London Broil

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.

London Broil with Honey and Heat

James Speed Hensinger

Makes four to six servings.

3 lb. top round steak cut 1 inch thick (or more), and trimmed of fat.

MARINADE:

1/2 cup honey
1 cup Japanese ponzu sauce (a vinegar and citrus juice blend)
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup grated fresh ginger
1½ teaspoon Howard's Garlic Juice
1 teaspoon Howard's Onion Juice
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons Liguid Smoke
1 tablespoon cayenne powder or Tabasco Sauce or chipotle powder

NOT IN MARINADE

Approximately 1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon corn starch

24 HOUR MARINADE: The day before, combine honey, ponzu, vinegar, soy sauce in a sauce pan and heat while stirring until the honey dissolves. Chill in pan in refrigerator down to room temperature.
When cool, add remaining marinade ingredients.

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 a flat rectangular pyrex dish large enough to contain the meat without folding. Add marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours. 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