Local London Broil

Still hard at work in school and getting ready to move; sorry for the sparse posts. But over the weekend, I had the chance to make a delicious top round London Broil I'd bought from the Lewis Waite Farm; I'm officially hooked on their meat.

I asked the person manning the table this Saturday why he thought their meat doesn't taste gamey, like grass-finished beef sometimes does. (I confessed that I had bought beef from a farm at this very market that had that problem, in fact.) He didn't think it was the dry-aging that they do, which was my guess; he says that, at their farm, they graze intensively. The cows are moved to new pasture daily - Lewis Waite is on a lot of acreage. He thinks that a lot of farms are pasturing their cows on over-grazed land, leading to the gamey flavor.

Whatever it is that they do differently, the meat is spectacular and I'd imagine the cows are happier than most anywhere else. New grass every day!

They also sell pork, but I've never seen it listed among the meats they bring with them. I was told that I could call the farm directly and order some ahead, which I could pick up at the market, if I wanted any; I took the price list for a later date. This week, I bought some ground beef for another batch of chili (still have some non-local canned tomatoes to use up); I still had the London Broil from the week before, thawed and marinating in Matt's fridge.

The recipe is one I found on Allrecipes a couple of years ago. It uses a lot of processed items, but I haven't yet found a marinade I like better. I suppose I could continue experimenting, for the sake of keeping it more natural and local, but I have a hard time believing that a small amount of ketchup and soy sauce will do much harm, in the big scheme of things.


Local London Broil

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (2 pound) London broil

In a small bowl, mix together garlic, soy sauce, oil, ketchup, oregano, and black pepper. Pierce meat with a fork on both sides. Place meat and marinade in a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.

Place steak under broiler, and discard marinade. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Do not overcook, as it is better on the rare side. (This is especially true of grass-fed beef, I'm told, because it's leaner.)