Top round steak, often sold as London Broil, comes from the rump of the animal. The muscles are used heavily for locomotion, so this is one of the least tender and leanest cuts sold by butchers. While it can be broiled, slow cooking to fork-tender is a better method.
Braising
Slow Cooking
Broiling
Grilling
This very lean cut will be best if you slow simmer it in a broth until tender. If you decide to broil or grill top round steak, marinate for 24 hours or more before cooking to add tenderness.
Our smoked pot roast technique is an excellent way to use this cut. But if you want to cook over high heat, we'd suggest marinating for 24 hours or more, then smoking on your Traeger for one hour before finishing over high heat.
Serving with a sauce will add moisture to this lean cut.
It's not a very good cut. The meat is rather tough and lacks the intramuscular fat that would give it flavor.
You'll pay between $5 and $10 per pound for top round steak.
If you braise top round, cook until the meat is tender, at an internal temperature of 204 degrees Fahrenheit. If you cook over direct heat, cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees for medium-rare.
This cut is best for pot roast.
Cube steak is a round steak, or other steak, that has been tenderized.
We wouldn't recommend cooking this cut from frozen. It tends to be large, and the exterior of the steak could overcook before the interior is safe to eat.
The term London Broil doesn't seem to have originated in London at all and is a purely North American invention. In Canada, the term refers to something completely different: A flank steak wrapped around ground or minced meat.
In the United States, the term also originally referred to a preparation for flank steak — which is an excellent cut for marinating and grilling. But in the 1960s and 1970s, London Broil got so popular that butchers started labeling all sorts of cuts as "London Broil."
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association identifies the top round steak with UPC number 1153. You may see this number in the UPC code on the beef package label at the supermarket.
According to the USDA, one broiled top round steak contains 665 calories, 100 grams of protein, and 29.3 grams of fat.