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Home » How to Cut a Flat Iron Steak

How to Cut a Flat Iron Steak

By Hank Shaw on March 9, 2017, Updated June 17, 2020 - 23 Comments

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freshly cut flat iron steak
Photo by Hank Shaw

One of the great delights of working with a large animal is that you can get cuts off it you cannot with a smaller one.

In my world, the greatest place I see this is in the difference between a deer and, say, an elk or moose. I recently shot a cow elk in Oregon, and was stoked to finally be able to cut my own flat iron steaks from it.

Flat iron steaks, if you have been living under a rock — or just don’t eat in restaurants — are super trendy. They are a sinew-free steak cut from the shoulder blade of an animal. Why so trendy? Because the shoulder is a working muscle, and working muscles have more flavor.

I hear the tenderloin partisans hollering. Yeah, I like tenderloin, too. But remember, there is a saying among chefs that the filet mignon, the tenderloin of a cow, is the Paris Hilton of steaks: Everyone wants it… but no one knows why.

Flat iron steak has many names. In Britain it is called the butler’s steak, the paleron on France, the oyster steak in Australia. According to the beef mavens, it is indeed almost as tender as the Paris Hilton tenderloin, but with way more flavor — again, because it comes from a hard-working muscle.

You can’t really cut a flat iron steak from a deer or lamb because they are just too small, with rare exceptions. You need an animal at least 400 pounds, in my opinion, to make it worth your effort. So cattle, caribou, elk and moose are what you are looking for.

Here’s how to go about it.

First thing to remember is that the flat iron steak comes from the shoulder. Second, that it is a component of a blade roast. The blade roast comes from, yeah, you guessed it, the shoulder blade. Specifically the wide part of the paddle.

blade roast taken off the shoulder blade
Photo by Hank Shaw

Work your way through an elk or moose shoulder until you see this muscle. Fillet it off the scapula (shoulder blade) in one piece. Looks lovely, yeah?

Sadly, it looks better than it is. You see, there is a gnarly line of sinew and cartilage running right down the middle of this roast. It’s so tough it will defeat your steak knife. It has to go.

You do this by starting at the narrow end of the roast, where you can see the cartilage at its thickest.

Closeup of gristle at the base of a flat iron steak
Photo by Hank Shaw

Take a very thin, flexible boning knife (or fish fillet knife) and start sweeping it along this line of cartilage. Take your time and keep the knife as close to this line as possible. An expert misses no meat, but as I don’t shoot elk every year, I am not quite as good as someone who does this for a living. Still, it’s not hard to do. (If you’ve ever filleted a skate wing, this is very similar.)

overhead shot of silverskin in the center of a blade roast
Photo by Hank Shaw

Once you have the top steak off, the second steak is easier. You flip the roast over so the cartilage is on the bottom, and remove it exactly the way you would the skin of a fish; this is why I use a fish fillet knife to cut my flat iron steaks.

Now you have two sinew-free steaks, one larger than the other. All you need to do to finish the flat iron steak is to square it off. The yield on my cow elk was two one-pound steaks, and two closer to a half-pound.

You’ll notice a strong grain in your flat irons, which is great: After you grill or saute this steak, you slice against the grain and have yourself a piece of my favorite steak on the whole animal. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Featured, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for Jean DanielJean Daniel says

    June 1, 2022 at 10:47 pm

    Many thanks for info on flatiron steak. Am female in 90’s and have Oyster blade waiting for me. Understand your instruction,. have knife sharpened for tomorrow, hoping for more energy. Thanks very much;

    Reply
  2. Avatar for JeffJeff says

    September 8, 2021 at 6:55 pm

    This was an outstanding steak! I’m never grinding that cut up again.

    Reply
  3. Avatar for Lance M. GremillionLance M. Gremillion says

    May 16, 2021 at 1:58 am

    This article motivated me try it on a whitetail just to see. Got about a 3/4 of a pound of cleaned meat off each shoulder of a 110 pound doe. Used one side for tartar, which was amazing both flavor wise and texturally ( we have done back strap carpaccio but it was a little soft). The other side we used for carne asada tacos. So you don’t get a satisfying steak house steak but you do get some extremely tender venison for your more esoteric preparations without cutting into your loin and tenderloin supply! Thanks for the info!

    Reply
  4. Avatar for David VerbylaDavid Verbyla says

    October 23, 2020 at 5:20 pm

    Excellent description on how to filet those flat iron steaks.
    I live and hunt in Alaska and with moose my favorite cuts are
    shank sections for Osso Buco and flat iron steak fillets from the scapula.

    Reply
  5. Avatar for BillBill says

    December 10, 2018 at 4:38 am

    My wife bought me your book and I have enjoyed it so much. You have so many Ideas on how to cook your game. I have used your recipes so many times that I just wanted to say, keep up your great work on presenting your readers with so many ideas on outdoor enjoyment.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for MaryMary says

    March 26, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    I’ve fileted them off the blade before just trying to keep all the sinew out of my meat for grinding…didn’t know that I was making flat iron steaks…lolz

    Reply
  7. Avatar for JillJill says

    January 2, 2018 at 10:23 am

    Ah, thank you! Ever since preparing your fabulous venison shanks, I’ve been wondering what else I’ve been grinding up and missing out on. This would be one of those. Look forward to trying!

    Reply
  8. Avatar for DougDoug says

    December 10, 2017 at 10:03 am

    I love this cut for making venison fajita’s and that works well for normal sized deer. Just take those smaller steaks, season them up, sear and slice for fajita’s.

    Reply
  9. Avatar for EE says

    October 26, 2017 at 10:20 am

    Hi Hank, love the site and your Buck, Buck, Moose book.
    I have to disagree with this though — “You can’t really cut a flat iron steak from a deer or lamb because they are just too small.” — I just got one set (high power rifle exit wounds are no joke) off of the pronghorn I shot last week. Are they small? Yeah, after separating them they are about 4 oz each. Are they worth the effort? Absolutely. I’d rather have two (well, ok, four) flat irons than another pound or two of ground any day. Cheers.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      October 26, 2017 at 11:02 am

      E: I guess that’s a fair point. I don’t cut them from smaller animals because I prefer to braise that whole shoulder, often bone-in. Just a different way to enjoy the animal!

      Reply
  10. Avatar for Sean DSean D says

    October 25, 2017 at 8:32 am

    What kind of recipes do you like to use for the flatiron steaks? Do you cook them whole?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      October 25, 2017 at 9:06 am

      Sean: Yes, I cook them whole, or cut into two larger steaks. Sear hard on a grill until medium-rare. Pretty simple, really.

      Reply
  11. Avatar for Mary MahonMary Mahon says

    September 17, 2017 at 10:16 am

    Thank you for this information. I’m new at this, but my sons get lots of venison and I need good recipes to learn how to cut and cook it.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for Lisa WhiteLisa White says

    April 10, 2017 at 10:03 am

    I just love these kind of posts. I’m a newbie in the kitchen and I spend more time searching how to do a simple thing than actually cooking, LOL. Thank you for the post!

    Reply
  13. Avatar for Charlie HenleyCharlie Henley says

    March 23, 2017 at 2:54 am

    I really like your website. Lots of good recipes and excellent well presented means and methods. Coming from Newfoundland and Labrador there is a long history of hunting and gathering. Most people prepare and eat game like traditional beef and porkrecipes. I do charcuterie and people rave about it. It’s time consuming to a point but very rewarding. Your website has been a great help.mthank you.

    Reply
  14. Avatar for Jason SpiegelJason Spiegel says

    March 16, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    Now I really regret that ive been slicing all my “flat irons” into jerky the past few years… Shouldve known that straight grain would be good sliced across too. Doh! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
  15. Avatar for george tsaklidisgeorge tsaklidis says

    March 12, 2017 at 10:47 am

    I’ve just discovered your blog … MY HERO ! bravooooooooooo … 🙂

    Reply
  16. Avatar for JeffersonianJeffersonian says

    March 11, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    From Beef cattle, that piece of connective tissue you mention cooks into a rich, buttery piece of heaven when properly braised or roasted. This one of my favorite cuts of beef. I’m not terribly familiar with the same cut from game animals as I have spent the better part of the last 35 years as a butcher. Beef is easy and affordable. Game is hard to acquire and expensive.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      March 12, 2017 at 9:15 am

      Jeffersonian: This is a wild game website, where readers have easy access to elk, deer etc.

      Reply
  17. Avatar for JimJim says

    March 10, 2017 at 6:29 pm

    Bravo! Flat iron is my favorite grilling cut these days. My guess is elk flat iron is going to be delightful.

    And the Paris Hilton jokes write themselves…

    Reply
  18. Avatar for Dave KraftDave Kraft says

    March 9, 2017 at 4:44 pm

    Curious why you say it doesn’t work well for a deer? I’ve been doing this with whitetails for a while and, while much smaller, still plenty easy and delicious. Honest question, wondering is I should be doing something else with that cut.

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      March 10, 2017 at 8:05 am

      Dave: It’s just a size issue for me. It will work, but the steaks are too small IMHO.

      Reply
  19. Avatar for AaronAaron says

    March 9, 2017 at 7:11 am

    BEAutiful! And these postsabout step by step butchering are super helpful, especially when you can connect the dots between restaurant descriptions and wild game cuts. Thanks!

    Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw. I am a James Beard Award-winning author and chef and I focus my energies on wild foods: Foraging, fishing, hunting. I write cookbooks as well as this website, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild game, fish, or edible wild plants and mushrooms, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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