London Broil: Buyer Beware!

Summer is here, the weather is breaking, and it’s time to break out the grill! Nothing is better than enjoying the warm evening air with a cold beer and a delicious outdoor dinner. When shopping for the ingredients for your summertime spread however, you should be aware of a common warm weather con. It’s called the London Broil Bamboozle-a swindle pulled off by butchers so often that it is becoming common practice at many reputable stores and markets. You’ve probably seen the signs, maybe even purchased the product, only to be had by tough meat at what you thought was a great price.

Here’s the deal. London broil is a preparation, not a cut of meat. No butcher’s sign should ever read “London broil for $2.99/lb,” unless it’s smothered in some sort of tomato based marinade, ready to grill. Furthermore, London broil is only made with the flank steak cut of beef, not shoulder steaks or top round steaks. None of these steak cuts are tender, but when flank is prepared in a London broil style, the combination of its extreme grain and the acid from the tomato marinate make it the only cut that can become incredibly tender-when sliced right.

I often explain meat grains to my students by comparing them to wood and celery. If you were to look at a wooden table or cabinet you could easily identify which way the grain goes by looking at the curve and line pattern. This is similar to meat. When slicing, the rule is to cut across the grain to make it tender. This principle can easily be explained with a celery experiment. If you were to take a bite out of the end of a stalk, all kinds of fibrous threads would hinder your chewing ability. Conversely, if you were to cut the celery into fine slices you would be cutting the fibers before you ate it, hence a tenderer chew. This principle transfers directly meats; especially flank steak because like celery, it has an extreme, easy to identify grain. Remember that no matter how flank is prepared, it is always sliced thinly against its grain before serving. That’s the beauty of it though, it’s so economical. One steak at around 1¼ lbs is plenty enough for a small to medium family.

So buyer beware! Sometimes a good deal on London broil isn’t such a good deal after all. Whether it’s advertised as London broil or flank steak, look carefully to confirm that it is in fact flank. The photos below will help you identify the difference, and the recipe there afterwards will help you make a kicking London broil!

London Broil Done Right
Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:
¾ cup Tomato Paste
¼ cup Brown Sugar, more or less to taste
To taste Salt & Pepper
1-2 each 1¼ lb Flank Steaks
1 head Garlic, left unwrapped and split horizontally
¼ cup Olive Oil
3-5 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
3 each Bay Leaves
¼ cup Teriyaki or Soy Sauce
1 each Lemon, juiced or a splash of Red Wine Vinegar
½ bunch Thyme Sprigs, left whole
½ bunch Rosemary Sprigs, left whole

Preparation:
Rub the tomato paste, brown sugar and salt & pepper into the steak(s) and place them in a gallon sized Ziploc back. Add all the other ingredients, squeeze out the extra air and seal. Marinate for as long as possible, but no longer than 4 days. 1-2 days is ideal.

When it’s time to cook, preheat the grill and rub off the excess marinade. Grill to your liking. If using a meat thermometer, cook the steak to 130ËšF-140ËšF for rare, 145ËšF for medium rare, no more than 160ËšF for medium, and 165ËšF-170ËšF for medium well and well done. Note that one side of a flank steak is usually thicker than the other. You can take advantage of this if you have friends or family who like their steak at different degrees of doneness. The thin side can be medium while the thick side is rare. Allow 5-8 minutes for the steak to rest in a warm place before you carve it.

Note:
Ziplock bags are great for marinating items because they keep them submerged in the marinade completely. Remember to squeeze out all the air though.