Easy Flat Iron Steak in Wine Sauce

Today, I decided to experiment on with a recipe that sounded good to me. It's so nice to have another person in the house so that I can use them as a guinea pig. (Thanks, Mom, for being my guinea pig.) I picked a few easy- and tasty-looking recipes (from allrecipes.com), and figured today was as good as any to try out the Easy Flat Iron Steak in Wine Sauce.

It was delicious. Since both Mom and I enjoy our steaks to be rare, or medium-rare, this steak was absolutely perfect! The recipe says that it's ready after an hour or so, but in reality, it took maybe twenty minutes to prepare and cook the steak. The baked potatoes we had for sides took longer to cook.

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Here's the recipe (Serves two):

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (6 ounce) flat iron steaks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup sliced portobello mushrooms

DIRECTIONS

1. Allow the steaks to come to room temperature.
2. Stir together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cayenne pepper, black pepper, ground paprika, salt, mustard powder, and garlic powder in a small bowl to make a paste.
3. Prick steaks all over with a fork and rub them well with the spice rub paste, working the rub into the meat. (I used my fingers and rubbed the paste into the holes made from the fork. I didn't use all the paste, but it depends on the size of the steak.)
   
4. Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat oil until it just begins to smoke and quickly sear the steaks until the outside has browned but the center is still blood red and just warmed, 2-3 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 115 degrees F (46 degrees C). (I suggest two minutes per side, but that also depends on the thickness of the meat.)
   
5. Remove steaks from skillet with tongs. Pour the dry red wine into the skillet, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the sliced portobello mushrooms, and cook and stir until mushrooms are cooked and have released their liquid, about 5 minutes.
6. Return steaks to the skillet on top of the mushroom-wine sauce. Reduce heat to LOW and cook until sauce reduces and thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove steaks to serving platter and pour mushroom sauce over steaks to serve. (I added more wine after I put the steaks back into the pan. This created more wine sauce, and, since I poured it directly onto the meat, gave the meat a wine-y flavor. Yum.)
   

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The only thing I would change about the recipe is the amount of pepper. Next time I make this, I plan to cut the pepper amounts in half. I will also double the amount of wine used, because it give the meat such a wonderful taste. (I used a really cheap Merlot for the recipe, and it worked wonderfully.)

Pair this off with a glass of the red wine and a tasty side, and you've got yourself a delicious meal. I can't wait to prepare this dish for the hubster!