This marinated flat iron steak is a family favorite. It’s flavorful, easy to make and the meat is so tender. The marinade is made from a few simple ingredients. I like to pan sear it on the stove top but it can easily be made on the grill or even cooked in the oven. Give this one a try. It’s a winner!
I love to serve slices of this tender steak with black beans and rice or even a baked potato on the side. Follow a low carb diet? Try serving it with your favorite low carb vegetables, a salad or over cauliflower rice. You can also use it to make delicious street tacos. You will love this recipe no matter how you serve it.
Marinated Flat Iron Steak
Flat iron steak is a very tender, well marbled cut of beef that is great for pan searing or grilling. It’s often considered an alternative to ribeye. It comes from the shoulder area where other, tougher cuts of meat such as brisket is found. You can see pictures of where this cut of meat is found on this site here.
Ingredients for Marinated Flat Iron Steak
- Lime juice: you can use bottle lime juice or the juice from 4 limes. Lime juice adds flavor as well as helps to tenderize the beef.
- Soy sauce: adds flavor and saltiness to the meat. If you need to cut back on the sodium in your diet use a low sodium soy sauce. The flavor won’t be affected.
- Green onions thinly sliced: adds nice flavor to the marinade. You’ll want a few extras to slice and set aside for sprinkling over the finished slices of beef.
- Minced fresh ginger: use a piece of ginger about 1 1/2 inches long. Use a spoon to gently scrape the peel off before cutting it up. If you can find jarred ginger paste (often in the Asian food section in many stores) then you can use that. Ginger paste often has a small amount of vinegar in it but that doesn’t affect the flavor of the marinade.
- Red pepper flakes: adds little kick of heat to the finished meat.
- Flat iron steak: use a piece of meat about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds in size.
- Salt and pepper: Optional and not shown in the picture. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired. The soy sauce adds some saltiness to the meat so be mindful of this when seasoning with salt.
How to make Marinated Flat Iron Steak:
In a plastic bag combine the lime juice, soy sauce, green onions, ginger and red pepper flakes.
Using a sharp knife lightly score the steak in a cross-hatch pattern on both sides.
Place the steak in the marinade filled Ziplock bag. Press out all of the air and seal. Place the bag in a dish to protect against leakage. Place the bag in the refrigerator. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or longer. 12 to 24 hours is plenty of time to marinate the meat. If the steak is left in the marinade for longer it can result in over tenderizing the meat.
Heat a grill pan to medium heat. Lightly oil the pan. If grilling the steak then heat up the grill and lightly oil the grill grates.
Remove the steak from the marinade and let the excess marinade drip off. Pat dry with a paper towel.
Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Place the steak on the grill pan, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Turn the meat and cook until the meat has reached the desired doneness, about 3-4 minutes (depending on thickness of steak) for medium rare.
The best way to determine if your steak is cooked to the level of doneness that you prefer is to use a meat thermometer:
- Rare, the temperature should be 120°F to 125°F (about three minutes per side).
- Medium rare is 135°F (about three to four minutes per side).
- Medium, 140°F (about four to five minutes per side).
- Medium well, 150°F (about five to six minutes per side).
- Well-done, 160°F to 175°F, six to seven minutes per side.
Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing thin across the grain. Then serve and enjoy!
Tips for cooking pan seared flat iron steak on the stove:
- You don’t need a grill to make deliciously cooked steak. It’s easy to pan sear steak on the stove top following these easy tips:
- Be sure your flat iron steak is completely thawed.
- Cook the steak once it has come to room temperature. Remove your steak from the refrigerator 30-40 minutes before grilling.
- Always season your steak. In this case the marinade will season the steak though you can always add salt and pepper to your own taste before cooking. My personal favorite seasoning is McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning. (Amazon Link)
- Heat a heavy skillet or cast-iron skillet over high heat until hot, for about 5 minutes. You get the best sear with a very hot pan.
- Add a 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or butter to skillet. Use enough to coat the bottom of your pan. Immediately add the steak to the hot skillet.
- Follow the cooking times above to get a steak cooked to your favorite level of doneness.
- Rest your steak for 5 minutes before serving, covering lightly with foil. The internal temperature will continue to rise another 5 degrees while resting.
- Allowing the steak to rest will help to keep more of the flavorful juices in the steak and not running out on your plate. The juices will get pulled back into the steak when it is allowed to rest.
How to store Marinated Flat Iron Steak:
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for 3 to 5 days.
Money Saving Tips:
Meat is usually the most expensive part of your grocery budget. One of the best ways to save money is to plan your meals around what is currently on sale.
Watch for sales and stock up if possible. If something is on sale I like to buy one to use in the current weeks meal plan and one to put in the freezer for use at another time. Meat isn’t going to get cheaper. Watching for a sale and buying one for use later allows us to enjoy meals at a lower cost. Check out all of our meal planning tips for more information on how to save money on your grocery budget.
What’s another name for flat iron steak?
Flat iron steak is also called top blade steak, top blade filet, and shoulder top blade steak.
Is flat iron steak the same as flank steak?
Not they aren’t the same. Flank steak is a bit leaner than flat iron steak. Here’s some information on the differences between the types of steak that can be mistaken for flat iron steak:
Flat Iron Steak: This is from the flat muscle off the shoulder blade. There’s only 4 flat iron steaks per cow (two from each shoulder). These steaks do well being marinated and cut against the grain to help break down the meat fibers.
Hanger Steak: So called because this cut of meat “hangs” between the tenderloin and the rib. It’s more expensive than the other steaks because there’s only one hanger steak per cow.
Flank Steak: This cut of meat lies on the belly close to the hind legs. It’s a leaner cut of meat and is better when marinading and cut cross grain to make it more tender. Flank steak is often used in fajitas and stir fry’s.
Skirt Steak: This cut of meat is actually the cow’s diaphragm. Similar to flank steak it is a tougher cut of meat and needs marinating to help tenderize it. This cut is also used to make fajitas.
What to serve Marinated Flat Iron Steak with:
Serve with your favorite sides. Why not try:
- Black beans and rice or your favorite beans and rice recipe
- Refried beans
- Try Easy Spicy Salsa or this Copycat Chipotle Pico de Gallo
- Coleslaw
- Baked potatoes or your favorite fries
- Mashed potatoes or cauliflower mashed potatoes
- Grilled vegetables
- Your favorite salad or wedge salad
- This meat is also delicious when used to make street tacos
You may also want to check out these 35 delicious Keto Cinco De Mayo Recipes.
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Marinated Flat Iron Steak
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 2 Green Onions sliced (about 1/3 cup)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Ginger minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 1/2 – 2 pounds flat iron steak
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a plastic bag combine the lime juice, soy sauce, green onions, ginger and red pepper flakes.1/3 cup lime juice, 2 Green Onions, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons Ginger, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Using a sharp knife lightly score the steak in a cross-hatch pattern on both sides.1 1/2 – 2 pounds flat iron steak
- Place the steak in the marinade filled Ziplock bag. Press out all of the air and seal. Place the bag in a dish to protect against leakage. Place the bag in the refrigerator. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or longer. 12 to 24 hours is plenty of time to marinate the meat. If the steak is left in the marinade for longer it can result in over tenderizing the meat.
- Heat a grill pan to medium heat. Lightly oil the pan. If grilling the steak then heat up the grill and lightly oil the grill grates.
- Remove the steak from the marinade and let the excess marinade drip off. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Place the steak on the grill pan, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Turn the meat and cook until the meat has reached the desired doneness, about 3-4 minutes (depending on thickness of steak) for medium rare.Salt and Pepper to taste
Nutrition
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How do you mince Ground Ginger? Ground Ginger is a powder.
Hi Nan, Thanks for pointing out this mistake in the recipe card. While the post discusses using fresh ginger it appears ground ginger was mistakenly added into the recipe card. I’ve updated this and it now should just indicate ginger which should make more sense since it would need to be minced.