Slater's London Broil

The following recipe, Slater's London Broil, is a contribution to Sunset Magazine's, Chefs of the West it has taken me 24 years to recreate, but I finally did it! The college I attended required jackets and ties for the evening meal in the freshman dorm, but that didn't prevent their food service (Slater's) from destroying most of the food that was served. (There was one memorable evening when they served deep fried chicken that had been fried frozen. Nice crust, but barely thawed. The food fight that ensued reminded me of Animal House.) Anyway, this is a re-creation of the only good entree they served. I've searched many cook books, but never found London Broil prepared this way.

This is a great recipe for entertaining. It uses a lean and thrifty cut of beef, and can be prepared in fifteen minutes while your guests watch.

Slater's London Broil

James Speed Hensinger

Makes four to six servings.

MARINADE:

NOT IN MARINADE

MARINADE: The day before, mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a flat rectangular pyrex dish large enough to contain the meat without folding. Place the meat on the backside of a large cutting board and pierce the meat extensively with a sharp fork or a meat tenderizing gadget, (the kind that has a series of narrow knife blades in a plastic handle with a spring loaded guard). You're not only tenderizing it, you're making passages for the marinade. Place the meat in marinade, cover, and refrigerate. Turn the meat several times.

GRILLING: Preheat the grill with the lid down until it is very hot. One hour before grilling, remove the meat from the marinade, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub olive oil over all surfaces of the meat. Let the meat rest on the counter. The idea is to allow the meat to come to room temperature before grilling. It will require less cooking time and be more tender if it is cooked from a temperature of 75 degrees rather than 35 degrees. Broil the meat on the highest heat setting. Turn after five minutes or after dark grill marks appear. Keep turning and rotating the meat as grill marks appear.
Cook to 130 degrees on an instant read thermometer.

MEANWHILE: Pour 1/2 cup of the remaining marinade into a small bowl or cup. Add 1/2 teaspoon corn starch and mix with a fork. Set aside

Pour remaining marinade into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for at least three minutes, then thicken with the corn starch mixture. Serve as a sauce.

The meat should be served very rare in the middle, but with good browning on the outside. Place meat on a cutting board and allow to rest for five minutes and then cut into 1/4" or finer slices across the grain on a shallow angle. The object is to create slices twice as wide as the meat is thick.

Enjoy!

James Speed Hensinger