LONDON BROIL STEAK

Tender & Moist London Broil Steak

This recipe starts with a less expensive cut of beef, London broil steak, and ends with a tender, juicy and cooked just right steak, with a pan sauce that is over the top good.

If you have tried to make a decent steak at home, and been disappointed with the finished product, you are not alone. I have been grocery shopping for a long, long time 👵. Supermarket steaks just ain’t what they used to be. If you have had the same frustration with today’s cuts of beef, I feel your pain, give this cooking method a try. It’s really pretty fool proof. This is one of our most popular and commonly used recipes.

Almost too easy to believe

When we start work on one of Ricky’s dinner recipes, I take notes as he is cooking and then at some point, I make the recipe myself at home. (Just as a side note, recipes are a lot more difficult to write than I ever would have imagined!) Sometimes, I find that Ricky has simplified something I have struggled with. And when it is so easy that I cannot believe it alluded me, I get a bit miffed. I guess I have more ego than I want to admit. This is one of his recipes that had me thinking “are you kidding me, how did I miss this“. This recipe makes a better London broil steak than I have made in years. Since Ricky and I have known each other for a really long time, it makes it bearable for me to admit defeat.

This cooking technique can be used with cuts other than London broil, but the denser cuts such as chuck steak are a better choice than grainier ones like sirloin. If you are using a grainier cut, shorten the cook times. This cooking method is great with center cut, bone-in, pork chops cut thick.

Here’s what YOU WILL NEED:

This is WHAT TO DO:

Let the meat come to room temperature

Let the meat come to room temperature before you start to sear it in your skillet. This is a very important step when cooking any meat. Uniform cooking is impossible if the meat is not at uniform temperature to begin with. It may take an hour for a steak this thick to sit out before it comes to room temperature.

Pierce the steak with a fork 4 or 5 times on each side. Rub each side with olive oil and salt. Be conservative with the salt. If you are using a favorite dry steak seasoning, check to see if there is salt in the mix. Most likely there is. Don’t add more salt if there is, just use the seasoning instead of the salt. Remember, your butter is probably salted too. You can add more salt at the table, but you cannot get it out of the steak if you over salted before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Preheat a heavy bottomed, oven safe skillet on high heat. The skillet needs to be really hot before adding the steak. That is what is going to give the steak a beautiful sear on the outside. If you are not sure if the skillet is hot enough yet, put one drop of water in the skillet. It should sizzle and evaporate right away. Do not put any oil in the skillet before adding the meat, you have already added the oil to the meat directly.

Sear the meat in the skillet

Sear for two minutes on the first side, and turn the steak over. Tongs are the best tool for this. If you don’t have tongs, you need something with a long handle. The skillet is hot, don’t go in there with a table fork to turn the steak, it is not the right tool. Not only is the skillet too hot, but the steak is too heavy to be turned by a table fork.

Having the tools you need, is as important in cooking as any other skill. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. We have a SHOPPING LIST which gives you some guidance about what commonly used kitchen tools are really handy to have.

When you flip the steak over in the skillet, put one to two tablespoons of butter, in pieces, on the seared side of the steak. Sear the second side for two minutes, turn the steak over again, remove from the heat and add one to two tablespoons of butter to that side.

So, in short, you sear the first side, flip and add butter, sear the second side, flip, take off the heat and add butter.

You are ready to finish cooking in the oven.

It’s time for the oven

Place the skillet into your preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Beware!!

The skillet handle, coming out of the oven, is at least 350 degrees hot. Because you are used to moving a skillet around by the handle, it is WAY too easy to grab the handle without a second thought. Make sure you have that second thought. Get something to protect both of your hands before touching the handle of the skillet. It will take two hands to get it out of the oven, it is heavy and awkward. Please be careful.

Let the meat rest before serving

When out of the oven, let the meat rest for 10 minutes. During the rest time, baste the meat with the skillet drippings. Basting is just another way of saying spoon the drippings over the meat. Tilt the skillet a bit to collect the juices to one side. That makes it easier to spoon out.

The meat continues to cook as it rests. Do not cut into meat during the cooking, or while letting it rest. The juices will run out of the meat sacrificing tenderness and flavor.

Try cooking pork chops this way

If you use this method of cooking for pork chops, as long as they are 1 to 1 ½ inch thick, follow the same cooking instructions. While you don’t want your pork rare in the middle, you also do not want to overcook it. Pork gets very dry and tough if it is overcooked.

Chops are smaller, but you need to have them cooked more thoroughly, so the cook time should be the same as the steak. Bone-in, center cut pork chops are your best bet with this method. If you are looking for a good recipe for boneless chops, try our PANKO PORK CHOPS.

In either case, steak or pork chops, don’t forget to spoon the pan gravy over the meat before serving. The butter, salt and meat juices add so much to the moistness and flavor. It is really, really good!