In the mood for steak but don’t feel like shelling out the big bucks for a rib eye or New York strip? This London broil recipe is your answer.
While most typically a flank steak, London broil can also be used to label other large, lean, and often tougher cuts of beef, including top round steaks and top sirloin steaks at grocery stores or butcher shops. More generally, it refers to how these steaks are prepared: first by marinating to tenderize, broiling or grilling to cook, and finally, thinly slicing against the grain to serve. Here’s how to cook London Broil our way, to ensure a juicy, tender result every time.
Our first secret weapon is baking soda, which gets mixed in with a few other simple marinade ingredients. It may seem unorthodox, but it plays a crucial role in tenderizing the steak by relaxing its protein network, which keeps it nice and juicy while it cooks. Pricking the steak all over with a fork before it marinates helps the flavors penetrate quickly, so there’s no need for an overnight soak if your prep time is limited.
Though most recipes call for the broiler, we found a stovetop-only sear yields a more tender—and faster—result. Just keep your meat thermometer handy to test for your preferred doneness. (For medium-rare, we aim for an internal temperature of 125°F; it will climb as it rests.)
While the cooked steak rests, transform the deeply savory marinade into a pan sauce. Don’t be alarmed if it foams as it boils—that’s the baking soda. Once the foaming subsides, quickly whisk in the butter to create a velvety sauce.
Slice the steak thinly against the grain with a sharp knife and serve with mashed potatoes, twice-baked potatoes, or other carb of your choice, plus green beans and a wedge salad for steakhouse vibes.
Not quite what you’re looking for? Check out best steak recipes for mains worthy of a special occasion like hangar steak with mushrooms in red wine sauce, brown-sugar-crusted skirt steak with chives, or strip steak with spring vegetables and Dijon.
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What you’ll need
Instant-Read Thermometer
$35 At Thermoworks
Cast Iron Skillet
$30 At Amazon
Tongs
$21 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Ingredients
2–4 servings
London Broil Marinade
4
¼
2
2
1
¾
1
Assembly
1
2
Preparation
London Broil Marinade
Step 1
Whisk together 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp. good-quality balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce in a medium bowl or baking dish; season with freshly ground black pepper. Whisk in ¾ tsp. baking soda (don’t worry if marinade fizzes; that’s the baking soda working).
Step 2
Prick one 1½–2 lb. London broil all over with a fork and add to marinade; turn to coat. Let sit at room temperature at least 1 hour or cover and chill up to 12 hours.
Assembly
Step 3
Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium. Remove steak from marinade, letting excess drip back into bowl, and pat dry with paper towels; reserve marinade. Season steak generously with kosher salt and cook, turning once, until deeply browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 125° for medium-rare, 8–12 minutes. Using tongs, stand steak on its sides and cook until lightly browned, about 30 seconds per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
Step 4
Meanwhile, transfer reserved marinade to a small saucepan, add ⅓ cup water, and bring to a boil (mixture will foam up). Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid overflow, until foaming subsides, about 3 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter and whisk vigorously to emulsify sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Step 5
Thinly slice steak against the grain and arrange on a platter. Spoon sauce over; sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Leave a Review
Reviews (22)
Back to TopBy all means, always use a carving (or other) fork when carving meat. Also helps to learn how to hold a carving knife properly, less chance of you needing stitches down the road. Not a fan of bringing any leftover marinade to a boil, prefer to go the extra step and make a finishing butter for beef instead.
Marion Jones
Mendham, NJ
4/20/2024
Nice recipe BUT slice steak AWAY from fingers.Slicing towards your fingers is STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
john
NJ
3/20/2024
Nice recipe BUT slice steak AWAY from fingers.Slicing towards your fingers is STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
john
NJ
3/20/2024
I liked this recipe and call it a keeper. I did not marinade more than 12 hours in fridge. Then cooked it on the grill. Other people's comments were helpful (Mark Williams and Ralph Althouse Thank You!) But some seemed to not follow the recipe. I liked the mix of flavors.
Kate Smerbeck
Pittsburgh, PA
3/6/2024
I never mix marinades with Baking Soda. I use tenderizer hammer 1st. Place London Broil in cold water and add baking soda. Let meat soak for 15-30 minutes. No more than thirty minutes. Remove and rinse meat thoroughly. Place the meat in your favorite marinade or rub olive oil on surface of meat, just season heavily with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In cast iron skillet (very hot) or hot grill, sear meat for only 4-5 minutes on one side and 3-4 minutes on the other side. Probe temp @ 125-130 Fahrenheit. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Slice across the grain and serve. FYI baking soda soak is used mainly in Chinese chicken General Tso, and other fried chicken coating. Corn starch, baking soda and water then deep fry. If you use baking soda with your vinegar based marinade, you might experience over tenderized meat with a mushy or slimed texture.
Mark Williams
Allentown, Pa
3/4/2024
Just from a chemistry point of view this makes no sense. If the point of the baking soda is to increase the pH on the meat, adding it to balsamic vinegar will neutralize it making salt water and CO2. That’s the fizzing noted in the recipe. It will not alkalinize the meat.
Ralph Althouse
Seattle
2/12/2024
Not what I thought it would be. The marinade was not to my liking and, as Greg said, it tasted funky. I'm going back to my gold standard of McCormick LB seasoning which has always worked. Oh well, a big LB wasted.
Anonymous
NJ
1/15/2024
As a retired personal chef, I'm still always looking for new ways to prepare food. This recipe with baking soda as a tenderizing agent looked interesting. To say I was disappointed in the outcome is an understatement. I followed the recipe almost to a "T". I used imported balsamic vinegar from Italy (what a waste) and only used 1/2 Tbl of Worcestershire because of one reader's dislike of the final sauce. I marinated the meat at room temp for an hour. After searing the meat for about 10 mins, the exterior looked overly charred and the interior temp was barely 100. I let it sear for another couple of mins and then stuck it in a 375 degree oven to finish. After about 7 mins, the interior temp was about 120 degrees. I pulled it out of the oven anyway (because at that point I was getting impatient) and let it rest. The meat was quite rare when I sliced it but the flavor was good, especially dipped in its natural juices. But the meat was so tough, it was almost inedible. I made the sauce per the instructions using the reserved marinade and almost became nauseated by the odor. It was fishy smelling and so was the flavor. I threw it out. No tears shed there since I'm not really a fan of using a marinade from raw meat/poultry as the base of a final sauce. Needless to say, I will not be making this again.
It's Dinner Thyme!
Deerfield, IL
1/11/2024
Not sure if I got some bad Worsteshire or what. Meat was plenty tender. (I soaked it in the fridge for 24 hours.) But the flavor was so nasty I literally could not eat it. I guess on a good note, my dogs seem pretty happy.
Greg
83703
12/1/2023
This is definitely all of 4+ stars and would definitely recommend. Meat was very tender and juicy, had a great crust on the edge, and awesome flavor. I did not make the pan sauce, I just put a pat of butter on the top as it was resting and it was fantastic!
Amanda B
Sodus, NY
11/28/2023
I despise brisket. It takes for ever to cook,and you do so with your fingers crossed. After making 7 different briskets for the holidays and cooking them for 6 - 9 hours I gave up. I can't do whar Aaron Franklin does, and he is a genius with his technique. So by accident I came across the BA recipe for London Broil and tweaked it by marienating it for 24 hours . I bought a kosher london broil at Costco in the frozen foods and cut it length wise so I got two good size filets out of it. I used mince garlic and course ground black pepper and I bought a tenderizer on Amazon . My wife and I thought it was the best dish I ever made. Best of all I broiled it in the oven and got a great char with an internal temperature of 125.f It took less than 45 minutes to make.
Anonymous
chicago
10/10/2023
Is this marinade appropriate for sous vide London broil?
Anonymous
Phoenix
8/26/2023
excellent steak. I was worried when after 8 minutes of cooking, the internal temp read 133, but it turned out perfectly medium-rare. it couldn't be easier
Greg
Boulder, CO
8/15/2023
I bought a 2 pound top round after reading this recipe. I marinated it a bit longer, about 6-7 hours, had to wait to cook until the next day. Took it out of the marinade at 7 hours and refrigerated overnight. Just cooked it on the grill 5 minutes each side on a high heat for a great crust and moved to low heat to 130 degrees. Sliced into thin slices. MMMMMMM It is absolutory the very best tasting top round steak I have ever eaten.... period :-) I guess that baking soda did the trick! Excellent flavor, Thanks BA!
Juliebythesea
The Villages, FL
7/5/2023
I stopped making London Broil years ago, because it was always so tough no matter what I did to it. Last summer I went to a friend's house and she made the most tender London Broil I ever made. I decided to try to figure out how to tenderize one and give it a try again. I came across this recipe, which sounded very interesting and tasty. I followed the directions exactly as written. I marinated at room temp for an hour then refrigerated it for another 5 hours. I let it come to room temp before cooking. I served it to my family and we all had the same opinion. The steak was cooked to perfection, medium rare. The flavor was very tasty, but the meat was tough. It was not as tough as previous ones I've cooked, but it was still tough. Not sure if my family's tolerance for tough is more sensitive than others who enjoy steak? Or maybe it was the cut of meat I purchased? Needless to say, I emailed my friend to ask her for her recipe. I'm determined to make a truly tender London Broil. I will use this marinade again in the future just not for London Broil.
Skirsch
New Jersey
7/1/2023