Flat-Iron-Steak-Roulade Parmigiana

- July 05, 2020

When you think of Parmigiana, I think it's fair to say you're not thinking of Flat-Iron-Steak. Many of us have eaten, Chicken & Veal Parmigiana, but have I dare say most likely have not eaten this version. The use of Transglutaminase RM is essential when making this Roulade. I've glued many proteins together, and of course, I've Glued Flat-Irons too, but this will be the first one I've used for Parmigiana. The Flat-Iron Steak is the perfect canvas for many recipes, but this one was a shining light compared to many. Next week I will, be making Chicken fried steak using the Flat-Iron-Steak, so stay tuned.

All 3-Similar Sized Steaks were treated with 1% Fish- Salt. I always Dry-Brine with either salt at 0.60% or 1.0% Fish Salt. The Fish-Salt is a Faux-Aged process which can be read about HERE. The math is elementary. I Dry-Brined them individually. If one of them weighs in at 780 grams, you will multiply 780 x 1% (.01) = 7.8 (round it up to 8) Grams of Fish Salt needed. Sprinkle on evenly coats the steaks.

After you coat, the steaks with the Fish-Salt Vac Seal for 3-days. 3-Days is necessary for the glutamates to penetrate the protein. If I was just using Salt, I would let it sit between 12-24 Hours.

This next step is not black and white. Layout three steaks and stack. The idea is to create a uniform cylinder. Believe it or not, it took a few twists and turns to get it right. The steak on the cutting board was thinned out a little to create the perfect cylinder. This is what I came up with...Remember how they were stacked so you can do this again when you glue them together. I use Transglutaminsse RM and can be purchased from many sources.

Get your station ready. I used a Commercial 24-Inch Plastic wrap spread out across a huge cutting board. Commerical plastic may not be safe for heat, so I place a few layers of heat-proof plastic wrap across the top.

Do you see the picture of the stainless steel meshed dispenser? It's a powdered sugar dispenser that will be filled with the TG-RM. The dispenser is a great way to dispense the TG-RM.

Sprinkle a little TG-RM directly on the plastic. This is necessary because when you start rolling the excess TG-Rm will make its way into the nook and crannies and help with the binding of the proteins.

Picture 1- Lay down the first Flat-Iron-Steak (FIS).

Picture 2- Same as Pic-1 but now is dusted with TG-RM.

Picture 3- Before placing the second FIS on top of the first FIS lightly dust with TG-RM. Place the second FIS on top of the first and dust on more TG-RM.

Picture 4- Before placing the third FIS on top of the first lightly dust with TG-RM. Now for the inspection. Make sure every corner, edge, and nook and cranny has some TG-RM.

Now comes the rolling. It's easier to do with two people, but if you don't have the extra set of hands, you can still pull it off. Start rolling, but as you are rolling, stretch out the plastic, so create an extremely tight cylinder, all the while squeezing the ends. The idea is to compress every meat fiber on to itself. I most likely rolled it 20x.

Each end has to be twisted in the opposite direction while applying inward force at each end to ensure extreme compression. I used a lot of butchers twine at each end. I used a pair of pliers to hold one end while I tied off the other end. I kept wrapping the twine around the end, creating a lot of force.

Did I mention it's big?

The picture on the left is a Gee-Whiz photo. I used electronic calipers to measure the diameter. If you must know, I am collecting data for a later article on Cooking Times and Temps. Anyhow after measuring, I double vac sealed. The FIS was placed in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours for the TG-RM to bind the proteins.

Click to make bigger.

As previously mentioned, I am collecting DATA, and none of this is necessary to make this FIS-Roulade. It was processed at 133.5℉ for 06::41:40. If I was you, I would process 7-hours.

If you think this chart is wild, you should look at my Chucky Escapes the Freezer. I wanted to see how long it would take a frozen 2-Inch Protein to go from frozen to refrigerator temps.

You might also find this one interesting too. I contrasted Three Ribeyes, which had different diameters. I wanted to not only collect data but wanted to see how the real data compared to Baldwins tables and the Polcyscience APP.

From here you can come up with so many many dishes. It's only limited to your imagination. About two years, I BBQ a Roulade, and it was the bomb at a big family get together. Anyhow this is what it looks like when it's all done. I sliced them into medallions.

To make them into Parmigiana, you need to use Italian Bread-Crumbs. I used Italian Bread-Crumbs enhanced with more spices and Pecorino-Romano-Cheese. Ok, now we need to set up a breading station. If you read this much, I am assuming you know what that means. I used several eggs with some cream to increase fat. Seasoned AP Flour and Enhanced Italian-Bread-Crumbs. The critical step is to refrigerate for one hour. Refrigeration helps dry and set the egg and breadcrumbs to the meat. This step helps prevent breadcrumbs from pulling away from the meat while frying.