Grilled Marinated Steak with Dill Potatoes
London broil marinated at home, grilled at camp, with skillet potatoes and dill.
- calories
- 640
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 58
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Dairy free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| London broil | 2 lb | cheapest cut that still slices well |
|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 1/4 cup | split between marinade and potatoes |
| Red wine vinegar | 3 tbsp | |
| Soy sauce or tamari | 2 tbsp | tamari keeps it gluten-free |
| Garlic | 4 cloves, crushed | |
| Sugar | 1 tsp | |
| Small potatoes | 2 lb | creamers or baby reds, halved |
| Dried dill | 2 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste | |
| Tomatoes | 3 large | packed whole, cut in camp |
Method
- At home, mix the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and sugar in a zip bag with the steak. It rides in the cooler and marinates on the drive.
- In camp, halve the potatoes, toss them with oil, salt, and half the dill, and put them in a covered pot or skillet over the coals. Shake every few minutes. They take about 20 minutes.
- Get the grate hot. Pull the steak out of the bag and grill it 4 to 5 minutes a side for medium rare. It is a thin cut; walking away is how it turns to leather.
- Rest the steak on a plate for 10 minutes while the potatoes finish.
- Cut the tomatoes over the same plate, salt them, and let the juice mix with the steak drippings. Slice the steak thin against the grain and eat it all together.
This is a car-camping dinner, so nothing is dehydrated and nothing is reconstituted. The whole thing rests on marinating before you leave: acid, salt, and oil in a bag with a cheap cut, then several hours in the cooler doing the work while you drive. London broil is lean and tough, and that is the point. Marinade is what makes it worth eating.
The dairy is what changed. The original potatoes are done in butter, which turns to grease in a warm cooler and coats everything. Olive oil holds up at any temperature and carries dried dill about as well. Cut the tomatoes last, over the plate the steak rested on, so the juice and the drippings end up in the same place.
Packing
Steak and marinade go in a doubled zip bag, flat, at the bottom of the cooler. Potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic stay out of the cooler in a paper bag. Dill, salt, pepper, and sugar in one small tin.
Variations
- Boneless chicken thighs work in the same marinade and cook in about the same time.
- Any vinegar you have will do. The acid matters more than the kind.
- No grate? Wrap the potatoes in foil and set them in the coals, and cook the steak in a hot skillet.
https://mealswithmaria.site/cheap-dinners