Flat Iron Steak - The Cut

The Cut

This cut of steak is from the shoulder of a beef animal. The steak encompasses the infraspinatus muscles of beef, and one may see this displayed in some butcher shops and meat markets as a "top blade" roast. Steaks that are cross cut from this muscle are called top blade steaks or patio steaks. As a whole cut of meat, it usually weighs around two to three pounds; it is located adjacent to the heart of the shoulder clod, under the seven or paddle bone (shoulder blade or scapula). The entire top blade usually yields four steaks between eight and 12 ounces each. Flat iron steaks usually have a significant amount of marbling. Anatomically, the muscle forms the dorsal part of the rotator cuff of the steer. This cut is anatomically distinct from the shoulder tender, which lies directly below it and is the teres major.

Restaurants, particularly upscale, have recently begun serving flat iron steaks on their menus. Especially popular are flat irons from Wagyu beef, as a way for chefs to offer more affordable and profitable dishes featuring Wagyū or Kobe beef. To make it more marketable, the steak, which has the fascia dividing the infraspinatus within it, has, in recent years, been cut as two flatter steaks, each corresponding to one muscle, with the tough fascia removed.

In the North American Meat Processor (NAMP) meat buyers guide, it is item #1114D Beef Shoulder, Top Blade Steak.