Broiled Flat Iron Steak with Soy Ginger Sauce
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Dinner in 30? Absolutely. This juicy broiled flat iron steak, paired with a bold soy-ginger sauce, is quick, easy, and full of flavor.
Flat iron steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef for home cooking. It’s similar to skirt and flank steak, only much more tender; in fact, after the tenderloin, it’s the second most tender cut. It works well in a variety of dishes, from stir-fries to sandwiches—plus, it’s relatively inexpensive.
In this recipe, I season and broil the flat iron steak and top it with a rich, Asian-style brown sauce. With buttered rice and a steamed veggie, it’s an easy and elegant dinner that you can have on the table in under 30 minutes!
“This is fantastic! The cooking method makes for easy clean up (yay!) and the sauce is divine–sometimes I make double and store half in the refrigerator for other uses.”
What You’ll Need To Make Broiled Flat Iron Steak with Soy Ginger Sauce
- Ginger and Garlic: The flavor base for the sauce; adds bold, Asian flavor that pairs perfectly with beef.
- Dry Sherry: adds a sweet, slightly nutty flavor that’s similar to Chinese rice wine and gives the sauce more depth.
- Soy Sauce: The salty, savory backbone of the sauce—full of umami and perfect for balancing the sweetness.
- Tomato Paste: An unexpected ingredient, but just a touch adds body, richness, and a hint of sweetness to the sauce.
- Light Brown Sugar: Offsets the saltiness of the soy sauce and brings a mellow sweetness that helps balance the sauce.
- Sesame Oil: Adds a deep, nutty flavor—just a small amount goes a long way in giving the sauce that signature Asian taste. Look for toasted (Asian) sesame oil, which is dark in color—not the light, untoasted variety.
- Unsalted Butter: Stirred in at the end to add richness and give the sauce a silky finish that ties everything together.
- Flat Iron Steak: (Referred to in some regions as a top blade steak.) A flavorful, tender cut that comes from the shoulder area and is perfect for high-heat cooking thanks to its uniform shape and thickness. It’s less expensive than many other cuts of steak, so that adds to its appeal. The recipe calls for one large 2-pound steak, but two smaller ones work just as well. Great on the grill or under the broiler. Feel free to grill it if you like.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Sauté the ginger. Heat a little oil in a saucepan over medium heat and sauté the ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute. Cooking the ginger first brings out its flavor and softens its bite, giving the sauce a mellow, aromatic base.
Step 2: Add the garlic. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Be careful not to brown it; garlic burns quickly and turns bitter, so stir constantly and keep the heat moderate to preserve its sweet, mellow flavor.
Step 3: Simmer the sauce. Stir in the dry Sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, tomato paste, and water. Let it simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Finish the sauce by stirring in the sesame oil and butter, then set it aside.
Step 4: Prep the steak. Place the steak on a broiler pan or on a rack set over a baking sheet. Using a rack allows air to circulate underneath the steak, helping it cook evenly. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Step 5: Broil and rest. Broil for about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, then cover loosely with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes to keep the juices in. When you’re ready to slice, cut the steak into thin slices against the grain—that just means cutting across, or perpendicular to, the lines of muscle. It shortens the fibers, making the steak more tender and easier to chew.
Step 6: Serve. Serve with the sauce spooned over top. If you happen to have any leftover sauce, it’s delicious drizzled over noodles or steamed veggies.
More Asian-Style Beef Recipes You May Like
Broiled Flat Iron Steak with Soy Ginger Sauce
Juicy broiled flat iron steak with a bold soy-ginger sauce—it’s quick enough for a weeknight, but special enough for company.
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (see note)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry Sherry
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
For the Steak
- 1 (1.75-2 pound) Flat Iron Steak
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler and set an oven rack in the top position.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and cook until softened and fragrant, a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Do not brown. Add the dry Sherry, soy sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer gently until just slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes. Add the sesame oil and butter and stir until the butter is melted. Set aside.
- Season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper and place on a broiler pan (or rack on top of a baking sheet). Broil the steak to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Using tongs, transfer the steak to a cutting board; cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes to let the juices settle (don't rush this step or the juices will gush out of the steak when you cut it). Cut the steak into thin slices across the grain and serve with the sauce.
- Note: Check out some easy steps to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 483
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated fat: 10g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Sugar: 15g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 45g
- Sodium: 2019mg
- Cholesterol: 152mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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My family really enjoys this steak recipe! We especially like to make it in the colder months when craving steak but don’t want to fire up the grill.
This steak and sauce are great. If you have a Kroger in your area they sell Flat Iron Steaks. Since I discovered Flat Iron’s years ago I have never gone back to Flank Steak.
Excellent – the sauce was perfect. I’m not huge on sherry, ginger, or sesame oil, in general, but since I’ve had so much success with your recipes, I gave it a go and was so happy I did! Perfectly balanced.
This was good. I would make it again. It was great because I had everything in my home. No unusual food items. I followed the directions exactly. I served it with noodles but it would be much better with rice.
Can I substitute dried ginger for fresh?
Sure, Chris, you can get away with it, but you’ll need significantly less. I’d recommend 1/4 teaspoon. Please LMK how it turns out!
I don’t have sherry. Could I substitute mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)? If so, should I reduce or eliminate the sugar? Thanks!
Hi Denise, I wouldn’t recommend mirin here but if you can get your hands on some white vermouth or Shaoxing rice wine, either of those would work. Hope that helps!
Great recipe! My family loved this. The only issue I had with it was the sauce was kinda watery because it wouldn’t thicken despite simmering for at least 10 minutes. Tips on how to get it to reduce more?
Hi Alice, the sauce in this really doesn’t thicken up that much so you may not have done anything wrong. If you want it to be a bit thicker, I’d mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 1 teaspoon of cold water together. After the cornstarch is dissolved, add the mixture to the sauce and stir until the sauce has thickened a bit. Hope that helps!
Made this tonight exactly as written. My husband and I both loved it. Will make it again. Thank you.
Hi Jen! In all your recipes that call for sesame oil, is there an alternative? I’m allergic to sesame and know that it is prevalent in Asian foods.
Thanks!
Hi Melissa, No other oil has quite the same flavor as sesame oil, but you can use either olive or peanut oil in place of sesame oil. Hope that helps!
Hi Jen,
I love your recipes and books! I jumped in too fast here and threw all of these ingredients into a bag to marinate skirt steak. Will this work?
Mindy
Glad you like the recipes! 🙂
Yes, I think it should be fine. I’d drain the marinade into a saucepan before broiling the steak and while the steak is cooking, boil the marinade to rid it of bacteria and use it as the sauce. Hope you enjoy!
Just made this tonight. It was so good. Thanks for everything, Jenn. You are definitely my go to! Question. My oven has a high and lo broil? Which should I use in the future?
Glad you enjoyed, Paula! I would use the high setting on your broiler.
Hi Jenn! I always have a crowd to feed and this recipe says it only serves four! How many pounds of Flat Iron Steak will I need to feed 8-10 people?
Thanks!
Hi Jeanine, I think 4 to 4.5 pounds should be sufficient. Hope you enjoy!