London Broil cooking?

robnybbq

Is there a way to cook a London broil so that it is good and not chewy?  Everyone one I have had is usually chewy and or tough?

I guess its not the best cut of meat but they are on sale ALLOT locally.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

London broil is a funny one. it should be a flank steak but butchers very often take leftovers thin steaks and put a "London Broil" sticker on it to up the price.  Ask the butcher what cut of meat it is (in big stores, many won't know- they just do what they are told). Or better yet, post a pic on here and somebody will be able to help you.

bigphil

i've done one seared it at 550 both sides and the cooked it till it was med.rare to medium i've found the longer you cook those the tougher they get .also my wife marinaded it over night in a mix of spices and soy sauce not sure exactly what she used .

Little Steven

London broil is a funny one. it should be a flank steak but butchers very often take leftovers thin steaks and put a "London Broil" sticker on it to up the price.  Ask the butcher what cut of meat it is (in big stores, many won't know- they just do what they are told). Or better yet, post a pic on here and somebody will be able to help you.

CT,

In Canada it is a flank rolled with sausage and cut in medallions. I thought it was part of the round in the US?

billyray

When I was cutting meat back in the mid 60's a London Broil was the first cut (2" to 3" thick) off of the top round, after we cut a little off to square it up. Chateaubriand was the first cut off of the top sirlion after squaring and cut 2" to 3" thick.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

This is where a lot of the issues come from in the US. London Broil is more a process than a cut. It's really just any thin cut marinated and broiled or grilled and sliced across the grain. The traditional cut for that here is flank but it can be anything in the meat case so unless you really know your cuts, it's hard to know what you are getting. I would say to OP, try to figure out what they are calling London Broil. If its flank, it's very tender when grilled and sliced across the grain in thin slices. If its part of a roast cut or something else, I would avoid it.

Brownie

Your problem may not be the location of were it was taken from as much as how well done it was cooked and how you sliced it after it rested.  I'll buy top, and bottom round LB (least favorite and usually the cheapest), But prefer to buy any part of a sirloin or flank for LB. You can marinate or season to liking any of these for good results, but the two most important steps are to not over cook, and slice thin across the grain at a 45 degree angle (top to bottom) towards the cutting board.

robnybbq

Its not flank - Flank is like fliet mignon compared to the "London Broil" labeled packaging here.  Beef Round

Top Round London Broil is what they call is actually.

Just curious - I do not like it but friends/family always make it.  Its priced right to feed allot of people but IMO spend the extra $$$ and dine right.

Just wondering of the Egg can turn it into something its not.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

You can't get top round tender by grilling unless you are some kind of magician. I wouldn't buy it. Buy flank or flap for cheaper cuts that you can get tender (although flank down here has gone through the roof).

Brownie

You can't get top round tender by grilling unless you are some kind of magician. I wouldn't buy it. Buy flank or flap for cheaper cuts that you can get tender (although flank down here has gone through the roof).

I wanted flank for my fajitas last night, all the market had was wet aged Black Angus Flank, I'm a sucker cause I paid 8.99lb ON SALE for fajita meat. I already had BS chx breast marinating which makes me a bigger sucker. At least they were some damn good fajitas!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

That's what I use for fajitas. $9.99 per lb down here these days.

Mighty_Quinn

It's still $6.99/lb here around Denver, but I can't imagine that's gonna last much longer...

The Cen-Tex Smoker

It's still $6.99/lb here around Denver, but I can't imagine that's gonna last much longer...

It's the fajita thing down here. It got so popular over skirt that it went from $5.99 to 9.99 in a year.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

good lord, I just paid $10.49 for flank. I guess they can charge what they want down here now. Time to move on.

mazaman

Is there a way to cook a London broil so that it is good and not chewy?  Everyone one I have had is usually chewy and or tough?

I guess its not the best cut of meat but they are on sale ALLOT locally.

In my neighborhood, LB is on sale in one of the food store chains every week during the summer.  I pound it with the meat tenderizer and marinate it in Italian Dressing for about 8-12 hours.  Direct grill it at 500-600 deg. F until its rare / med-rare.  Slice thin against the grain on the bias, about 1/8" slices.  I find that the thin slices keeps the chewiness down.  Anything over med-rare and its shoe leather.  I like it with a hobo veggie mixture of potatoes, red peppers, vidalia onions, and button mushrooms.

Craig 

bigphil

Did one tonight it turned out fantastic shockingly tender . had the grill up around 720 4mins per side then left it for another 5 it rested for 10 and we ate 

xraypat23

you see, in ny, london broil at the butcher is usually a top butt cut perpendicular to the grain. I'm tight with the butcher and lend a hand when i can. But it's usually a foot long by six inch by 1.25 piece of meat. Reverse sear it, and slice on a 45, comes out great every time!

Baysidebob

Get an electric slicer!  Let the meat rest and slice very thin.  Also good for days and days of sandwiches.  Same with lean cuts like bottom round.  A good rub puts it over the top.  As good or perhaps better for cold-cuts and sandwiches.  I like cold slices with a hot sunny-side-up egg on top for breakfast.

Ellis

The new issue of Cooks Country features London Broil on the grill, they go through it ste by step. Most ot the time there are right the mark.