Barbecue Priest Hat: From America with Love

The priest's hat: a versatile and tasty cut

The priest's hat. so called due to the shape that recalls the typical triangular hats, it is a cut of beef much loved and used in Italian cuisine: this is denoted by the countless ways that exist to call it. Depending on where we are, the priest's hat can have different names. In the north and precisely in Milan it is called fesone di shoulder, while in other parts of the south (Bari and Naples) and north as in Turin you can only hear bovine shoulder. We go down to central Italy and we will hear people asking for shoulder pulp in the butcher shops nearby, while in Reggio Calabria it is called shoulder rind. Returning to the great south, in Sicily the priest's hat is called paliciata and shoulder cover in Catania, shoulder cover in Messina and finally shoulder cover in Palermo.

A thousand names for a thousand ways to cook it: versatility is its strong point. It is perfect for slow or very slow cooking in the oven or on the barbecue, therefore perfect for braised, boiled, boiled, roasted and stewed meats. At the same time, if cut into slices it is excellent for the preparation of scallops, strips and morsels of meat. In short, once again beef is able to provide many unique and tasty dishes, you just need to use the right cooking method.

Flat iron steak bbq aka barbecue priest's hat

The names of the cuts of meat translated into American style give that hint that recalls the grill. In this case, the priest's hat - which comes from the shoulder of the bovine - is in fact literally called chuck in English, but let's remember that as happens in Italy even overseas each cut has multiple ways to be called. Proposing a recipe for the priest's hat on the barbecue, today we talk about how they prepare it directly from the United States: here is the recipe for the Top blade or the Flat iron steak, grilled on the barbecue with charcoal or wood embers.

BBQ flat iron steak recipe

Ingredients

• 800 g or 1 kg of priest's hat (flat iron steak)
• extra virgin olive oil
• RUB with garlic powder, Maldon salt and pepper to taste
• for an extra touch: The Best Beef rub 61

Method

Small steps for a big dish. We start by removing the light membrane that covers the flesh (also called silverskin). If the cut of meat is very large, we divide it into several parts to facilitate cooking the priest's hat on the barbecue.

Let's now move on to the marinade, sprinkle the cut of meat with oil and sprinkle the chosen ready-made RUB on top, or make a small mix with garlic powder, Maldon salt and pepper.

Let's now head to the grill: hot charcoal, some wood for a smoky touch and the BBQ is ready. We place our Flat Iron Steaks and give the first sear on both sides to create the crust and lock the juices inside. We constantly monitor the internal temperature of the meat and turn it often in case of burns.

The meat is very lean and often tends to dry out during cooking; in this case we can inject the meat on the barbecue. The liquid to be injected is of your choice, but we suggest a good homemade meat broth mixed with melted butter and a drop of Worcestershire sauce.

Once the internal temperature of 58 - 60°C has been reached, the meat is ready! If we want to give an extra flavour, we can also complete the cooking by wrapping the barbecue priest's hat in foil and letting it cook without ever exceeding a core temperature of 80°.

We are ready, now remove the Flat Iron Steak and let it rest for at least half an hour before serving it in a container that can contain the juices and gives them the opportunity to absorb them well. Let's now slice the meat against the grain and create small slices that we will season with simple oil and a few flakes of Maldon salt.