Michele StuevenYou’ve probably seen the wacky duo of Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey extolling the virtues of grilling and the beauty of an outdoor flame on Food Network. While they do enjoy a good low-and-slow barbecue every once in a while, The Grill Dads have just come out with their first cookbook, The Best Grilling Cookbook Ever Written by Two Idiots, which covers everything from soups to desserts and every kind of protein in between.
Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey (Ken Goodman)
They aren’t trained chefs, they’ve never cooked professionally, and they didn’t attend culinary school. They are home chefs and backyard connoisseurs that have compiled recipes kissed by smoke and fire.
In addition to the book’s section on how to use various types of grills, not just the Big Green Egg or Trager, they make sure grilling is accessible to enthusiasts with recipes for all occasions, like Chicken Saltimbocca, BBQ Pulled Pork Collar Baked Potatoes, Apple Pie Pancakes, Pizza Bombs, and tips for making a steak better than the steakhouse.
A crowd pleaser for those of us counting our pennies this summer, the dads shared their recipe for a steakhouse salad using London Broil:
Steakhouse Steak Salad with a Not-From-London Broil
Serves: 8 | Prep Time: 24 hours | Cook Time: 30 minutes
We’ve been lied to. London Broil is from Philly. And it’s a technique, not a cut. When marinated and cooked perfectly, an inexpensive, unwanted cut transforms into the perfect juicy and tender centerpiece of a steakhouse salad. Also, this steak pairs better with blue cheese than a ribeye. Try to prove us wrong.
For the London Broil
¼ cup (60 ml) beer, we like something light like a lager
2 Tbsp (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 (1½- to 2-lb [680- to 907-g]) London broil
For the Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing
⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk
⅓ cup (80 ml) sour cream
⅓ cup (80 ml) mayo
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
8 oz (226 g) blue cheese crumbles, divide
For the Big Salad
2 large heads romaine, washed, rinsed and chopped
2 large avocados, peeled and sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 oz (113 g) cherry tomatoes halves
4 large eggs, hard-cooked
The Grill Dads (Ken Goodman)
We like to marinate London broil overnight before grilling. In a large zip-top bag or baking dish, combine the beer, Worcestershire, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes and cayenne. If you use a large bag, seal it and squish the mixture together. If you’re marinating in a baking dish instead, whisk the marinade ingredients together. Add the broil to the marinade and marinate in the fridge for 24 hours, flipping the steak about halfway through the marinate time.
Before grilling the London Broil, get all your salad fixings ready. Make the dressing by combining the buttermilk, sour cream, mayo, salt, pepper and Worcestershire in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and then add half of the blue cheese crumbles.
Remove the broil from its marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. Let it come to room temperature for as long as possible (we’d say 2 hours, but our lawyer says 1 hour and 59 minutes for food safety reasons). While your steak comes to temperature, fill a large bowl with the romaine, avocados, red onion, tomatoes, and peeled and halved eggs. Crumble the remaining blue cheese on top. Chill this while you cook the broil.
Heat the grill to medium-high direct heat (about 450°F [230°C]) and cook the broil, turning frequently until it reaches 128°F (53°C), about 15 minutes. Rest the steak, loosely covered, for 10 minutes. Sharpen your knife and slice the steak against the grain so thin it only has one side (or as thin as you can), and top the salad with the broil and blue cheese dressing.
Reprinted with permission from The Best Grilling Cookbook Ever Written by Two Idiots by Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey. Page Street Publishing Co. 2022.
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