Whether you are grilling up a flat iron steak or preparing a filet mignon, slice the finished steaks on a cutting board filled with fresh herbs, garlic and extra virgin olive oil for a delicious and easy cutting board sauce.
Getting my family of five to agree on dinner can be a challenge, especially now that they are older and have more sophisticated taste buds. I blame myself for their high standards. but, one meal they will always agree on is a steak dinner.
What’s not to love about steak?! We prepare all kinds of cuts of meat in all kinds of ways, from oven roasted tri tip to grilled porterhouse steaks to deep fried ribeye roasts. But the simplicity of this cutting board sauce is probably my new favorite way to serve up steak. And all five of us gave it a big thumbs up!
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Recipe highlights
- Economical: With the cost of meat going up, many are finding it hard to enjoy a delicious steak dinner. The flat iron steak is a tasty, tender and budget friendly steak.
- Simple: The beauty of a steak board sauce is in its simplicity. Any variety of chopped fresh herbs are placed on a cutting board with olive oil, garlic, peppers and onions. When your steak is done, you cut on top of the chopped herb mixture and the juices from the steak are mixed in the herbs.
- Texture: The flatiron is quite tender and is well-marbled. It may not be as melt-in-your-mouth tender as a filet mignon, but it is surprisingly tender like a T-bone or ribeye. It is more tender than the flank or skirt steak, which are cut from the underside of the cow. Because of its thin shape, it cooks relatively quickly.
- Flavor: This cutting board sauce is similar to a rustic chimichurri sauce. It has a wonderful fresh and vibrant flavor.
Ingredients you need
- Steak: I used flat iron steaks, but you can use cut of steak you like. It is also delicious with pork chops. The flat iron steak is also known as a boneless top chuck steak or a shoulder top blade steak.
- Kosher salt: I prefer kosher salt for steak rubs as it is less salty than regular salt and is flakier. This helps the salt dissolve onto the meats surface, creating a little bit of a crust, depending on how long it sits there.
- Coarsely ground black pepper: I like tasting the pepper so I prefer coarse pepper. Finely ground pepper blends in with the spice blend more.
- Green onions: For the onion flavor you can use green onions, chives, red onions or sweet Vidalia onions.
- Garlic: If you do not have garlic, you can use shallots for your onion and garlic choice.
- Fresh herbs: The herbs you use are all up to you. I like to use a variety of herbs, mixing strong flavors with mild. Some favorite herbs I use include parsley, cilantro, sage, thyme, oregano and basil. You can also use herb flowers. They are both edible and incredibly aromatic.
- Jalapeño: If you like a spicier sauce choose a spicier pepper and keep the seeds. You can try serrano or Thai peppers. I chose a mild red jalapeño, but you can also use green.
- Lemon zest: If you want to add some zing to your cutting board sauce, stir in a little red wine vinegar or lemon juice. I added some lemon zest, but you can also use lime or orange zest as well.
- Extra virgin olive oil: You will want to choose a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Perhaps one that is more pungent and flavorful than a mild oil.
Step-by-step directions
- Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper.
- If grilling the steaks, preheat grill to high heat. Clean grate and rub down with oil. If pan searing the steaks, heat a large cast iron pan with grape seed or avocado oil over high heat until just smoking hot.
- Place steaks over high heat and cook for 5 minutes, for medium-rare. Flip steak over and grill for an additional 5 minutes. For medium cook for 7 minutes per side.
- While steaks cook, chop green onions, herbs, garlic and jalapeño on a large cutting board with a lip, to prevent sauce from spilling over. Mix in grated zest and olive oil. Let sauce sit until steaks are done.
- Once steaks are cooked to desired doneness, place directly onto the cutting board sauce and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Slice steaks across the grain, letting the hot meat juices mix with the herb sauce. Mix the meat slices, juices and sauce together and serve immediately.
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Expert tips and Recipe FAQs
Like many other steaks, you can prepare the flatiron steak on a grill or in a cast iron pan. Both will yield a terrific steak. Because it is a thinner cut of meat, the thickest end is about 1-inch, you can marinate the falt iron very easily.
You can also use a meat thermometer to determine doneness. Because we are not letting the steaks rest for a long period of time, factor that when deciding the right time to remove the steaks from the heat. For medium rare, you will want temperature to be 130-135ºF and medium 135-145ºF.
I like to serve steaks prepared with a cutting board sauce family style, all the sliced meat and sauce on the cutting board. I also add in any other vegetables to the mix.
The sauce works beautifully with almost any vegetables grilled or roasted: potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus, green beans, eggplant, squash, bell peppers, red onions and mushrooms.
Want more ways to enjoy steak? This bourbon sauce is quite flavorful and the whole family loved the red wine sauce. Both are super easy to whip up and quite delicious. And of course, there is my cilantro chimichurri that is pretty amazing!
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover steak in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Do not reheat steak in the microwave, but sauté chopped steak in a hot pan with a little butter or olive oil.
TO FREEZE: You could also freeze leftovers, but I suggest not to do this as the texture does change when frozen and thawed.
The flat iron steak is also known as a boneless top chuck steak or a shoulder top blade steak. It is cut from the shoulder area, a region that produces some flavorful cuts of beef. The flatiron is quite tender and is well-marbled. It may not be as melt-in-your-mouth tender as a filet mignon, but it is surprisingly tender like a T-bone or ribeye. It is more tender than the flank or skirt steak, which are cut from the underside of the cow. Because of its thin shape, it cooks relatively quickly making it a wonderful steak to enjoy and prepare any day of the week.
Like many other steaks, you can prepare the flatiron steak on a grill or in a cast iron pan. Both will yield a terrific steak. Because it is a thinner cut of meat, the thickest end is about 1-inch, you can marinate the falt iron very easily. If cooking over a grill, heat the grates over high heat. You want it scorching hot to sear the steaks. Cook each side for 5-minutes to yield steaks done at medium-rare to medium. Follow the same instructions if cooking with a cast iron pan. Heat the pan until just smoking and then add the steaks.
Flat Iron Steak with Cutting Board Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 flat iron steaks about 8-oz each
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 green onions
- 2 cups chopped fresh herbs like parsley, sage and oregano
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 jalapeño diced
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper.
- If grilling the steaks, preheat grill to high heat. Clean grate and rub down with oil.
- If pan searing the steaks, heat a large cast iron pan with 1 teaspoon grape seed or avocado oil over high heat until just smoking hot.
- Place steaks over high heat and cook for 5 minutes, for medium-rare. Flip steak over and grill for an additional 5 minutes. For medium cook for 7 minutes per side.
- While steaks cook, chop green onions, herbs, garlic and jalapeño on a large cutting board with a lip, to prevent sauce from spilling over.
- Mix in grated zest and olive oil. Let sauce sit until steaks are done.
- Once steaks are cooked to desired doneness, place directly onto the cutting board sauce and let sit for 1-2 minutes.
- Slice steaks across the grain, letting the hot meat juices mix with the herb sauce. Mix the meat slices, juices and sauce together and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Flat iron steak has tons of flavor. Love it. And I like chimichurri sauce a lot for cuts like this, but, this is easier (and more fun!) to make. More and more I’ve been starting steak in a cast iron pan on top of the stove, then finishing it in the oven. Works well, although I do miss some of the flavor from grilling.
This is such a simple and clever idea. I am totally going to do this – maybe even combine with my pomegranate flank steak recipe. Great post and recipe!
Wow what a quick and way to make a sauce! I had no idea! On the list, for sure!
I have never heard of a cutting board sauce…but have been following your Harris Beef posts. This sounds so good, I can’t wait to try this recipe.