London Broil Marinade?

[madmax]

I'm having a miserable time trying to make a tender London Broil. I've pounded it, marinated it, grilled it outside, broiled it inside. What am I doing wrong?

Did the red wine marinade, grandson hated the taste and it still wasn't tender. Tried Adolph's meat tenderizer, nada. It has to be me, because I havn't gotten it right 3 times.

I aim for med rare - pink yet juicy, lol.

Anyone have a secret marinade recipe or other suggestions. Having the family over next Thursday - I screw this up again, I think they'll start turning down dinner invites ;)

[KC]

1. Oh yummmm

London Broil, is my favorite thing to cook outside.

Get 2 bottles of Creamy French Salad Dressing. (Get the good stuff, not off brand)
Put meat in a heavy duty zip lock bag. Pour 1 1/2 bottles of the dressing over the meat and let it marinate
over night or as long as possible. Overnight is best though. I don't season the meat at all. I guess if you
wanted to use a small amount of tenderizer you could but I never do. Cook it on
the grill...not too hot cause it really is better the longer you can cook it. I close the lid but open
the vent a little bit. I cook it slow, and turn it every 5 or 10 min and
every time you turn it, pour a little of the marinade on that side. (this is what is in the zip lock bag)
You'll have to check it periodically to have it like you enjoy it. But I bet mine cooks for a good 30 min or so
because I make sure the coals aren't too hot or flaming up at all.
When you slice it, make sure you cut it on the bias or it will be tough and stringy.

Maybe try one this week and see what you think before cooking for them next Thursday ? My son (grown)loves it.

Good luck ! Yum It makes me want to fix one too !

[madmax]

4. Mom always marianted meats overnight

Creamy French you say? Wow, thought it would be Italian but, I'll go with your suggestion. Good tips, I'm not doing this right, maybe now.

I see I need to adjust the timing also and add the marinade. Will give it a tumble this weekend. Mr. Max usually does the grilling - going to have to tell him about the cooking method. Better yet, I'll stand there and supervise. You know men - they think they're King of the Grill. ;)

Thank you :hi:

[grasswire]

7. Mom had USDA CHOICE meat

That was the standard meat sold in supermarkets until recently. The grade of beef sold now is "SELECT". It's all about the marbling and what the animal is fed. When mom was buying meat, a supermarket would be ashamed to sell SELECT to her.

[grasswire]

8. Albertson's offers USDA choice in its stores.

Not all cuts are choice, but it is available. I don't know about other markets. My Kroger's market has stopped labeling its beef as to USDA grade, and is selling something called "Angus" at premium price, but it is select grade.

For special occasions, you might check around to find choice somewhere.

[madmax]

10. I've seen that 'Angus' on meat packages.

Forget a victory garden, soon we'll need to raise our own cows!

Mr. max is cuban - loves pork, rice, beans, picadillo - a cuban sloppy joe meat mixtures served over rice. My son and his family lean toward Polish, American and Italian cooking. The granddaughter won't eat pork - they all have their quirks and it's a pita to cook for them. Everyone loves london broil with mashed or baked and whatever else I put together. I'll give it another shot. Then it's back to meat balls and pasta, lasagna and the usual suspects.

Thanks graswire

[madmax]

11. Albertson's we don't have

Kroeger's yes.

I did find a nice little butcher shop not far and the prices were good. So now I get the Ah ha moment- check them out for meat. My dil and I were browsing around Thanksgiving but forgot about them.

[KC]

13. When you put it

on a plate after it's done , before you slice it, the creamy french dressing mixes with the juices and is oh soo good lol
Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Main thing though is don't cook it when the grill/ coals are too hot, keep the lid closed until the last 5 min or so.. And then
slice it on the diagonal.
Hope you enjoy it.

[grasswire]

2. let's start with the meat

What are you getting? Today's "natural" meat is not likely to produce the succulent london broil that used to be standard. No amount of proper cooking or marinating will make a delicious piece of meat that is the wrong grade of meat.

So....what kind of meat are you buying? We'll figure this out.

[madmax]

3. What ever they sell at Lowe's

Just labeled USDA London Broil.

I feel like such a putz. I used to cook fairly well but, stopped 3 years ago and just started again. I've lost the touch :(

[madmax]

5. By natural you mean 'organic'?

Not organic but, it's very lean. I have a nice heavy mallet that I was using. Great for frustration - not so good on tenderizing.

[grasswire]

6. you haven't lost the touch

supermarket meat has changed. Unless you can find meat labeled USDA CHOICE you are going to have tough meat. Organic, lean meat has no fat marbling in it to make it flavorful and tender. It might be better for us cardio-wise, but it just doesn't taste the way we remember beef.

[madmax]

9. The price is up too

those hormones cost money.

I remember flank steak used to be cheap, was I in for a surprise. No braciole or ropa vieja :(
Pretty much been living on chicken for 3 years. Now I can cluck and lay eggs.

Maybe the marinade will help. What do I have to lose, I'll give it another shot. After that, we eat out. ;)

[Tesha]

12. Rare and sliced very thin at a very sharp angle..

Until people "discovered" flank steak - it was a cheap favorite of my family.
marinate in italian dressing
brown quickly
slice while still very very rare
lay on a platter and slather with minced onions/buter/blue cheese
broil until the topping begins to melt and bubble.

Tender and lovely...
London broil might be just as good this way

[Stinky The Clown]

14. What cut are you using?

I've seen all sorts of meat sold as "London Broil". Some of those cuts are one step above shoe leather.

We use flank steak and it is always tender. The marinade can be whatever you wish.

[kurtzapril4]

15. Low and slow

I just use a tenderiser mallet on it, then do a dry rub. Put it in the refrigerator for an hour to let it rest. Then I take it out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit. I cook it at a low temp. (250-275 F.) Use a meat thermometer, and when the center of the meat reaches 150 F (medium well), pull it out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes, covered with foil. It will continue cooking, and the internal temp. will continue to rise. When you slice it, make sure you slice across the grain.

You can do the same thing with organic meats that have less fat in them. Cook them low and slow. Slice across the grain. I made a really good beef brisket last week using a dry rub, low temps.