side, until the thickest part remains medium rare. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes then slice thinly against the grain.
Fill a warmed tortilla with steak slices and top with vegetables and cheese as desired. Don’t overstuff. Roll up and enjoy.
Serves 2 – 3
Ella’s notes: Overcooking will make a tough steak. All butcher’s cuts should be thinly-sliced against the grain to avoid excessive chewiness.
Related: Prefer chicken? One of the most popular recipes on this blog is the one for a marinade for chicken fajitas. It’s so good I use it even when I’m not making fajitas. Great for grilling.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I remember doing drawing after drawing, in my art classes for my BFA, of all the bones and muscles of the human body—surely related to similar parts of other mammals?. They all had specific names for humans. But when you buy “cuts” of beef, their names are all regional. And not very informative. Is this too gruesome?
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Gruesome? Not at all! And you might enjoy the interactive cow. It’s like doing a jigsaw puzzle, although I think it’s for kids.
I wish the beef industry would standardize cuts. It’s great that they label now with the best method of prepartion, but even that falls short. When flank steak is labeled London Broil (which it is, the original and best choice) in NY and then bottom round is labeled London Broil in New England and top round, a better choice, is called nothing, it’s not helpful.