Recipe for Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce at Life's Ambrosia

Now that we have had a few consecutive days of sunshine here in Seattle, I decided it is time that we break out the grill and do some BBQ-ing. I use the term “we” loosely since whenever Ryan and I BBQ, I prepare everything for the grill but don’t do the actual grilling. I leave that up to him since he enjoys it so much and I am not a huge fan of smelling like a BBQ. He doesn’t seem to mind, maybe its a guy thing. All of that aside, for our first BBQ of the season I decided that a good steak was in order. And in my opinion nothing tops a perfectly grilled steak better than the garlicky fresh taste of homemade chimichurri sauce.

For this recipe I chose to use flat iron steak which is cut from the shoulder of the steer. I like to use this cut because it is fairly inexpensive yet, unlike some other inexpensive cuts, it is very tender. I find that I don’t even need to marinate it. I simply make a quick spice rub, let the flavors meld for about an hour and then Ryan does a quick cook to medium rare and it’s good to go.

As for the chimichurri, for those of you that have never had it, it is a popular condiment in Argentina. While I have seen many different recipes for it, it most often includes parsley or cilantro, garlic, olive oil, and vinegar. Since I had both flat leaf parsley and cilantro I decided that I would combine the two. I also added a little kick with some crushed red pepper. It was delicious on the steak and I am anxious to see what other things it would go well with.

Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce Recipe

Perfectly seared steak topped with a garlicky chimichurri sauce.

Serves 4

Prep time: 1 hr

Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 to 2 pound flat iron steak
canola oil to brush the grill

For the Chimichurri Sauce

3 cloves garlic
1 cup lightly packed cilantro, stems removed
1 cup packed Italian flat leaf parsley, stems removed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions:

In a bowl combine pepper, granulated garlic, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper and chili powder.
Lay steak on foil, rub mixture onto meat. Cover with aluminum foil. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, place cilantro, parsley, kosher salt, cumin, white wine vinegar and crushed red pepper in a food processor. Turn food processor on, while it is processing slowly add in the olive oil until the mixture emulsifies, about 1 minute. You will have a smooth sauce. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.
Preheat gas grill on high setting. Once heated brush grill with oil.
Cook steak on high for 2 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to medium and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice against the grain. Transfer to serving platter, spoon chimichurri sauce over the top, serve.

I served this with a simple salad, a baked potato and a glass of red wine. Delicious. Enjoy!

Responses to "Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Chimichurri Sauce"

“
ooh this combo sounds very good!
”

- zoe

“
Girl your blog and recipes are the bomb!!!!

I want you to know I will featuring you on my facebooks sites…hope you get a ton of wonderful heart warming responses…

YOU deserve every one of them!

Cheers!

Tammy Maltby
”

- tammy

“
Hi, just wanted to say I have been following your posts for a few weeks and MAN! I am so impressed by your artistry, creativity and kindness. I feel like your warmth radiates through yours posts. Your photos are so beautiful. Keep it up!!
”

- Hannah J

“
Thanks Zoe!
Thank you Tammy! I really appreciate your comments and you featuring on my blog on your facebook page. :)
Thank you for your kind words Hannah! I am glad that you are enjoying the blog. My husband takes the pictures so I’ll be sure to pass your comments on to him :)
”

- Deseree

“
Another impressive meal! Ive always wanted to try chimichuri sauce – sounds amazing!
”

- finsmom

“
Thanks finsmom!
”

- Deseree

“
This looks fantastic! Do you think I could sub Italian parsley for the flat leaf variety? I picked up the Italian parsley from the farmer’s market and have been trying to use it up before it goes bad. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
”

- Katie

“
You’re welcome Katie! Thanks for mentioning this the correct name is Italian flat leaf parsley, so you can certainly use it :) I’ll make the change now to avoid any confusion. :)
”

- Deseree

“
is it strange that I have never made a chimichurri sauce like this one? I love the look of the dish. You presented it great!
”

- oneshotbeyond

“
Not strange at all :) Thanks Oneshotbeyond!
”

- Deseree

“
I made this last night and it was AMAZING!

I have a question for you about the flat iron steak, though, Des. I always thought it was something like a flank steak but all the butcher had was these nice 1 inch thick slabs maybe 5 inches by 3 inches. Is that what you had in mind?

I have no complaints on flavor, it was great. But these things had a big line of grisel through them which I didn’t expect.

Keep up the good work, and I’ll keep stealing your recipes. :)
”

- Jeff

“
I am glad that you enjoyed this Jeff! From your description it sounds like you did pick the right cut of meat. Flat Iron steak is a little bit different than flank steak. Flank steak is from the belly of the cow and is usually a lot tougher than flat iron, and requires marinading. The flat iron, which is loaded with marbling, comes from the shoulder blade of the cow where there is some gristle but when the butcher cuts this cut from the top layers of the blade they usually remove the connective tissue. Perhaps they didn’t get all of it in the steak that you bought. Hope this helps!

I’ll be sure to keep the recipes coming :-)
”

- Deseree

“
Just another note, I made this for my in-laws Saturday and it was a hit.

We threw the left over chimichurri onto pasta for lunch the next day and that was quite tasty too.
”

- Jeff

“
I’m glad you enjoyed this Jeff! I would’ve never thought to put it over pasta, that sounds delicious!
”

- Deseree

“
Awesome recipe – I make the same thing with no idea it was a real sauce, it just sounded good and I had the ingredients. My only advice is to use rice wine vinegar instead of white vinegar. It changes the flavor profile rather significantly and removes the white vinegar flavor (I am not a fan.)
”

- Howard

“
I tried this recipe and LOVED it. Thanks for inspiring me.
”

- Pam

“
Well, the sauce and the rub are made. Now all I have to do is wait for the meat to thaw and we will rub down the meat and then fire up the grill. I am using two sirloins and a small tenderloin from a local beef producer here in town.

Something we noticed about buying into a beef is that the cuts are pretty poor compared to butchering yourself. We used to have beef and when you are young it is well worth it; when you get older you just hope that you children have the energy for such a project.

For now we will enjoy what we can get. I’ll post the results later.
”

- Paul

“
Great Recipe! I just wanted to say that most argentineans don’t use food processor. In every restaurant you’ll find a chimichurri like this: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/196/520045417_9bfeb2af9b.jpg
Bye!
”

- Bichi

“
I really loved it!
After I tried your chimichurri sauce I tried another one and that was just awefull. I quickly run back to your recipe appreciating it even more. I’ll cherish this recipe. Thank youuu

I hope you don’t mind but I just had to share this one with people in Holland so I added it to my recipe website. You can find it at http://www.ginious.nl/vlees/gemarineerde-biefstuk-met-chimichurri-saus/ with of course a link to your site :)
”

- Gin