Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak

This healthy Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak with Rainbow Carrots recipe comes together quickly and is loaded with fabulous flavor!

This Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak with Rainbow Carrots will be one of my summer 2018 "go-to" recipes. It's one of those dinner-party-worthy, super-quick-and-easy recipes that you and I both love.

How do I know that you love dinner-party-worthy, super-quick-and-easy recipes? You told me. Well, at least lots of you did in the Café 2018 Survey that we did back in January. For those of you who are new subscribers or who just landed here because of Pinterest or Google or just randomly, we did a reader survey to see exactly what type of recipes Café readers prefer. There was an overwhelming request for super delicious recipes that are easy and don't take much time to prepare. Recipes that will elicit rave reviews. Your wish is my command - this is definitely one of those recipes!

What is Flat Iron Steak?

This recipe calls for Flat Iron Steak. Flat Iron is a lean, flavorful shoulder-cut of beef. This steak's name was derived from the fact that it resembles an old-fashioned metal flat iron. Flat Iron Steaks are an affordable alternative to more expensive steaks like fillets or New York strips, thus they have become more and more popular. Flat iron steaks are also known as top blade steaks and are said to be rivaled in tenderness, only by beef tenderloin.

Substitutes for Flat Iron Steak

Flat Iron Steak is not available everywhere. If you can't find it, skirt steak or flank steak can be substituted in this recipe.

I found this recipe as I was paging through an older issue of Food and Wine. Their recipe called for making the steak and the veggies in a pan on the stovetop. I'm not a big fan of cooking meat on the stove top due to the huge spatter mess it makes, so I opted for the grill to prepare the steak. The veggies can be cooked on the stovetop while the meat marinates and then warmed before serving.

Lots of ways to serve this steak

I've served this Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak with Rainbow Carrots several times recently, to both family and friends and there are always lots of "mmmm's" and "this is delicious!" responses.

There are lots of ways to serve this grilled Mexican flat iron steak. The plethora of veggies makes this a nice light meal to serve on its own, but one of my favorite ways is to add a side of Homemade Flour Tortillas.

Let everyone make their own tacos and serve a bowl of this fabulous Avocado Crema for a delicious drizzling sauce.

It also makes a really nice meal served with a big bowl of Cilantro Rice (Arroz Verde). The flavors pair deliciously and the rice makes a beautiful presentation when served with this wonderful Mexican Grilled Flat Iron Steak.

Another idea is to serve this dish as a salad - skip the wilted spinach (last step in the recipe) and serve it over a bed of fresh spinach or arugula. Drizzle it with a bit of Spicy Cilantro Honey-Lime Dressing and you've got a fabulous warm salad fit for royalty (well, for sure Mexican royalty)!

Café Tips for making this Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak

• This recipe calls for Flat Iron Steak. This cut of meat is best when cooked to no more than medium doneness. It tends to dry out if cooked past 135-140˚F.
• See tips above in post regarding substitutions for Flat Iron Steak.
• Smoked paprika is one of the ingredients in the delicious rub for the steak. Look for smoked sweet paprika, if possible. Sometimes you'll find that it's not labeled hot or sweet. Most smoked paprika is sweet, but every now and then you can run across a really spicy one.
• Don't skimp on the olive oil or on oiling the grill grates. Flat Iron steak is quite lean and you want some oil on the surface of the meat as well as on the grill grates.
• Rainbow carrots make a really pretty presentation for this dish. If you can't find them, regular orange carrots will also be very pretty and just as delicious.
• A word about whole vs ground coriander. You can purchase coriander either ground or whole. For this recipe, in particular, you want to start with whole coriander and crush it. Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Don't worry if you don't care for cilantro. They are totally different. Coriander seed has a wonderful citrusy spice. When you crush it and the oils are released, it has the freshest, most delicious aroma (and flavor). The texture of the crushed coriander is important in the rub for the steak. I find that placing the whole coriander in a ziplock bag and pounding it with a meat mallet or the bottom of a small, heavy pan (on a hard surface) is the best way to crush it.
• If you don't have an digital instant thermometer, you need one! It makes all the difference in the world when cooking meat (and lots of other things), indoors or on the grill. You don't need an expensive one but a decent thermometer will save you lots of money avoiding over or undercooked meat.

4.84 from 6 votes

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Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak with Rainbow Carrots

This healthy Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak with Rainbow Carrots recipe comes together quickly and is loaded with fabulous flavor!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Grilled Mexican Flat Iron Steak with Rainbow Carrots

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Servings: 4

Calories: 313 kcal

Ingredients

For the steak:

• 1 ½-1 ¼ pounds Flat Iron Steak
• extra virgin olive oil

For the rub:

• 1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
• finely grated zest from one large lime
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the veggies:

• 1 medium red onion halved and sliced lengthwise, ¼ inch thick
• 6 medium rainbow or regular carrots thinly sliced on the bias
• 6 medium cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt more to taste
• 4 ounces baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus wedges for serving

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the steak:

1. Line a sheet pan with foil and place steak on prepared pan.

For the rub:

1. Combine the crushed coriander, paprika, lime zest, garlic salt and pepper in a small bowl and stir to mix.
2. Brush the steak with olive oil and sprinkle with the coriander rub mixture. Press the rub into the meat with your fingers. Flip the meat over and repeat on the other side. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To grill the meat:

1. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Spray or oil the grill grates.

2. Remove steak from refrigerator and drizzle lightly with a bit more olive oil. Place the steak on prepared grill and grill for 7-8 minutes on the first side or until nicely browned. Flip steak and continue grilling until internal temperature reaches 130-140˚F with an instant thermometer, about 6-8 minutes more. Allow meat to rest, loosely covered, for 10 minutes before slicing, thinly across the grain.

For the veggies:

1. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil In a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and garlic and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the spinach and lime juice and cook until sizzling and spinach is beginning to wilt, about 1-2 minutes. Serve with the sliced steak with warm tortillas and lime wedges and/or with rice.

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in post for further instruction and tips. 

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine.

Calories 313kcal

Fat 15g

Saturated fat 5g

Cholesterol 93mg

Sodium 1936mg

Potassium 947mg

Carbohydrates 14g

Fiber 3g

Sugar 5g

Protein 29g

Vitamin A 17945%

Vitamin C 19.1%

Calcium 81%

Iron 4.5%

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