Tender Grilled Herb Crusted Flat Iron Steaks will quickly become one of your “go-to” meals this year. The ingredients are simple, they cook in a flash, and the results are impressive!
Not all BBQs need planning to turn out great. This is one of those recipes that let you be out all day on Saturday and not even need to think about dinner with friends at 5 p.m. It comes together SO easily!
Believe it or not, the grilling method is the most important thing here. The special factor comes from using fresh herbs. Of course, you can enjoy juicy flat iron steaks even if you’re using dry herbs or a rub.
Those fresh herbs are my trick for making this effortless recipe taste as fancy as it would in a restaurant.
🐄What Is A Flat Iron Steak?
Flat iron steak comes from the chuck primal cut and is part of the top blade roast. This cut actually contains two smaller cuts separated by connective tissue: the top blade steak and the flat iron steak.
The uniform thickness, rectangular shape, and decent marbling make this steak perfect for high-heat cooking methods like grilling and pan searing.
Flat iron steak and the Teres Major steak are considered the second most tender steaks after filet mignon. What makes flat iron steak particularly desirable, is its affordability.
It definitely makes an excellent skirt steak substitute and can also replace flank steak.
Want to find out more information on flat iron and other cuts? Check out our free printable beef cuts chart!
🥩 Ingredients
Flat Iron Steaks | You will most likely see this in your grocery store as a choice vs prime option. Shopping online can yield a better grade of beef.
Herbs | You can use whatever dried or fresh herbs you like for this recipe. We chose rosemary, thyme, and chives this time because they were growing fresh in the garden.
🔥 Instructions
Step One: Set the grill for direct heat and heat it up somewhere near the 375-400 degree mark so you can get that sear. Any grill will work, even a simple charcoal grill, as long as you can maintain the heat. The medium-high heat will help the steak cook fast and create a little crust. This cut of meat is a little thicker so raising the temperature up over 400 isn’t a great idea as the outside will overcook and the inside will not be done.
Step Two: Remove flat iron steaks from the refrigerator for one hour before grilling to bring them closer to room temperature.
Step Three: Combine the two tablespoons of olive oil with the minced garlic, salt, black pepper, and one tablespoon of each chopped fresh herb into a bowl and stir (you can use melted butter instead of oil).
Step Four: Rub on the steaks and place them directly on the grill grates for 4-5 minutes for the first side. Flip and then grill for another few minutes, depending on how done you like the steak. Use a digital meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature accurately (see the doneness guidelines below).
Tip: If you like those really distinctive sear marks, like you see in the photo, then consider investing a GrillGrate. The fins on this tool will super-heat which creates those marks. Additionally, it minimizes the chance of flare-ups by trapping the drippings.
❗ Expert Tips
Always remove the steaks from the refrigerator ahead of time so they can come close to room temperature. This helps them start to cook immediately when they hit the grill grate.
Remove the steaks from the grill a couple of degrees before your desired level of doneness, bring them indoors, and tent with foil for 5-10 minutes to rest. During this time, your steak will continue to cook those extra 2-4 degrees. This is called carryover cooking.
For example, if you want a medium steak you can take it off the grill at 135°F.
They are a little thicker so raising the temperature up over 400°F isn’t a great idea for this cut as the outside will overcook and the inside will not be done.
Use these internal temperature guidelines to cook your steak exactly how you like:
- Rare: 120 to 130°F; 5 & 3 minutes per side; remove at max 125°F
- Medium-Rare: 130 to 135°F; 5 & 4 minutes per side; remove at max 130°F
- Medium: 140 to 150°F; 6 & 4 minutes per side; remove at max 145°F
- Medium-Well: 155 to 165°F; 7 & 5 minutes per side; remove at max 160°F
- Well-Done: 170°F or more; 12 & 10 minutes per side; remove at max 165°F
How you slice the steak after resting is also important. Always slice against the grain! This will shorten the muscle fibers and ensure your steak won’t be hard to chew.
Don’t have a grill? You can also cook flat iron steak on the stovetop in a hot skillet, or in the oven with the broiler turned on. The same internal temperature recommendations apply!
Does Flat Iron Steak Need To Be Marinated?
That’s a great question! Flat iron steak is already a tender cut with nice marbling, so marinating is optional.
If you choose to marinate, this will infuse more flavor into the meat and further tenderize it.
🥣How To Marinate Flat Iron Steak
As simple as it may be, this remains our favorite flat iron steak recipe. That doesn’t mean you can’t try others, though. Marinating is one of the most popular options for this type of steak.
Our skirt steak marinade will work great for flat iron, too! We used soy sauce, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, garlic cloves, and dried onions (we used granulated, but onion powder also works). Freshly cracked black pepper is also a nice addition.
If you want to skip the mustard and Worcestershire sauce, go for this tri tip marinade. It’s just as easy to make!
I recommend you let the steak marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. This meat is quite tender, so it’s not a good idea to let it marinate longer than a day.
A good marinade will always have a fatty and an acidic component. This helps break down the protein bonds that form the meat, tenderizing it, while the oil will keep it moist.
You can try other marinades and experiment with other tenderizing ingredients such as red wine vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt, and buttermilk.
🍴Serving Suggestions
One of the easiest ways to elevate a steak is to add a dollop of compound butter while it’s still hot. We also love slathering it with some homemade chimichurri sauce that literally takes minutes to make. Or, try this easy yakitori sauce for a lovely mix of Asian flavors!
As far as side dishes go, there are so many amazing options! Grilled baby potatoes, grilled beer corn on the cob, and grilled sweet potatoes in foil are effortless classic BBQ sides you can’t go wrong with.
♨️More Grilled Steak Recipes
If you can’t find flat iron steaks nearby, grilled skirt steak and grilled flank steak are also delicious and need minimal prep work.
You’ll also get a steakhouse-quality meal if you go for this easy herb butter grilled ribeye and a New York strip steak can be prepared the same way.
Looking to try more delicious beef cuts on the grill? These grilled marinated ranch steaks are as tasty as they are affordable.
❓Recipe FAQ
No, they don’t because they aren’t on that long. The olive oil also helps keep them moist and not dry and hard.
These are great steaks to use with all the specialty rubs you get as gifts or you buy at markets. If you have finishing salts, use them after it comes off the grill.
You can store them in a sealed container for up to three days in the refrigerator.
This steak is a little thicker and you don’t want to have an undercooked inside when the outside is overdone. If a steak is thin, go for a higher temperature. If you know you want a medium rare steak, go for a higher temperature, even if it is a little thicker. It’s a balancing act. You can always choose to cook lower and then crank up the heat at the end for the final minute or two so you can get that outer sear/crust. If you aren’t sure you would like it, try it with one steak and practice.
Coming from the shoulder area, this cut gets a moderate amount of exercise. This gives it a rich, beefy flavor. It also has decent marbling which adds to the taste while keeping the steak relatively lean. Flat iron steak is considered the second most tender cut after filet mignon. You’ll get a richer beef flavor and a great texture at a much more affordable price compared to filet.
Dry cooking methods using medium-high heat such as pan searing, grilling, and broiling work great for flat iron steak. It has nice marbling but this is a thinner cut that needs a short cooking time. Flat iron steaks are best served medium rare. This means you should pull it off the heat when the internal temperature reaches 130°F. The carryover cooking will increase it by another 2-4 degrees if you let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
The final answer depends on your personal preferences. Filet mignon is more expensive leaner, slightly more tender, and has a milder flavor compared to flat iron steak. If you love a slight chew factor and a rich, beefy flavor, flat iron steak might be the winner.
Related Recipes
Grilled Herb Crusted Flat Iron Steak
Equipment
- Grill
Ingredients
- 2 Flat Iron Steaks
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Rosemary chopped
- 1 tbsp Thyme chopped
- 1 tbsp Chives chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat grill up to medium high on a direct flame.
- Remove flat iron steaks from the refrigerator for one hour before grilling to bring the temperature up.
- Combine the olive oil, herbs and salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Coat the steak with the herb mixture, making sure to cover the sides and ends too.
- Place on the grill for 4-5 minutes.
- Turn it over and grill for another few minutes until to reach the desired internal temperature.
- I recommend removing it from the grill when it is two to three degrees cooler than your target. Bring it inside and cover with an aluminum foil tent. This will let the steak rest, trap the juices inside, and the temperature will come up to your target.
Notes
- Rare: 120 to 130 F; 5 & 3 minutes per side; remove at max 125 F
- Medium-Rare: 130 to 135 F; 5 & 4 minutes per side; remove at max 130 F
- Medium: 140 to 150 F; 6 & 4 minutes per side; remove at max 145 F
- Medium-Well: 155 to 165 F; 7 & 5 minutes per side; remove at max 160 F
- Well-Done: 170 F or more; 12 & 10 minutes per side; remove at max 165 F
Nutrition
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
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