Braising a London Broil...

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mozart

Senior Cook
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
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446
Location
SW Florida
OK, I have this London Broil, 2" thick. I believe that it is just thick round steak, right.

Anyway, I've never had any luck broiling or BBQing LBs, as they always turn out tuff and chewy, with marginal flavor.

I think I want to braise it. I can always slice it thinner, beat it up, and make swiss steak. But I was wondering if there are other ideas floating around out there for braised London Broil?

Thanks.
 
I would recommend a marinade. Following that, you an grill it to medium - medium rare and slice it in thin strips for service.

London broil is a name attached to several fifferent cuts of meat. The most common appears to be flank steak, but around here (MA) London broil refers to shoulder steak. It is an inherently tougher cut. Not over cooking it and thinly slicing it are ways to mitigate the toughness.

Of course you could braise it but its a fairly lean cut and may not give the best results.
 
If you really want to braise it, then use the low setting on your slow cooker. Cover the meat half way up with water and throw in some seasoings such as salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. Celery, or celriac, carrots, cabbage, rutabega, and potatoes will also work well with this meat. Another great way to braise it is simply with sliced onion and mushrooms, with a little S & P flor seasonings.

The trik to this cut is to not overcook it, as Andy stated. Start by firing up your heaviest pan or broiler on its highest heat setting. Sear the meat until nicely browned, then transfer to the slow cooker. Set it and forget it for an hour or two, or three. Do not let the liquid come to even a low boil. The idea is to poach the meat in the liquid until it is cooked to between 130 to 160 degrees, depending on what you are trying to get.

You can also cube your london broil and quickly saute the cubes in a wok or heavy skillet, season, and use in stews or stir fries. Again, take care not to overcook the meat.

Finally, for very tender, and well done meat, throw it in a pressure cooker and cook at 15 lbs. for 30 minutes. The pot shoud have about 2 cups of water in it before clsing the pressue lid. Onions, poatoes, carrots, celery, etc., can be thrown into the pressure cooker along with the meat.

Hope this helps.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Mozart...

If you choose to braise this piece of meat may I suggest you also cook a nice bowl of mashed potatoes...they will go well with any gravy produced. In fact the potatoes and gravy may very well be the hit of the meal as (IMO) the meat will be unexciting, uninspiring, and unbelievably dry and bland.

If you in fact have a cut of round, or any cut labled as "London Broil" (A cooking method Not a cut of beef) I suggest you follow Andy's advice...Marinate, broil or grill to no more than medium rare...and slice thinly at 45 degrees across the grain...

HTH...

Fun!!
 
Thanks everyone.

I will try Andy's method. I have to say though, I have been cooking round steak, by "swissing" it for all my adult life and my mother cooked it that way all my childhood.

Heavy cast iron DO. Cut meat into serving size pieces. Pound with a mallet while adding seasoned flour so that the flour becomes mixed with the first 1/2 inch of meat. Brown in hot oil in the DO. Cover with home made stewed tomatoes, some sliced onion, and some quartered mushrooms. Cook on 300-325 for 2-2 1/2 hours.

The result is a very tender meat, although somewhat dry, the the gravy/tomato mixture that clings to it is so tasty that you hardly would notice and there is plenty of thick, thick stew like mixture left for more gravy.

The only difference I can see with this piece of meat is that it is 2-2 1/2 times as thick. I do believe it is round.

BTW, Mashed potatoes are a must, and buttered peas.

(OK, maybe this is just a comfort food thing, but I swear the above tastes really good to me:ROFLMAO:)
 
Yo!! Mozart! Check it out.,..Right here man!!! :ermm:

Hush yo mouth and bless your heart!!!!

I am well aquaited with your mom's process of tenderized (mechanically or manually) round steak cooked in a jazzed up gravy....(brown or tomato or a combination of the two) with lots of onion cooked in...Served over hot biscuits and smashed tators/rice....It just don't get any better!!! It taste good to me too!!:cool:

However; This time with a 2-21/2" cut of round...I think your wise decison to go with the "London Broil" process is the way to go...Next time....think thinner cut and biscuits and graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavy!!!!!!!:LOL:


PS....and invite me! I'll bring Bourbon!;)
 
I marinate mine in red wine, shallots and thyme, grill it to med/med rare, then drown it in Knoors Bernaise sauce. Slice it thin perpendicular to the grain of the meat.
 
I am terribly confused.

London broil, by the way have been in London many times and they don't seem to know about it, seems to be, according to this thread, a cut that is from the round, or the flank, or the chuck, and is treated in who knows how many ways.

I have always thought of it as a marinated flank steak, but there are obviously other interpretations.

And it seems, at least from the posts here, that the term has lost almost all meaning.

So let us dump the name and just post kinda good recipes for ways to do good, generally tough, beef cuts.

Just a thought.
 
auntdot, you are correct. The term London broil is not a technical term but a marketing name given to a piece of steak that is marinated, grilled and sliced for service.

Most of the country knows a LB is flank steak. For whatever reason, in the northeast, that appears not to be the case. Here a chuck cut has been sold as LB for as long as I an remember.

As Uncle Bob stated LB is more a method than a cut.
 
By far the most common cuts of beef used are.. Flank, Top Round, and Shoulder in that order depending on the area... People who want to use this recipe/method of cooking these normally tougher cuts usually know what they are looking for... so any unscrupulous butchers/retailers may find themselves in the unemployment line....

Enjoy!
 
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