Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is nice for a new twist on steak cooked on the grill and we loved this for a tasty dinner! And if you haven’t tried steak with Chimichurri Sauce, you have to try this herb-loaded sauce for beef!
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Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is something that would be great to make on a weekend when you feel like cooking on the grill. I discovered this cut of meat back when it wasn’t as well know or expensive as it is now, but it’s still a pretty good buy compared to most steak that’s suitable for grilling.
It was my butcher who recommended I try the cut of beef called Flat Iron Steak, telling me he was sure I’d like it. At first I thought this was just another name for flank steak, but I got interested when the butcher told me this cut didn’t need to be marinated. I got even more interested when he told me it was perfect for grilling. And I have been making this dish with Flat Iron steak for years now!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- Flat Iron Steak
- Szeged Steak Rub (affiliate link) or other steak rub of your choice
- finely chopped cilantro leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
- finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice
- Red Wine Vinegar (affiliate link)
- Aleppo Pepper (affiliate link) or other hot red pepper flakes
- ground cumin (affiliate link)
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
What is Flat Iron Steak?
The Flat Iron Steak is a long thin piece of meat, sometimes called a top blade steak because it comes from the top of the blade chuck roast. You can see more about Flat Iron Steak and how it got the name at Gourmet Sleuth. Under the label on the piece of meat I bought (before this cut was more well known) it said, “You have just purchased a great new steak! The Flat Iron is cut from sections of larger roasts using a new cutting method. It is so tender, other than the tenderloin, you won’t find a more tender steak.”
What is Chimichurri Sauce?
Chimichurri Sauce is a South American condiment for beef that’s based on fresh herbs, garlic, and lemon juice or vinegar, and it’s sometimes called Argentinian Pesto. You can make it to taste, so use the herbs you prefer for this tasty sauce. We started with a generous amount of chopped cilantro and chopped flat-leaf parsley. Then Jake chopped up several tablespoons of finely-minced fresh garlic. This sauce is good on any kind of grilled meat, but it’s most well known for serving on beef.
What if You Don’t have an outdoor grill?
If you don’t have an outdoor grill, this can be cooked on a stove-top grill pan with ridges (affiliate link) or a George Foreman Grill (affiliate link) with good results.
Want more tasty ideas for steak on the grill?
If you love a good piece of steak cooked on the grill, check out Amazing Low-Carb and Keto Beef Steak on the Grill for great ideas from around the web!
How to Make Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce:
(Scroll down for complete recipe, including nutritional information.)
- You can see from these nicely chopped herbs and garlic that Jake has great chopping skills, but you could also use a food processor.)
- We mixed the sauce together to let flavors blend while we cooked the meat.
- I used my homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning to season the meat, but you can use any steak rub you have on hand.
- Let the steak come to room temperature while you pre-heat the grill.
- Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat, and how well done you like it, but I cooked mine not quite 12 minutes for medium rare.
- Be sure to let the meat rest for a few minutes before you cut it.
- Slice Flat Iron Steak against the grain and serve the sliced meat with Chimichurri Sauce.
Make it a Meal:
For a tasty low-carb meal, you can serve Grilled Flatiron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce with Grilled Zucchini, Marinated Fresh Mozzarella with Herbs, Sugar Snap Pea Salad, Spinach Salad with Bacon and Feta, or Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing.
More Beef for Dinner:
Low-Carb Marinated Beef Kabobs
Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Grilled Flatiron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is wonderful for a special meal cooked on the grill.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb. piece Flat Iron Steak
- 1 T Steak Rub
Chimichurri Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves (about 1 cup before chopping)
- 2 T minced garlic
- 3 T fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. Aleppo pepper flakes (see notes)
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Take the steak out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking, rub with steak rub, and let it come to room temperature.
- Wash cilantro leaves and parsley leaves and dry with paper towel or spin dry in salad spinner.
- Finely chop the cilantro, parsley, and garlic, either by hand or in a food processor with steel blade.
- Put ingredients into a bowl and add lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Aleppo Pepper (affiliate link) and cumin and stir to combine.
- Then stir in olive oil until mixture is well blended, and let sit at room temperature at least 15 minutes before serving.
- To cook steak, preheat gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat. (You can only hold your hand there for 2-3 seconds at that temperature.)
- Put steak on grill at an angle. After about 3-4 minutes, or when you see nice grill marks starting, rotate 45 degrees and cook 3-4 minutes more on first side.
- Turn steak over and cook on the second side until the meat is done to your liking. (=
- I cooked my steak just under 12 minutes total for medium rare, but cooking time will depend on the heat of your grill, the temperature of the meat, and even the weather.
- I recommend using an instant-read meat thermometer (affiliate link) for best results on beef and cook to 130F for medium rare, which is the recommended doneness for this cut of meat.
- When meat is done to your liking, remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into thin slices across the grain.
- Serve hot, with Chimichurri sauce spooned over or on the side.
Notes
If you don't have Aleppo Pepper (affiliate link), just use a smaller amount of cayenne pepper.
Recipe created by Kalyn. The grilling instructions came from the meat package and the Chimichurri Sauce was inspired by many other recipes around the web.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 645Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 145mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 44g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grilled Flatiron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is a perfect main dish for low-carb or Keto diets, or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. For the South Beach Diet, they recommend choosing meat with not more than 10% fat; other diets wouldn’t care about that.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2007, and since then I have made it many times! It was updated with better photos in 2013 and updated again with more information in 2022.
43 Comments on “Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce”
I bought the flatiron steak at Smith’s Food King (Kroger) in Salt Lake. I’ve seen it there regularly since then and have cooked it a few more times, always with good results. I never thought about it until now, but I don’t think I’ve seen it at Albertson’s or Costco, the other two places I buy meat.
i have been looking for the flat iorn steak that you used and i have not been able to find it. do you mind me asking where you purchased it?
I haven’t tried chimichurri sauce with cilantro. I make my chimichurri steak marinade with most of the ingredients you use except I use oregano instead of cilantro. I marinate a one to two pound sirloin steak. I find this to be more tender than flank steak. Try this Chimichurri Flank Steak Avacado Sandwich Recipe. The first time my wife and I ate this we felt like we were being served gourmet sandwiches, and we had made them. We liked them so much that we made them at a party for our family and they all liked the recipe too.
Eliza, I liked it a lot. I’d definitely buy it again.
Hi Kaylin,
my grocery store just had an ad for this & I’d like to try this type of steak, seems like it’s fairly new in the market.
Cherri, how cool! And I’m very happy to hear people are learning things from what I’m also learning myself. (I am a teacher, remember, so it’s perfect!)
My local store had these on sale the day you posted your recipe. What luck!! Great recipe and great meat find.
You educate me all the time.
Kelly, this Chimichurri with the cilantro isn’t traditional, but I loved it.
Kirsten, I loved it too.
Kristen,I think you’d like it. It was so tender, especially for the price.
Lisa, you have hit the big time. (What a laugh, as if a link on my blog was the big time.) Let me know how you like your Flat Iron Steak when you try it.
Bert, good to know. We’re getting Whole Foods in Utah sometime in the near future.
Whole Foods here in Virginia has flat iron steaks.
Hey, thanks for another link to CT! I feel like I’ve hit the big time!
Coincidentally, I’m pretty sure I have a flat iron steak from Stan, our local farmer, in the freezer. Two weeks ago I noticed it on his list at the market and asked about it, then ended up buying one. I’m happy to hear it was tender and nice.
This cut of meat has really been in a lot of cooking magazines lately. I must give it a try.
This recipe looks so good!
My boyfriend and I can’t get enough of the flat iron steaks – but oddly, only a few stores carry them in Arizona, and when traveling we often can’t find it at all.
It is SO lean and tender (and affordable), it does cause us to eat red meat a lot more often. 🙂
The chimichurri is beautiful and looks delicious!
I’m always happy to find more ways to use cilantro. It’s such a great herb, but I have a had time using a single bunch.
Jeanne, thanks. This was the first time I’ve noticed it here too.
Katerina, I think traditional Chimichurri sauce only has parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and hot pepper sauce. The cilantro is a variation. I loved it, and it’s been on my “must make” list for a long time now.
Lydia, it was really good.
CC – Maybe I can pick up that magazine in the airport. It’s something I definitely don’t know much about. BTW, I did see the recipe for Chimol and thought it sounded fantastic. I even included it in a piece I wrote for Blogher about radishes.
Mrs. L, they are all a little different, but I think they could be used in similar ways. I do think the Flat Iron Steak is more tender than the other two. If you read the Wikipedia entries on skirt steak and hanger steak, they both come from the same part of the cow, but Flat Iron Steak comes from the chuck.
Cooking Ninja, it was great. Do try it, and let us know what you think.
mmm…that looks delicious. The sauce looks yummy. I’ll have to try it out.
Flat Iron Steak. Hanger Steak. Skirt Steak. Are they all similar and can you substitute one for the other? We have skirt steak all the time and the sauce sounds like it would go well with it.
Take a look at this month’s Saveur for a tutorial on the various steak cuts. I learned a lot.
Looks like you grilled your meat perfectly, Kalyn.
(Oh, and for another steak “salsa,” check out the Chimol at Tea and Cookies.)
I don’t think I’ve seen Flat Iron Steak in the markets here — or maybe I just haven’t noticed. Anyway, I’m going to look for it now — this recipe sounds delicious.
Thats funny, the first thing I thought when I read this title was – Flank Steak?
I can’t believe I have yet to make chimichurri sauce. It is based on cilantro! This is going on the to do list.
Mmmmm. This looks wonderful and the salsa sounds gorgeous. I have only ever seen a flatiron steak on US menus and definitely not in the supermarkets here in England. I might go and ask a proper butcher (or maybe it goes under a different name here!) as my husband would love to try one 🙂