Flat Iron Steak

The other day I grilled a "Flat Iron" steak, I marinated for 24hours in a my home-made Teriyaki sauce for the guys at work. Not to my surprise it was so delicious and the cut proved to be well worth the price per pound.

The Flat Iron steak cut, also known as the Butlers' steak in the UK and oyster blade steak in New Zealand and Australia. The cut comes from shoulder part of the cow/steer and is sometimes referred to as the "top blade" roast or chuck. Until recently, the cut was basically thrown out by butchers as a long piece of tough connective tissue ran right through the center of it. A team of researchers from the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida developed a method to cutting and presenting this steak, which incidentally, is perfect for grilling.

The cut of beef is perfect for marinating and is porous enough to absorb the marinade, to add to the natural flavor of the beef. The meat has similar qualities to that of "Skirt" and "Flank" steak and lends itself to other dishes like stir.

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Hershel's East at Reading Terminal Market

Every now and then I get a urge to feast on a real big deli sandwich. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I don't live near famous deli's like Carnegie's in New York City. The sandwiches at Carnegie's are so huge you can't open you mouth wide enough to take a bite out of it, I kid you not. Only those who have been there can tell you and testify to it. But I'm not here to talk about Carnegie's, no. I here to talk about Hershel's East Side Deli, right here in Philadelphia, and specifically the one in Reading Terminal Market. While Hershel's is no Carnegie, this place is great, I love the open atmosphere of the market and kitchens of the old terminal market.

On one side, you can watch as they season and prepare the brisket before cooking, and then on the other side you can watch them take out the freshly cooked Corned Beef or Pastrami and carve it before your eyes. While there's no Deli-Double (a combination of Corned Beef and Pastrami)like at Carnegie, you can enjoy a over stuffed traditional Corned Beef, Pastrami or Reuben piled with corned beef, sauerkraut, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese, sandwich. There are other items on the menu to help complete the deli experience, like potato salad, cole slaw, chips and the rest. But the real heros are of course the sandwiches which are moderately priced for the quality you get.

They make a pretty good sandwich at Hershel's, and the fresh, soft rye is all what you expect to make a good deli sandwich topped with plenty of spicy mustard. Of course the meaty sandwich has to be stacked nice and high to meat "good sandwich" standards.

Viola! the Hershel's East Side Deli, Corned Beef Sandwich, and of course it comes with the mandatory deli pickle.

Hershel's East Side Deli
Reading Terminal Market
12th and Arch Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-922-6220
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