This yummy steak dinner was cooked up for my loving family a year ago – long before I thought about blogs and pictures beyond a snap shot to go with a recipe card. I came across it today while searching for ideas for next week’s meal planner. Hubby and I picked up a nice Flat Iron Steak on sale this week, hence the search. While the original recipe was done with a flank steak, since discovering the yummy tender goodness of Flat Iron Steak a few months back, I’m always checking the meat counter for good deals and snapping them up whenever they go on sale. Hey, that’s what my huge freezer is for, right? Stocking up when the price is right.
Flat Iron Steak can be used in just about any recipe that calls for flank steak, although they are completely different cuts of beef – the Flat Iron is from the forequarter while the flank from the hindquarter. Both cuts have excellent flavor, and take to marinades well. The flank steak can get a bit tough and dried if cooked too long – you ‘ll want to keep it on the medium-rare side while the Flat Iron is a bit more forgiving if over-cooked.
Two things I love about this recipe – the use of red wine (some for the steak, some for me, some for the steak, more for me, some – oh forget the steak, just more for me!) and a variety of mushrooms.
Crimini and shiitake mushrooms are a must – morel if you can get them are also wonderful. If you cannot get a variety of fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms will do. Re-hydrate your mushrooms before using by soaking them in hot (not boiling) water for about 20 minutes, changing water as needed. Re-hydrated mushrooms have a more intense, concentrated flavor than fresh, so select a blend that will not overpower the flavor of the sauce.
Grilled Flank Steak with Mushrooms
2 pounds flank steak (or Flat Iron)
Salt to taste
Olive oil as needed
Black pepper to taste
2 pounds mixed mushrooms (if possible include shiitake mushrooms, they’re especially flavorful), cleaned, rough chop
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 cup red wine (or beef broth)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
Remove steak from the refrigerator. Salt the meat and allow it to come to room temperature.
Dry sauté the mushrooms. Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan, as is (no butter or oil). Stir the mushrooms occasionally, and shake the pan a bit. You should hear the mushrooms squeak when they move in the pan. Continue to cook until the mushrooms release their moisture. Add a large pinch of salt and stir to combine.
Add the butter, rosemary and shallots. Stir to combine and sauté over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the red wine (you can substitute beef broth) and boil until the sauce has reduced by half. Turn off the heat.
While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the grill for high direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you put your hand about an inch over the grill and you can only hold it there for 1 second. When the grill is hot, clean the grill grates with a wire scraper and then moisten a paper towel with vegetable oil. Using tongs, wipe down the grill grates with the oil-soaked towel.
While the grill is heating up, massage olive oil into the steak. You want the steak well coated. When the grill is hot enough, place the steak on the grill. Sear for 4-6 minutes without moving.
Turn the steak over, touch it to test for doneness (see the finger technique for checking for doneness). You might only need a couple of minutes on this side, depending on how thick your steak is. Flank steak is best rare or medium rare; it becomes tough if it gets too well done. Flat Iron steak, being thinner, will require less time on the grill.
Remember to under-cook the steak just a little as it will continue to cook in its own residual internal heat while resting. When the steak is almost done, transfer to cutting board and tent to keep warm. Let rest about 10 minutes. If desired, grind black pepper over steak before tenting.
Finish the mushrooms. Turn the burner on high and boil down to reduce almost to the consistency of a glaze. Add any meat juices that have accumulated with the resting steak. Taste for salt and add any if needed.
For larger steaks, first cut it in half along the grain of the steak fibers. Then slice it thinly, on an angle, against the grain. Thinner steaks such as Flat Iron can be sliced thin just before serving. Pour mushroom sauce over steak and serve immediately.
Happy grilling everyone.
I know, I’m all about posting a few memories and a recipe or two, but I’d like to take a moment here and promote a wonderful place to call “home” in Wapiti, Wyoming. Wapiti is situated about half-way between Yellowstone’s east gate and Cody, Wyoming with easy access to both. You can take in all the wonder of Yellowstone by day, and the sights of Cody by night. Cody is home to the Buffalo Bill Museum, a nightly rodeo throughout the summer and the Irma Hotel, built in 1902 by Buffalo Bill. There’s even a shoot ’em up western gunfight right outside the hotel. And let’s not forget about Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone, with its ever-changing thermal features and abundant wild life is never the same visit from one day to the next. The fresh air (away from the geysers – those do smell like rotten eggs), the beautiful meadows and wide open spaces are spectacular. With any luck, you might even see a wolf or a grizzly feeding. What an adventure! At the end of the day, you’ll want a place to stay that is quiet and relaxing. A place to sit and take in the stars, to ponder and reflect at the end of a perfect day.
Rand Creek Ranch is just the place – with cozy cabins, the most comfortable beds and friendly owners. Krystal and Joel not only welcome you to their ranch when you arrive, they continue to socialize with their guests in a unique way – with fireside chats each evening around a campfire. Guest gather, share their adventures of the day and get to know one another. Krystal bakes up fresh goodies each morning, leaving her wonderful muffins or coffee cakes on your porch along with fruit and juice to greet you each day. She even has a cookbook, which of course I’ve added to my collection. The recipes all look yummy and the pictures of the ranch are wonderful. If you ever travel to the Yellowstone area, I highly recommend you stay at Rand Creek Ranch for a relaxing get away you won’t soon forget. For more information, here’s a link to the ranch with all the details: 
Obviously, I’m feeling rather western after such a wonderful vacation from life. It’s only fitting that I share a little cowboy cooking. There are two things that are synonymous with cowboy cooking – grilled meats and a good pot of beans. These are foods that are easy to cook while out on the range. And let’s face it, we all love a good cut of steak sizzling on the grill. Just thinking about it will get my mouth to water.
Let’s start with what the heck is Cowboy steak? A true cowboy steak is a rib eye steak with a long section of rib bone still attached, known as the “handle”. It’s said that cowboys of the old west used the rib bone to pick up their steak and eat it right off the bone, hence the name “cowboy cut”. The steak can weight as much as two or three pounds (for a double-cut), and stand as much as three inches thick. A true cowboy cut with the long rib bone isn’t something you can get from your local grocery store, even if it has a butcher’s counter. Most grocery stores receive their meat already cut into sections, with the long-handled rib bone removed. I’ve chatted with a couple of butchers at my grocery stores, and they are all of the opinion that the bone is more a matter of presentation rather than flavor. While bone does add flavor, the “handle” doesn’t actually come in contact with the meat so you will have the same flavor results with a thick cut of bone-in rib eye. While I was disappointed, I reasoned that the extra bone was an additional cost that truly isn’t necessary. If you feel you absolutely need a true cowboy cut rib eye, you can order them online for about $50.00 per 22 oz steak.
Welcome to Rosemarie's Kitchen 