Hey folks. I bought my first "London Broil" at the grocery today (it was on sale). Having never cooked it before, I was surprised to find that the term refers to the method of cooking, rather than the cut. Anyway, I was looking online for a decent recipe, but there seems to be some great variety in the approach to marinating and cooking the meat. I understand a 24 marinade with a tenderizer is a good idea, and then grilling is the best method. Monday looks to be relatively sunny, so I'll grill it then. If you've ever cooked one with a good savory flavor, let me know how you did it. I like my meat cooked medium, but can live with medium rare. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

We really need an emoticon of a smiley face licking their lips for the cooking forum. Wonder if there is such a thing?

I've never written it down, but my marinade is approximately this:

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp Worcestershire
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper

Put it all in a blender and mix on high speed, then pour it over meat and marinate at least 24 hours. Cooking the beef medium should be fine.

Awesome, thanks, Keith. I have almost all of these ingredients on hand ('cept the red wine), so it's even better! I'll let you know how it turns out. This might be a silly question, but what do you think the internal temp ought to be for medium on a top round roast? Is it the same for all beef? Also, would you recommend grilling or oven cooking? We have a pretty cheap grill, and I don't grill often, but this sounds pretty easy.

Meat temperature chart: http://southernfood.about.com/library/info/blroast.htm

(I always poke beef to see how well done it is -- when it starts getting firm is about medium)

You definitely want to grill it (or cook it under the broiler) using a very hot flame, not in the oven. Depending on the thickness, it should be done in 8-12 minutes.

'Kay, great marinade, Keith, but the meat was kind tough? I'm not sure what I did wrong. I marinated for 24 hours and let the meat come to room temp before putting it on the grill. Lit the grill, started the charcoal, let the fire die, then shut the lid for 10 minutes to build up temp. I put the meat on for ten minutes the first side and eleven minutes the other, with lid closed. I removed the meat and tested the temp--about 104. So I put it back on the grill for another 10 minutes and got it up to 140. Maybe I shouldn't have removed it?

And thanks, Troy!

Generally a nice cut of top round shouldn't be tough, especially after marinating overnight. But if you got a not-so-good grade of beef or a cut with a lot of gristle in it then it's going to be tough no matter what you do, short of a pot roast or chopping it up for stew.

That's a very long time to get a steak cut for London Broil to 104°! How thick was it? You should leave the grill uncovered after the flames go out and wait until the charcoal is white hot (generally 20 minutes or so) before grilling. Sorry, I thought you knew that!

Every time I see the name of this thread, Fergie pops into my head:

How come every time you come around
My London, London Broil wanna come down?
My London, London, WHOOP! Wanna go down,
My London, London, WHOOP! Wanna go down...

Don't be sorry! I'm a novice and just learning this stuff. Turns out maybe gristle was the key, along with too long on the grill. I'm sure it'll be better next time!