Made this flat iron steak. Great sear, cut against the grain…but was very chewy. Any ideas?
by bmungenast
39 Comments
Louisiana1979
Yummy
Laez
Cutting against the grain will help.
lifeistooshort1965
Try cutting thinner slices. It will be more chewable. Also let sit 10 to 15 minutes after taking off the grill before slicing.
brijamelsh
Looks like you were cutting mostly with the grain, though it’s hard to tell from the photo. For these you’ll want to cut against the grain
RBR927
It looks like you cut with the grain, try the opposite way next time (even if you think we are wrong) and let us know how it goes.
Dent8556
Vertical striations indicate cutting across the grain, which most of those slices have
ace184184
Photos look like you cut with the grain as others have said. I would have made one cut in the middle and then sliced in the opposite direction that you did. Also if its chewy or a bit firm you can also try to cut thinner slices and that will also help. It could also just be this steak in particular and nothing to do with anything but just the cut was chewy. See if any of this stuff helps w next one. Good luck!
Dukeronomy
Not trying to be a dick at all, maybe you dont understand the grain of this cut. I see you saying you cut against it, you didnt.
This [image](https://imgur.com/a/60Xhl2k) should help. red is the grain, yellow is where you should cut in relation to it. Maybe im wrong, im sure someone will correct me.
Some kind soul helped me understand the grain of my tritip on here. It gets wonky sometimes
jiggajim
Everyone makes this mistake once with flat iron steak. That middle cut with the grain is what I start with. Then I rotate each half then slice against the grain. Rotate your other half 90 degrees then slice. It’ll be against the grain and not chewy.
az987654
Not quite against the grain.. At all…
CoTmac_21
A suggestion is to cut one slice. Try it. If it’s chewy, cut another slice the other direction. If both are chewy, it’s the piece of meat. If one is chewy, you know which direction to not cut.
CaptainJawny
I would chew on that all day long.
AdPlus9516
Slicing at an angle helps as well, it shortens the meat fibers
Josh_in_Shanghai
Cut against the grain next time
1TakeFrank
>>>cut against the grain
No you didn’t
ShaolinShad0wBoxing
OP doesnt know what grain is lol
School_North
It might not have been a true flat iron or if it was in a prepack vacuum seal those always suck. But side note when cutting slant your knife as well as cutting against the grain like a 45° angle helps.
MajorAd3363
To cut this guy across the grain it looks like you’d need very shallow bias cuts. Laying the knife nearly flat and cutting along the longitudinal axis since the grain seems to be running in the vertical.
wastelandkaboom
I’m not sure you understand cutting against the grain because this isn’t it. Shame its chewy I’d turn that into some pulled beef and make a sandwich or really thinly sliced and sandwich it poutine it whatever it but eating it when its chewy is lost opportunity.
TheLastPorkSword
Flat iron also just kinda sucks in general.
Infamous-Zombie5172
Cooking more to a medium (dare I say medium well (I know I know)) will make it softer. Some cuts don’t like medium rare, like flanks.
Amazing-Royal-8319
I like sous vide-ing flat irons for a while (3-4 hours) before searing, helps soften them up.
To everyone saying he didn’t cut across the grain, I’m confused. A flatiron’s grain runs along the length of the muscle, so if this was a “whole” flatiron, it looks to me like it was cut correctly, as he clearly cut across the shorter direction. (But I’m assuming that’s not the case?) Are flatiron steaks prepared by cutting the whole muscle into sections that are longer against the grain than with the grain?
I’ve only seen raw flatiron muscles on the deer and elk I’ve harvested, and they are small enough (even from elk) that I wouldn’t expect to see it prepared where it was longer against the grain than with. But I’m not sure what’s typical with beef, maybe it’s different there because the muscle is so much bigger?
Professional_Low1966
You didn’t cut against the grain.
NeLaX44
You did not in fact cut against the grain
Illustrious-Coat3532
I love chewing on a slice of steak for ten minutes.
Hecface
Guys, [zoom into the photo and look closely](https://imgur.com/a/lmuxVDz). That’s not the grain lines, that’s just the picture highlights smearing from a dirty camera lens.
Looks like you cut it with the grain and not against the grain.
LLAPSpork
Besides what everyone and their mother said here (cut against the grain), for a cut like this, you REALLY need to marinate it well and for a good while. Use pineapple, lime juice, lots of salt and pepper. Throw it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Makes a world of difference.
calccv
Gotta cut it on the bias (45% angle) at and much thinner; that’ll make a huge difference
CDN_STIG
As others have said, you cut with the grain, not against it. It wouldn’t have made that significant a difference though. All that said, flat iron is typically a very tender cut. I’ve never had a chewy one and I eat it regularly as it’s one of my favorite cuts. Perhaps you just got a bad bit of beef.
False_Mushroom_8962
I personally prefer steaks like flat iron and flank cooked a little more. That’s a perfect temp for other cuts though
ReasonOpen4412
Also cut more thin.
Alternative-Yam6780
That’s one thick flat iron.
AzNxPiMpStA
You’ll have better luck cutting diagonally and at a tilt if the grains aren’t uniform or easy to find
Training_Ad8762
Looks great! You can try experimenting with soups vide followed by quick crust on a hot grill. I’ve had smashing success with that combo!
SmudgeAndBlur
It looks pretty lean.
Yachtman1969
Sometimes, some steaks are tougher if cooked on the rarer side.
surreal_goat
Looks like quite a bit of fat that’s not rendered.
typow666
For all of your saying he cut against the grain he didn’t, if he had continue to cut that way, yes but the portion that is cut is against the grain you gotta look real close
39 Comments
Yummy
Cutting against the grain will help.
Try cutting thinner slices. It will be more chewable. Also let sit 10 to 15 minutes after taking off the grill before slicing.
Looks like you were cutting mostly with the grain, though it’s hard to tell from the photo. For these you’ll want to cut against the grain
It looks like you cut with the grain, try the opposite way next time (even if you think we are wrong) and let us know how it goes.
Vertical striations indicate cutting across the grain, which most of those slices have
Photos look like you cut with the grain as others have said. I would have made one cut in the middle and then sliced in the opposite direction that you did. Also if its chewy or a bit firm you can also try to cut thinner slices and that will also help. It could also just be this steak in particular and nothing to do with anything but just the cut was chewy. See if any of this stuff helps w next one. Good luck!
Not trying to be a dick at all, maybe you dont understand the grain of this cut. I see you saying you cut against it, you didnt.
This [image](https://imgur.com/a/60Xhl2k) should help. red is the grain, yellow is where you should cut in relation to it. Maybe im wrong, im sure someone will correct me.
Some kind soul helped me understand the grain of my tritip on here. It gets wonky sometimes
Everyone makes this mistake once with flat iron steak. That middle cut with the grain is what I start with. Then I rotate each half then slice against the grain. Rotate your other half 90 degrees then slice. It’ll be against the grain and not chewy.
Not quite against the grain.. At all…
A suggestion is to cut one slice. Try it. If it’s chewy, cut another slice the other direction. If both are chewy, it’s the piece of meat. If one is chewy, you know which direction to not cut.
I would chew on that all day long.
Slicing at an angle helps as well, it shortens the meat fibers
Cut against the grain next time
>>>cut against the grain
No you didn’t
OP doesnt know what grain is lol
It might not have been a true flat iron or if it was in a prepack vacuum seal those always suck. But side note when cutting slant your knife as well as cutting against the grain like a 45° angle helps.
To cut this guy across the grain it looks like you’d need very shallow bias cuts. Laying the knife nearly flat and cutting along the longitudinal axis since the grain seems to be running in the vertical.
I’m not sure you understand cutting against the grain because this isn’t it. Shame its chewy I’d turn that into some pulled beef and make a sandwich or really thinly sliced and sandwich it poutine it whatever it but eating it when its chewy is lost opportunity.
Flat iron also just kinda sucks in general.
Cooking more to a medium (dare I say medium well (I know I know)) will make it softer. Some cuts don’t like medium rare, like flanks.
I like sous vide-ing flat irons for a while (3-4 hours) before searing, helps soften them up.
To everyone saying he didn’t cut across the grain, I’m confused. A flatiron’s grain runs along the length of the muscle, so if this was a “whole” flatiron, it looks to me like it was cut correctly, as he clearly cut across the shorter direction. (But I’m assuming that’s not the case?) Are flatiron steaks prepared by cutting the whole muscle into sections that are longer against the grain than with the grain?
I’ve only seen raw flatiron muscles on the deer and elk I’ve harvested, and they are small enough (even from elk) that I wouldn’t expect to see it prepared where it was longer against the grain than with. But I’m not sure what’s typical with beef, maybe it’s different there because the muscle is so much bigger?
You didn’t cut against the grain.
You did not in fact cut against the grain
I love chewing on a slice of steak for ten minutes.
Guys, [zoom into the photo and look closely](https://imgur.com/a/lmuxVDz). That’s not the grain lines, that’s just the picture highlights smearing from a dirty camera lens.
It’s driving me crazy how much everyone is dunking wrongly on this guy. It is very likely, [based on the texture of the cross section of the sliced pieces](https://amazingribs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/slicing-grains.jpg), that he cut it properly against the grain.
Looks like you cut it with the grain and not against the grain.
Besides what everyone and their mother said here (cut against the grain), for a cut like this, you REALLY need to marinate it well and for a good while. Use pineapple, lime juice, lots of salt and pepper. Throw it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Makes a world of difference.
Gotta cut it on the bias (45% angle) at and much thinner; that’ll make a huge difference
As others have said, you cut with the grain, not against it. It wouldn’t have made that significant a difference though.
All that said, flat iron is typically a very tender cut. I’ve never had a chewy one and I eat it regularly as it’s one of my favorite cuts. Perhaps you just got a bad bit of beef.
I personally prefer steaks like flat iron and flank cooked a little more. That’s a perfect temp for other cuts though
Also cut more thin.
That’s one thick flat iron.
You’ll have better luck cutting diagonally and at a tilt if the grains aren’t uniform or easy to find
Looks great! You can try experimenting with soups vide followed by quick crust on a hot grill. I’ve had smashing success with that combo!
It looks pretty lean.
Sometimes, some steaks are tougher if cooked on the rarer side.
Looks like quite a bit of fat that’s not rendered.
For all of your saying he cut against the grain he didn’t, if he had continue to cut that way, yes but the portion that is cut is against the grain you gotta look real close