Flat Iron? Pro/Cons and cooking methods

it's just a steak cut from a portion of the shoulder (chuck)
"flat iron" is a recent development

very flavorful but tougher than muscles from the back and rib

best when served with chimichurri

Flat iron is a very flavorful & tender cut of meat, if prepared correctly. They can be tricky to cook because of their uneven thickness and the presence of gristle and connective tissue.

In the past, I would season my flat iron liberally with salt, sear it on high heat, and finish it in the oven or with indirect heat if using the grill. This produced a satisfactory result but there was always a small 2-3" section that was overcooked because of the way this steak is trimmed from the chuck.

I recently had very good results utilizing the sous vide cooking method.

I seasoned the steak as usual then vacuum sealed it with a couple knobs of butter. It was lowered in to a 135°F water bath for 2 hours to ensure that the membranes & facia would be palatable. After two hours of swimming, I removed it from the bag & seared it on a rack set over a chimney starter full of lump charcoal that was glowing red & hotter than damnit. I also basted it with the bag drippings on each turn. The results can be viewed in the picture above. You can clearly see an intrusion of sinew on the lower right side of the steak. It's texture was not intrusive. I recommend this method or a reverse sear for best results.

Yep, this was almost a #3 flat iron that had some gnarley vein of sinew in it. I wanted to make sure the collagen in the sinew had enough time to dissolve and break down.