Boiling Point: Try new flat-iron steak Raleigh NC

The first “new” beefsteak in decades is gaining raves as it sells out quickly in restaurants.

It’s called the flat iron. It’s always been there on cattle, but only recently was it discovered and named a new cut.

Meat researchers at the University of Florida and Nebraska were looking for ways to increase beef profitability. They focused on cheap cuts of chuck.

Chuck’s top shoulder looks tough to a butcher. It has a seam of connective tissue running down the middle. As a result, it was most often reserved for roasts and ground beef.

The researchers tried something different. They trimmed out the connective tissue and were left with two fillets. They were in for a surprise. These steaks were judged the second or third most tender of the steak cuts behind the tenderloin. A star was born.

Inexpensive cut

Chuck is cheap, and so is the flat iron. The 8-ounce filets where available raw are about $3 to $4 each, a third of the price of filet mignon.

Finding them is not easy. Demand is far outstripping supply. Many meat cutters have yet to join the flat-iron revolution and still grind it into hamburger.

This is changing fast. In 2005, 47 million pounds of flat irons were sold, mostly to restaurants. That climbed to 90 million pounds last year.

Most recently, it was outselling porterhouse and T-bone cuts combined. The flat iron has been around for four years but only recently began showing up on a few local restaurant menus. John’s Bar and Grille in Canton, Ohio, offers it, but runs out fast. T.G.I. Friday’s version, marinated in Jack Daniel’s sauce, is one of the most popular items on the menu.

John’s owner, John Varavas, said he started serving them Mondays through Wednesdays, but demand is so high that this week he’s expanding it to six days a week.

John’s flat-iron steak dinner is $10.99. The steak is tender, gristle-free
and offers an excellent beef flavor.

A popular cooking method is to press ground garlic and thyme into the steak two hours before grilling.

Whence the name?

The name flat iron prompts a lot of conversation as you wait for your order.

Some theorize that it was fried by farmers (cowboys or miners, etc.) on the blade of a flat shovel over a wood fire.

The truth is far less romantic. A flat iron, now a hair styler, also is an early clothes iron. The steak is shaped like its heating plate.

If your meat seller is perplexed when you ask for a flat iron, try “top
blade steak” instead. That was its initial name. Flat iron, of course, sounds a lot more marketable and appetizing.

Send food questions to jim.hillibish@cantonrep.com