October 2006,  pg 56 ON THE PLATE High steaks   High steaks

The flat iron steak is well established in foodservice, but what are the prospects for the petite tender and other up-and-coming beef value cuts?

by Anne Spiselman, contributing editor
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Say beef, and Americans think steak. Say steak, and more and more Americans think flat iron - the result of a near decade-long effort by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association to employ underutilized muscles to expand the category, principally by providing restaurant operators - and retailers - with more options, more price points and more opportunities for consumers.

But has raising the stakes for the underutilized chuck and round paid off? The short answer is yes, at least in foodservice, according to Jane Gibson, NCBA's director of foodservice marketing, who maintains that average carcass values have increased $70 on the strength of the so-called value-added cut. Perhaps the most visible sign of its success is the flat iron steak, which has caught fire in foodservice. Deriving from the shoulder clod, the flat iron has been touted as the second-most-tender cut in the animal, and served everywhere from T.G.I. Friday's to white-tablecloth restaurants at prices ranging from $10 to $29.

The flat iron also has been a success story for processors on the order of Buckhead Beef Co., the Atlanta-based subsidiary of foodservice distributor Sysco Corp. "When we started producing it in 2004, our volume was less than 1,000 pounds per week. Now it's 8,000 to 10,000 pounds," says Buckhead President and CEO John Foster.

The flat iron may be the most successful value cut aiming for center of the plate, but NCBA has set the table for several such offerings, including the ranch cut and petite tender, which derive from the shoulder clod; the tip center, tip side and tip bottom, which derive from the knuckle; and the Western tip and Western griller, which derive from the bottom round.

But scan a steakhouse menu for a Western tip or griller and you won't find it. Thus far, the foodservice sector has focused on the three steaks deriving from the clod, cuts that meat scientist and NCBA consultant Tony Mata refers to as "diamonds in the rough."

The Western tip and griller, by comparison, present textural challenges that have relegated them to initiatives targeting ethnic applications and alternative
cooking methods.

Gaining traction

Not so for the ranch cut and petite tender, which, like the flat iron, are gaining surprising traction in the foodservice sector. This summer, TravelCenters of America introduced a "From the Road to the Ranch" promotion at some 130 of its truckstops, with sales of the Ranch Steak Breakfast easily surpassing those of a 2005 special for the flat iron. By summer's end, combined sales of breakfast, lunch and dinner plates showcasing the ranch cut totaled 325,000. Similarly, the burger-centric Fuddruckers saw the petite tender grow to account for 12 percent of its menu mix just months after the Austin, Texas-based chain introduced it.

True, the ranch cut and petite tender trail the flat iron, but not significantly so, at least in terms of broader industry trends, according to Chicago-based Technomic Inc. Last year, the foodservice sector moved some 47 million pounds of flat iron, as compared to 31 million pounds of ranch and 28 million pounds of petite tender, says Technomic Vice President Joe Pawlack, who notes that "about 3 percent of foodservice operators use the flat iron, 2 percent the petite tender and 1 percent the ranch cut. Each of them has a future but, as a point of comparison, consider that 20 percent of operators menu ribeye, and 15 percent filet mignon and sirloin."

Initial training in cutting was a major undertaking, but today some 70 percent to 80 percent of further processors manufacture at least some type of value cut. Nevertheless, a full 50 percent of the industry's total volume is concentrated among just five players, including Sysco and Bridgeview, Ill.-based Stampede Meat Inc., one of the first processors to partner with NCBA on ranch cuts and flat irons. Since 2000, Stampede's volume has grown by 25 percent annually, though flat iron outpaces ranch by 50 percent, according to Senior Vice President of Sales Ray McKiernan, who recalls that "when we first introduced them, many of our customers switched from the tri-tip to the ranch cut while adding flat iron. It's almost as tender as tenderloin, but at less than half the price."

Distributed to 15 or so chains, Stampede cuts are USDA Choice and account for 15 percent of the processor's portioned steak business. "The key for us is lining up customers for different-size portions to help us maximize yield," says McKiernan.

Buckhead, on the other hand, offers a range that includes USDA Prime, Certified Angus and American Kobe flat irons. Beef is aged before cutting and sold fresh, unless the customer specifies flash frozen. "Value cuts don't necessarily age well for extended periods of time," Foster says, "so we usually wet-age them for only 18 to 25 days."

In general, the Choice flat iron peaks at about $8.50, while higher grades, including American Kobe, command premiums of up to $7.50. Foster says a chef can buy a ready-to-cook, 8-oz. flat iron for about $4, then menu it at a very competitive $12.

Identity crisis?

With the flat iron now fairly well established, look for the beef industry to ramp up its promotion of the petite tender and ranch cut. Known as the bistro filet, Buckhead's petite tender is easier to process than the flat iron, but isn't showcased as much owing to its limited availability and comparatively diminutive size. "They don't show as well on the plate," says Chad Stine, senior vice-president of merchandising.

Nevertheless, Fuddruckers Corporate Chef William Gillen contends the petite tender surpasses the flat iron in tenderness, flavor and mouthfeel, with many consumers comparing it to filet mignon. Parent company Magic Brands is so pleased with its performance that it has added the cut to the menu of Koo Koo Roo, a 20-unit California concept specializing in chicken.

The ranch cut hasn't been as stellar a performer. Stine says a couple of sister companies under the Sysco umbrella have had luck with it, both as a fresh cut and marinated product, but "we didn't get repeat orders for it. It's the least expensive, but it doesn't have a great flavor profile. It's just too tough and inconsistent."

Kevin Young, purchasing director for Randolph, Mass.-based Ground Round, a 62-unit concept, hasn't used the ranch cut since a limited-time offer four or five years ago, chiefly owing to a ligament that shrinks as it cooks, causing the steak to lose shape.

So the flat iron, at least for now, remains the leader in the value-cut sweepstakes, though it rarely, if ever, outdistances the tenderloin, ribeye and other frontrunners. Nevertheless, chefs are sold on its consistency. Indeed, any reservations center on preparation. Paul LoDuca, chef and owner of Chicago's Vinci and Adobo Grill - Italian and Mexican concepts, respectively - observes, "The flat iron cooks quickly, and you have to be careful to slice across the grain, or you end up with a tough cut of meat."

This summer, he served the sliced steak with rosemary-peppercorn sauce and panzanella salad, but found that customers needed to have the cut explained to them. "I think it's going to be subject to an identity crisis," he says, "until the mass market gets to know it better."

Maybe sooner than anyone guesses.



Flat iron frenzy

It's been suggested - but not confirmed - that the flat iron's name derives from its shape. There's no question its uses assume many forms:

• The 776-unit T.G.I. Friday's begins its "Jack Daniel's Grill" menu section with an 8-oz. flat iron steak accompanied by the chain's signature mashed potatoes.

• At the 62-unit Ground Round, the flat iron is topped with melted gorgonzola and fried onion rings and drizzled with a rasp-berry vinaigrette.

• Chicago-based Restaurants-America offers house-marinated, grilled flat irons at 36 of its 45 restaurants. The Townhouse, one of eight full-service concepts, also features a flat iron wrap in a flour tortilla.

• Typifying the variety of preparations performed at independent restaurants, Chicago chef/owner Paul LoDuca pairs the flat iron with rosemary-peppercorn sauce and panzanella salad at Vinci, his Italian spot, and with roasted poblano sauce and chorizo-spiked potatoes at Adobo Grill, his Mexican outpost.

• Greg Parle, owner of The Branding Iron in Merced , Calif. , replaced top sirloin with flat iron when he recently switched to all Certified Angus Beef. He says the plain steak is more popular than his bleu cheese, teriyaki or smothered, but suspects it's because it's the least expensive.

• Menu prices for flat iron generally range from $10 to $29, but at Craftsteak in Las Vegas and New York, the $49 American Kobe/Wagyu flat iron is the "entry level" steak in the Kobe/Wagyu category. Chris Albrecht, chef at the New York branch, says it's a "terrific seller" at both locations.