Last weekend was our six-month wedding anniversary, so to celebrate I decided to serve Steve’s favorite food - steak! Unfortunately, when I went to the grocery store, no steaks really looked good except the flatiron, which I haven’t cooked before. Feeling adventurous, I decided to give it a go. I did a little bit of research and found that flatirons are best marinated, then grilled or broiled, so that’s what I did. This marinade is delicious, full of fresh flavor from the herbs and a touch of acid from the red wine, with a background smoky flavor from the sea salt (an absolute must!). It really kept the meat moist and flavorful!

If you don’t have fresh herbs, dry will work; reduce the amounts accordingly. But the fresh do work better in this application, trust me. I think for next time I’ll increase the amount of garlic, and possibly roast the cloves before I use them in the marinade.

For 2 lbs. of flatiron steak, you’ll need:

3 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh chives
1/4 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup red wine (I used Ménage à Trois, a Zin/Cab/Merlot blend)
1/2 tsp. smoked sea salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbsp. ground mustard powder
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Place flatiron steak in a large zip-top bag. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, and pour over steak. Press all air out of the bag, and then marinate in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. (I did mine for 3.) Allow meat to come to nearly room temperature before cooking, and shake off any excess marinade before cooking.

To broil (method thanks to Alton Brown):

Put a large cast-iron skillet and preheat oven to 500 degrees. When skillet’s hot, add a little peanut oil to the skillet, then place steak into the oil. Allow to sear on each side, then return to oven. Cook for 10-20 minutes, until desired doneness. Steve likes his almost well, I like mine medium, so we compromised on doneness with a pale rosy color, and it was excellent - much juicier than a typical medium-well.

I served this gorgeous hunk of beef with some sautéed baby portobellos and a blue cheese butter (recipe coming soon), and some steamed veggies.

Steve’s verdict: “Your cooking makes me happy. More, please!”