Marinated London Broil

The other day, I decided to try a cut of beef that I’ve never prepared before, a top round that is sometimes misnamed London broil.  Notorious for being quite tough, this cut has the misfortune of not having enough fat and connective tissue to braise slowly well and not having the tenderness of loin or rib cuts.  Fortunately, the meat has decent flavor and is inexpensive.  I decided to marinate the meat for about 24 hours to see if that would help to tenderize, and then broiled it quickly on both sides, but left it rare in the center.  Sliced very thin, the meat was well flavored and not really tough at all.  I served it with collard greens and mashed butternut squash.  It could also be served wrapped into tortillas with avocado and salsa.  The leftovers were kept rare and sliced cold and combined into a Thai steak salad the next day.  We will have this again.

Marinated London Broil

1 top round steak (about 1 1/2 inches thick)
2 T soy sauce
2 T red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 T olive oil
red pepper flakes to taste

Make very shallow score marks on both surfaces of the meat (I made diamonds).  Combine the marinade ingredients in a large ziploc bag and stir.  Place the meat in the bag and make sure all the surface area is coated.  Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal tightly and place in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours.  About 1 hour before cooking, remove the ziploc bag from the refrigerator so that the meat begins to move toward room temperature.  Preheat the broiler.  Remove steaks from the marinade (I discarded this) and pat dry with a paper towel.  Broil the steaks about 4-5 minutes per side to desired doneness. Do not overcook.  Remove steak and let rest for about 10 minutes.  Slice against the grain into very thin slices.

shared at $5 Dinners, Food Renegade, Grocery Cart Challenge, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday