What's the Flap?

     The next time you are in the meat section of your favorite market peruse the beef section.  Among the expensive cuts of steak you just might find a label reading "Flap Meat."  And while it doesn't sound particularly tasty, it is as flavorful as it is seasonably priced.

     Flap meat (or flap steak) is a thin, relatively lean, coarse-grained steak that comes from the belly of the steer, near the same area as flank steak.  Technically, flap meat is part of the bottom sirloin butt, through that's not really important to know when you're shopping for it.  What is important to know is that flap meat goes by other names and may be cut in different ways, depending on where you live.  Here in the Northeast we might know it better as "sirloin tip" and purchase it cut into cubes for kebabs.  But in other parts of our great nation it can be sold as a whole steak.  High end purveyors might even sell it under its French moniker, bavette d'aloyau.

The other thing to know is that it should be one of the more inexpensive steaks in the meat case.  Jennifer Armentrout, writing for finecooking magazine says,

      "Flap meat's coarse grain make it a champ at holding on to the flavors of a marinade, which can easily penetrate the loose structure of the meat.  And if your marinade has something like minced garlic, or ginger in it, those little bits can snuggle between the meat fibers, where they have less chance of burning."

     But flap meat has plenty of rich, beefy flavor on its own so marinade isn't always necessary.  Simple can be best with just a pinch of Kosher salt and a grind of pepper before throwing it on the grill, followed up with some good old fashioned steak sauce.

Tomorrow:  How to properly cook flap steak.