Weeknight London Broil

I don’t remember the first time I had London Broil.  I remember liking it, but it was one of those things never made at home. If I recall correctly I only encountered it in restaurants and at catered affairs.  In essence it’s simply a thick cheaper cut of beef that’s been chemically tenderized and then cooked at high temperatures.  The result is crusty rare to medium rare slices of heaven.  It all sounds great, but I work and something like London Broil has to be marinated, but not over marinated. It has to be broiled to just at rare to medium rare. The whole thing can be a bit of a fuss.   Then, however, I started thinking and toying around; I figured that since I could not leave it in the marinade the 9 hours I was at work I could salt it ahead of time.  In theory, other things could be added so it would be like a rub, but there will be more on rubs next week (hint pork shoulder).  The salt would help tenderize the meat while I was at work, without over seasoning it like leaving it in the marinade would.  Once home, I whipped up the marinade. The flavors are pretty strong, but the steak would not be in the marinade long. Then I cooked it, by broiling to obtain a crust, and then roasting it to desired level of doneness.  

Ingredients:

1½ -2 pounds London Broil  (Top Round steak, at least 1 inch thick)

¼ cup coarse Sea Salt or Kosher salt

¼ cup cooking oil

¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce

¼ cup white or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic power

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon black pepper

Step One:

On a cutting board pat half of the salt onto the topside of the steak. Flip it over and salt the other side with the remaining salt.   Place the steak into a sealable container or a zip top bag (ensure the bag doesn’t leak).  Refrigerate the salted steak for 6-9 hours.

Step Two:

In a small bowl add the remaining ingredients and whisk them together to combine well.  Open the container with the steak and pour in the marinade. Reseal and move the container around to ensure the marinade is evenly distributed.  Refrigerate for 30 - 45 minutes.

Step Three:  

Preheat the broiler (grill, or grill pan) on high.  Remove the steak from the marinade and discard the marinade.  Place the steak under the broiler for 10 minutes.  Afterwards flip the steak over and cook for another ten minutes.  At this point a brown crust should appear, but the inside is very rare. It perhaps may only register 120 degrees.

 

Step Four:  

Turn the broiler off and turn the oven on to 400-425  to roast the steak the rest of the way towards the desired level of doneness.  A great tool to use is an in oven probe thermometer.  These can be set to the desired temperature and it will alert you when that temperature has been reached.  Remove the steak from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.