Flap Steak, Cherry Tomatoes, and Grits

Every year Uncle T has a garden.  This year the garden was kept small for ease of keeping up with things.  Another reason for keeping it small was that last year's garden produced enough that we have enough to keep us through to next year.  I did add one new item this year, a cherry tomato plant.

The cherry tomato plant has done amazingly well and we have lots of cherry tomatoes.  I've been coming up with ways to use cherry tomatoes in meals so they don't go to waste.  A guy in a cooking group I belong to on Facebook sent me a link to a dish using cherry tomatoes that had skirt steak and polenta.  I thought it looked interesting but not quite what we'd go for normally.

Standing in front of the cherry tomato plant.  It's over 7 feet.

First off, Uncle T is a good Southern boy and as such his preferred method of using dried corn is in the form of grits.  Shrimp and grits is a Southern staple and as such I figured this dish would work best as a variation on shrimp and grits.  I also usually have packages of Sirloin Butt, Flap in the freezer so I would use that in lieu of the skirt steak.  In the end, simplicity won the day and a fabulous tasting and looking dish was the result.

Flap Steak, Cherry Tomatoes, and Grits

l  1.5lb Flap steak
1 cup old fashion grits
4 cups water
3 cups cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6-8 Tbs butter
salt
pepper

For the grits, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Stir in the grits and a pinch of salt.  Once it comes back to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer.  Stir occasionally.  The grits will be cooked in 15 - 20 minutes.  Stir to ensure no lumps are present then stir in the Parmesan cheese.  Cover and keep warm.

For the steak, trim any excess fat and membrane then season with salt and pepper.  Preferably using a cast iron skillet melt 3 Tbs butter then when the melted butter is foaming add the steak.  Cook on one side until you get a nice crust.  Turn the steak and cook until desired doneness.  We like rare - medium rare so I generally aim for 135F internal.  Remove the steak and let rest.

For the cherry tomatoes add at least 3 Tbs more butter to the skillet the steak was cooked in.  Once it has melted and combined with the pan juices left by the steak add the cherry tomatoes.  Cook the cherry tomatoes until some of them have burst and the rest are hot.

To serve I prefer to use a pasta bowl.  Spoon the grits into bowls.  Spoon the cherry tomatoes and the pan juices around the edge of each bowl.  Slice the flap steak 1/4 inch thick on the bias then layer in the middle of each bowl.

Flap steak, cherry tomatoes, and grits ready to serve

I suppose one could use the 5 minute quick grits but I'll not vouch for the quality of the dish if so.  Uncle T is old school Southern so grits only count if they are the old fashion kind that take 20 minutes to cook.  Skirt steak or flank steak would also work for this recipe but I believe the flap steak has the better beef flavor.

This is a relatively quick and definitely easy dish to make that is filling and tasty.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Take care,
Uncle T