Time to test your grilling skills

Last week, we enjoyed another delicious dinner with our friends Pat and Marie. They are always looking for the best ingredients - Community Supported Agriculture through the growing season, cultivating relationships with local purveyors of meat, cheese and milk - and always honing their culinary skills. This time, Pat had just finished a course on grilling at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Perfect training for the evening’s meal: steak salad. 

While Pat meticulously trimmed T-bone steaks, Marie minced garlic and smashed it into a paste with salt to serve as seasoning on the meat. She handed me the salad spinner to whirl the baby arugula. She then dressed the leaves with lots of freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

This approach to dressing a salad results in a perfect balance between the lemon and seasoned oil. Because the leaves are first coated with lemon juice, there’s no oil to prevent the juice from connecting with the surface of the leaves. Then you toss in the olive oil dressing, leaving bright lemon as the first flavor note and the heavier, herb-scented oil as the second taste you encounter. 

As for the steak, our friends treated us to a set of beautifully grilled T-bones which had been prepared in the same way as a London broil. Before I confuse the subject, please know that London broil is a method for preparing and cooking, not the name of a specific cut of meat (despite what you read on the grocery store packages). 

To cook a steak in the London broil method, you marinate the meat in a combination of Worcestershire or soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. It’s then cooked under a broiler or on a grill for about five minutes each side and set aside to rest for another five minutes. For ideal tenderness, the meat is sliced against the grain of the muscle. 

There are two different types of steak typically prepared using this method, flank steak, which comes from the flank, the lower side and belly of the cow directly below the loin, and top round steak, which comes from the round or backside of the cow directly behind the loin and flank. 

Originally, flank steak was the cut of choice to prepare in the London broil style. Because there are only two flanks per steer, this steak is less plentiful and more costly than the typical substitute: round steak, which will often be labeled London broil in your grocery store butcher counter. 

However, there’s an underlying problem with the top round - the muscle fibers run the wrong way to achieve a tender slice when cut on the diagonal. If you spread out a flank steak, you can see the fibers running horizontally and a reasonable amount of fat throughout the muscle.

When cooked, the fat tenderizes the meat, and when sliced on the diagonal, the fibers are shortened. 

If you look closely at the round steak you’ll see virtually no fat (except sometimes around the edge), and the fibers run almost vertically. This requires marinating to tenderize the meat since cutting on the diagonal will be going with the grain, not shortening the fibers and not making it easier to chew. 

Since our friends chose a T-bone, they didn’t need to marinate the steak, only treat it with a garlic paste rub. When we made the version in the photo, we used both a marinade and the garlic paste. We also cooked the meat on the bloodier side of rare, which helps prevent chewiness. If you’re planning to prepare beef in the London broil style, definitely go with a flank steak.

London Broil Marinade 

2 T Balsamic vinegar 
1 T Worcestershire sauce 
3 T olive oil 
1 t salt 
1/2 t white pepper 
1/2 t savory 

Combine ingredients in a zip-top bag. Seal and shake vigorously to combine. Add steak, seal and massage to evenly distribute marinade. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours; allow to return to room temperature before cooking. 

Garlic Paste Steak Rub 

4 cloves garlic* 
1 t Kosher salt 

Peel and mice the garlic cloves. Smash with the side of a knife. Sprinkle wth salt and continue smashing until you have a damp paste. Spread the paste on both sides of steak before grilling or broiling. 

*Note - if you use jarred garlic you will not be able to develop a paste because of the preservatives used in the packing liquid. 

London Broil 

1 1/2 to 2-lb flank steak* 
marinade (above) 
garlic paste (above) 

Marinate the flank steak for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. Bring to room temperature while the grill or broiler preheats to high. Cook, turning once for 5 minutes per side.

Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices on the diagonal. Serve on a bed of baby arugula salad. Yield: 4 servings. *Note - you may substitute top round, but be sure to cook only to rare and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices to serve. 

Baby Arugula Salad 

6 C baby arugula 
juice of 2 lemons 
1 T white Balsamic vinegar 
1/4 C olive oil 
1 t salt 
1/2 t black pepper 
2 T whole-grain mustard 

Rinse and dry arugula; place in a serving bowl. Pour lemon juice over the arugula and toss to coat. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a measuring cup. Pour over the greens and toss gently. Yield: 4 servings.