Flat iron steak substitutes

A long, thin, loose-grained steak from the diaphragm, prized for taking a sear and a marinade better than almost anything.

Best for

grilling, tacos and fajitas, steak salad, marinated steak, stir-fry strips

More intensely beefy than flat iron, with a looser, more open grain that eats slightly chewier but soaks up marinade far better. It is also thinner, so it cooks in two to three minutes a side over high heat instead of four. Slice it thin and hard across the grain. If your recipe wanted a neat rectangular steak on the plate, skirt looks more rustic and ragged.

A wide, flat steak from the belly wall, sold in nearly every supermarket and the easiest flat iron swap to find.

Best for

grilling, sliced steak for two or more, stir-fry, steak sandwiches, fajitas

Similar beefiness and a similar thickness, so timing barely changes, but the grain is much coarser than flat iron's and the meat is leaner. Practically, that means it is less tender and less forgiving: it is at its best at medium-rare and turns noticeably stringy past medium. Sliced thin against the grain the difference mostly disappears. Serve it as slices rather than as a whole steak.

A thicker, leaner, more conventionally steak-shaped cut that is available everywhere and priced similarly.

Best for

a steak served whole on the plate, pan-searing, grilling, steak with a pan sauce

Cleaner and milder than flat iron, without that faint iron or liver note some people notice in shoulder cuts, and firmer rather than buttery in the mouth. Because it is often an inch or more thick, add three or four minutes and cook to 130 to 135 F rather than following the recipe's clock. This is the best choice when you want a steak that stays whole rather than being sliced into strips.

The other great cheap tender steak, from the muscle that hangs beside the diaphragm.

Best for

bistro steak dishes, grilling, steak frites, sliced steak with a sauce

The closest match on tenderness and arguably the best-tasting swap here, deeply beefy with the same mineral undertone as flat iron but a little more pronounced. It is thicker and rounder, so give it another two minutes a side. Trim the tough silverskin down its center, or cut it out entirely and cook the two lobes separately. Supply is limited, so it may cost more than the flat iron did.

The premium option, and the flavor and tenderness benchmark that flat iron is usually compared to.

Best for

special occasions, pan-searing in butter, grilled steak

Richer and far more marbled, so the plate tastes fattier and more luxurious and there is a lot more rendered fat in the pan. It is more forgiving of overcooking because that fat keeps it juicy. The cost is the obvious drawback, often two to three times flat iron, and in a marinated or heavily sauced recipe you are paying for marbling you cannot taste through the sauce.

A neighboring shoulder cut, cheap and marbled, sometimes labeled poor man's ribeye.

Best for

budget grilling, steak and onions, sliced steak for tacos

Beefy and well-marbled in the same family as flat iron, but less reliably tender because it carries seams of connective tissue the flat iron does not have. Expect the occasional chewy bite, and expect the steak to fall into two or three pieces along those seams as it cooks. Slice thin to hide it. Good value, less consistent.