MY BEST PITCURE
STORY
London broil, or “beef round top,” is hands-down my favorite cut for a steak. It’s cheap reliable. I will defend it until the day I can no longer cook. Something about its simplicity and its unpredictability, make this particular cut very appealing. I plan to have many different London broil tribute posts, so stay tuned.
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 pound slab of London broil (beef round)
- 1 Citra IPA (beer)
- 3 Tablespoons of butter
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Rosemary sprigs
- Himalayan pink salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
HOW I COOKED IT
I had prepared this cut of meat many times, yet it only occurred to me in the last several months that I can “broil” a London broil. Who would have thought? This was a different approach, as I normally grill it or just sear it on high heat using my cast iron skillet.
I let the steak rest at room temperature for 1.5 hours. The closer you have a cheaper cut of meat to room temperature, the better it will cook. I patted the steak dry and turned on the oven broil setting to “high.” I also moved the top rack so that it was 1 peg away from the highest it can go. I salted the steak heavily with the salt grinder and followed the salt bath with a light dusting of fresh cracked black pepper. I did this to both sides of the meat, and placed it into my cast iron skillet.
I threw the skillet with the hunk of meat in and set a timer for 8 minutes. In the meantime, I poured one of my “fruity” citra IPA’s into a nice glass and enjoyed a sip (gulp). After the timer went off, I pulled the skillet out and held up the steak with tongs. I should say, the sear that was created from the hot broil flame was much prettier than I had imagined. I placed 1 tablespoon of butter on the hot skillet and then laid down 3 cloves of the crushed garlic and the sprigs of rosemary. I laid the steak on top of those items, seared side down to expose the “uncooked” side to the flame. I placed the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter on top of the steak so that it would melt down into the meat.
I placed the skillet back into the oven and set the timer to 7 minutes broiling time. After 7 minutes, I removed the skillet and took the steak off of it using tongs to place it on to a cutting board. All that was remaining in my skillet were the beautiful juices created by my butter, herbs, and steak. I saved the juices, did not touch them, and left them on the stove in the skillet. I rested the meat for 8 minutes, then cut it into thin strips. After cutting, I drizzled that wonderful sauce/juice all over the sliced steak. All done.
MY HONEST OPINION
This was fantastic. It was my first spin on the generic “broiling” of a London broil. I though it wouldn’t hurt to incorporate an altered version of how I cook a NY strip on the stove top. The meant melted in my mouth, and I do not even remember using a fork. This was the kind of meal you just leave on the cutting board and eat piece by piece until you stop yourself for left-over purposes.
WHAT I WOULD TRY NEXT TIME
Next time I would really like to try this after marinating it in Asian sauces and spices. I imagine the heat from the flame will really pull the sugars from the sweeter sauces and create a beautiful crust on the meat.