peconic said:
what's the differance between a falt iron steak & a strip steak?
The flat iron is the second most tender steak, only behind the filet in tenderness. This steak comes from the top blade roast, which sits inside of the seven bone in the chuck. The muscle has a tough tendon running down the center, kind of like the bones on a whole salmon. When cut across the grain it has the tendon across the center and is called a top blad steak. When cut in half along the grain, removing the tendon, it is called a flat iron steak.
The flat iron is unusual since the grain runs along the steak. (All loin steaks have a cross grain.) This means that the very thin (1/2") steak puffs up when cooked making for a nice 1" thick steak that can be served very rare. It has wonderful flavor and yes, extremely tender. No marinade is necessary.
The flank and skirt may usually be substituted for each other in recipes. Both have a very obvious grain, are very flavorful and somewhat tough requiring a cut across the grain. Both come from muscles that get a lot of work. Both are normally braised but frequently marinaded and grilled.
The skirt is very thin and cooks in a few minutes. Being so thin it can be grilled and cut across the grain for wonderful flavor. The skirt is the muscle that holds the diaphragm; hence a skirt that runs around the steers mid-section.
The flank is much thicker and almost always placed in a marinade. This cut obvously comes from the flank.
