Where to buy flat iron steak?

I'd like to try a recipe I saw on TV with flatiron steak and spice butter, but I'm not sure which market would have it -- I'm in Silver Lake and usually go to Gelson's, Ralph's, Bristol Farms in South Pasadena or Whole Foods in Glendale.

[bigredlancer]

Vallarta Supermarkets have Espaldilla de Res, Fresh Beef Shoulder Clod Steak (Flatiron) for $1.99 per lb; sale is on thru Oct . 19.

http://www.vallartasupermarket.com/in...

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Vallarta Supermarket
13715 Vanowen St, Van Nuys, CA 91405

[Johnny L]

thanks for the tip, I'm gonna check out the location in Baldwin Park. I suppose tomorrow is gonna be a Mexican inspired dinner for me.

[puppy09]

You can find Flat Iron Steaks at Fred Meyer/Kroger (if you have them in your area/I'm in Seattle). They come in a vaccuum packed type packaging in the meat department. They will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks and much longer in the feezer. This is an awesome steak for the grill (best if done medium or medium rare) we have done it with a teriyaki style marinades or as simple as salt & pepper (w/ a hint of "jamaica-me-crazy" or johnny's seasoning) and best of all it's very inexpensive.

Hope this helps :)

[Das Ubergeek]

Kroger = Ralphs

[Will Owen]

...and I think they all come out of Kroger's gigantic central butchering facility somewhere around St. Louis, but that would explain how they can sell them so cheaply. Here in SoCal we have both Ralphs and Food 4 Less, the discount branch, and I find these steaks in both places. It's very nice to have one or two of these in the fridge for when you want a quick, easy and delicious meal. The leftovers also make killer sandwiches!

[daveaultman]

Glad I found this information here. I've been eating the chipotle marinated flat iron steaks from Trader Joe's for a while - I can't get enough of that tender beef, but I wanted to find something a bit cheaper than the $10 or so per pound they're charging.

I checked the Food 4 Less just down the street here in the Valley and sure enough, they have it vacuum sealed (Tyson Meats, South Dakota) for $4.98 per pound. Picked some up and will try marinating it myself. I'd checked Vons, Hows, Albertsons with no luck. I'll have to try the local Ralphs as well.

Thanks guys.

[Das Ubergeek]

I know I'm going to regret this post... but Mexicans have been butchering flat iron steak for a very long time and it's usually half the price at a reputable carniceria, compared to Ralphs.

Just ask for "espaldilla de res".

[Kymmie0862]

Hi All - in a limited quantity you can get Flat Iron range feed beef from the Thursday Framers Market in South Pasadena. The vendors name is J & J Graass Fed Beef and the market hours are from 4PM to 8PM. The market is right by the Mission Station off the Gold line.

[paulfromla]

i just got some flat iron steak at ralphs' in encino
will u share your recipe - i was just going to grill it

[fresherone]

Just bought Flatirons at Trader Joe's. Delicious and tender.

[maudies5]

Order online at www.lobels.com
Amazing flatiron steak; prime, dry-aged.

[MaryT]

Some of you may have already read this wiki posting, but I had looked this up several months ago and was reminded by this thread of the uniqueness of the history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatiron...

I'm glad the steaks are becoming more prevalent, I don't freeze beef and am empty nester so the roast/butcher option is not workable.

[Will Owen]

I disagree with the Wiki article's claim that marinating is required to obtain tenderness. With the inexpensive Ralphs steaks I do find that I need to remove a lot of tendon that got left on, but all I do is preseason before letting it come to room temperature, then cook to rare on either the gas grill or in my grill pan, and serve sliced across the grain. Any tenderer and it would be almost unpalatable.

[fishyak]

Ralph's flatiron's are a real good deal. Chuck based steaks without sinew are flavorful and tender even at select grade. Trader Joe's just started carrying a chipotle marinated flatiron. Flatiron's may become the skirt steaks of the 70's.

[todao]

Raley's regularly stocks flat iron steak (usually next to or near the flank steak) and I frequently find it in the "marked down" section.

[Skunk2Racer]

Where Is a Raley"s in So Cal? The Only one's I've seen are in NOR CAL

[mbh65]

For a good quality cut, you may want to try Taylor's meat market in Sierra Madre or Harmony Farms in La Crescenta. Call first to see if they have it.

[vinosnob]

Raplph's sells it in their meat section pre-wrapped

[Norm Man]

Ralphs is featuring Flat Iron Steaks for $3.99/lb.in its ad this week (12/05/07-12/11/07).

The following link is Will Owen's review Of Ralphs Flat Iron Steak:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/395063

As I mentioned in that thread, go to a Ralphs Fresh Fare (they carry USDA Choice Beef) and try the Flap Meat Steaks.

[Will Owen]

As many of us will have discovered, the flat-irons at Ralphs are now up to almost $5 a pound, still a bargain in my book. I note that Norm Man objected to Ralphs' steaks because they're of the Select grade, but I don't regard this as a deal-breaker when you're talking about a cut such as this one. This remains one of my favorite items for a quick grilled meal; about two weeks ago, when I got some of the season's first good tomatoes from the Farmer's Market, I made a small salade de tomates from four of them, with some olive oil, salt & pepper and a splash of vinegar, and had just that and the steak. I'm still grinning about how good that was, and effortless.

[Norm Man]

Will Owen, the packages of Flat Iron Steak at Ralphs now indicate that they are USDA Choice. Bought some when the Flat Iron Steaks went on sale at $4.449/lb (regular price now $5.99/lb). Great steaks -- very tender and flavorful. Went back and stocked up my freezer.

Great call, Will Owen!

[Norm Man]

THe regular price for Flat Iron Steak at Ralphs is now $6.99/lb but when they can't sell it and the Best Buy Date is near, Ralphs will discount the Flat Iron Steaks by 40% to around $4.20/lb.

I bought a flat iron steak the other week from the guy who sells at the Hollywood Blvd end of the Hollywood Farmer's market and will definitely be buying more meat from him this summer- it was very flavorful.

i wouls suggest a local butcher shop, there aren
't too many around anymore, but maybe even a in bverlywood find a kosher butcher. or bristol farms, because i know they hav prime meat.

Most of the meat at Bristol Farms is Choice. How's actually has more Prime meat, and at MUCH better prices.

Flat iron steaks are cut from the shoulder clod. How's Markets has USDA Prime shoulder clod roasts on sale this week for $2.99 per pound. You can have the butcher cut the flat iron steaks from these roasts. The remainder of the roast can be ground for burgers or meatballs, or cut into chunks for stews. I have had the butcher at the Granada Hills How's do this for me. It is an excellent value. You will likely wind up with better beef for a better price than Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, etc. Good luck and please let us know how the recipe turns out!

I always wondered about that shoulder clod roast, which they seem to have on sale frequently. And for that matter, I've never figured out (nor has anyone I've asked known) what a "flat iron" steak actually is. I've never seen it on that know-your-beef diagram.

I've found the butchers at HOWS (San Marino/Pasadena for me) to be very helpful, always willing to cut or trim whatever you need.

It seems like flat iron steaks did not receive much attention until a few years ago when (from what I've read) the National Cattlemen's Beef Association began promoting it. This lack of marketing is probably the reason it has been absent from the "know your beef" diagrams. For more on flat iron steaks, see the below link.

I used to have the How's butchers cut the flat iron steaks from the shoulder clod roasts for me. (You're right -- How's butchers are very helpful.) They now sell pre-cut flat irons, although the price per pound is significantly higher than the shoulder clod roasts. The flat irons are nice steaks that come from a surprisingly inexpensive cut of beef -- no wonder they've gained so much popularity in restaurants in recent years!

Link: http://gourmetsleuth.com/flatironstea...

The only place where I have seen them was a butcher shop in the west valley called Jims. I dont know the address # is but it is on Fallbrook. Actually they have "kobe" flat irons (grown in Idaho?) and they are amazing.