Saturday, June 13, 2009

London Broil

Do you have a "promiscuous butcher"?

Aren't sure? Here's one of those quick Cosmo type quizzes.

A "London Broil" is

1) A cut of beef available at the supermarket
2) The third album by The Clash
3) A stalled high pressure warm front over London
4) A technique or recipe

Despite what your supermarket meat department might tell you, the answer is 4), it's a recipe/technique.

One of the best lines I read when looking into London Broil was this one from OChef : "Some absolutely promiscuous butchers label various cuts of meat London broil, including flank steak, sirloin tip, top round, etc. "

So if your butcher is selling "London Broil", time to change butchers, Alice....Sam has been hittin' something else.
The butcher at Food City must believe in an "open relationship" since their label openly admits to being "London Broil" and/or "Top Round". (Wow.....this post is going down hill quick.)According to Joy Of Cooking, a London Broil simply refers to "a quick pan -broiling over high heat and thinly slicing the meat across the gain before serving." I don't really live up to the pan broiling either, so I'm not sure what the hell you'd call what I made today, but I figure if everyone else can call their meat cuts/recipes "London Broil", then I can do the same!

I took a 3.35 lb certified angus beef (CAB) top round roast and rubbed it with my beef rub.I smoked that chunk o' meat with lump coal and Jack Daniels oak chips on the Big Green Egg at about 250f, indirect heat, until the internal temp of the meat was 105f.

Then I removed the chunk o' cow and crank the cooker heat up to 500f or more, returned the beef to the cooker and seared each side for a few minutes per side.This is called a "reverse sear" because instead of searing the meat at the beginning, I waited until it was almost done to sear it.I pulled the beef off at 130f internal, only to find that my thermometer was actually off and the temp was really about 138f internal. More done than I wanted. And I haven't even let it rest for 10 minute yet.
You really have to be careful with tough cuts like this. If you take them past medium rare they only get tougher and ya might as well go all the way to beef jerky at that point. Fortunately, I got them off the grill just soon enough to save it.Make sure you slice it very thin with a very sharp knife. That helps ensure tender texture.Serving suggestions? Pile it on a yeast or onion roll with a nice slather of horseradish sauce.