Grilled London Broil is a surprisingly quick and easy recipe. It features an inexpensive cut of beef, which is first marinated overnight or longer and then grilled. This flavorful steak is perfect for a backyard cookout, or anytime you want to serve a memorable meal.
What is London Broil?
Despite its name, London Broil originated in America, not London. The term London Broil is a misnomer and only refers to how this cut of beef is prepared. Most beef you buy labeled as London Broil is flank steak or top round steak. And, it’s best broiled or grilled.
Compared to other cuts of beef, London Broil is inexpensive. I paid $3.99 a pound, or $6.26 for this piece of meat, which will easily feed four adults. That’s a bargain in my book!
How do you make London Broil tender?
Because it’s extremely lean, I marinate London Broil overnight or longer before grilling. Then before serving, it’s thinly sliced against the grain of the beef. To ensure maximum tenderness, it should be served medium-rare.
Best London Broil marinade for grilling?
London Broil is naturally very flavorful, and my simple marinade recipe with fresh rosemary, garlic, honey, and soy sauce enhances its big beefy flavor. I use this same marinade for several other grilled beef and pork recipes, and it never disappoints. Once you try it, I predict you will love it too!
More recipes for the grill:
If you like to grill as we do, you might also want to check out these delicious recipes:
- Best and Easiest Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Chicken Skewers with Tomato Relish
- Beer Can Chicken on a Big Green Egg
- Grilled Bone-in Pork Chops with Quick Marinade
- The Ultimate Grilled Flank Steak, and
- Simple Lemon Grilled Whole Chicken
- Grilled Vegetable Skewers
How to make Marinated Grilled London Broil:
Score the steak on both sides in a shallow crisscross pattern to help it absorb the marinade.
Combine all marinade ingredients in a gallon-size storage bag.
Place the steak in the marinade and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours, for best results allow the meat to marinate for 24 hours up to 72 hours.
About an hour before you are ready to grill the meat, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.
Preheat the grill to medium-high, 400 degrees F.. Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil to keep the meat from sticking.
Remove the meat from the marinade and place on the grill rack. Reserve the marinade and set aside.
How long to grill London Broil?
Grill the meat on the first side for about four minutes. Flip the steak and cook on the other side for about 4 minutes. The amount of time it will take your steak to cook depends on the thickness of the steak and the temperature of the beef. Thicker steaks will take more time; thinner steaks will take less time.
Remove the steak from the grill when the internal temperature of the beef registers 125 degrees F. on an instant-read meat thermometer. Cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil and let it rest for at least ten minutes. The internal temperature of the beef will continue to rise to 130 degrees F, which is medium-rare.
While the steak is resting, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Let the marinade simmer for about 5 minutes.
To serve the London Broil, use a sharp knife and slice the steak across the grain or the width, angling down from the top into very thin slices.
Arrange the slices on a platter and top with the reserved marinade and fresh rosemary. Serve immediately.
Sharon’s Expert Tips:
I highly recommend fresh rosemary for this marinade. However, if all you have is dried, by all means, use it. But, only use 1-1/2 tablespoon of dried. The flavor is much more concentrated in dried herbs.
In a pinch, you can substitute real maple syrup (not imitation maple pancake syrup), corn syrup, or brown sugar for the honey in this recipe.
I like to keep things simple when serving London Broil and usually pair it with a baked potato, salad, or Caprese salad and a nice glass of pinot noir.
If your steak is thicker or thinner than 1-1/2 inches, it will take longer or less time. We cooked a 2-inch London broil recently, and it took a total of 20 minutes to come up to temperature.
The secret to success with this cut of meat is to slice it as thinly as possible across the grain or the width, angling down from the top. The thinner, the better! Paper-thin is what you are aiming for.
Marinated Grilled London Broil Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lbs London Broil about 1-1/2 inches thick
Marinade Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp rosemary chopped, fresh
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Score the steak on both sides in a shallow crisscross pattern to help it absorb the marinade.
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a gallon size storage bag.
- Place the steak in the marinade and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours. For best results allow the meat to marinate for 24 hours.
- About an hour before you are ready to grill the meat, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the grill to medium-high, 400 degrees F.. Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil to keep the meat from sticking.
- Remove the London Broil from the marinade and place on the grill rack. Reserve the marinade and set aside.
- Grill the meat on the first side for about four minutes. Flip the steak and cook on the other side for about 4 minutes. The amount of time it will take your steak to cook depends on the thickness of the steak and the temperature of the beef. Thicker steaks will take more time, thinner steaks will take less time.
- Remove the steak from the grill when the internal temperature of the beef registers 125 degrees on an instant-read meat thermometer. Cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil and let it rest for at least ten minutes. The internal temperature of the beef will continue to rise to 130 degrees F which is medium-rare.
- While the steak is resting, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Let the marinade simmer for about 5 minutes.
- To serve the London Broil, use a sharp knife and slice the steak across the grain or across the width, angling down from the top into paper-thin slices.
- Arrange the slices on a platter and top with the reserved marinade and fresh rosemary. Serve immediately.
Oh My! Sharon this London Broil is making my mouth water. The marinade itself sounds fantastic! And can it get any easier than 10 minutes on the grill? I’m so looking forward to trying this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
Sharon, just a quick question. What can I substitute the soy with for the marinate? I really should not have it.
thanks
Bev
Hi Bev,
I have never used anything but soy sauce in this marinade, but I looked online and found this soy sauce substitute recipe from Genius Kitchen: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/soy-sauce-substitute-216380. If you do decide to try it, please let me know how it works.
Good luck and all my best,
Sharon