Classic London Broil with Seawater Smashed Potatoes

This is one of the easiest dinners to make onboard if you have a grill and some hungry mouths to feed. It is the quintessential summertime meat dish, and economical to boot. London Broil is the perfect meat for a marinade and also to have onboard for social occasions. If additional guests appear for a raft up, you can just slice it thinner to go around further!

Tip: Pre-freezing meat is actually a great way to maintain freshness onboard. It also acts as a slow melting block of ice, adding to the cooling capacity of your onboard cooler or refrigerator.

Beer Marinated London Broil

Marinate meat in advance. The night before is perfect. In a large bowl, mix the following ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 can beer (can substitute 1 cup red wine)
Handful of whole peppercorns
1 Bay leaf
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 London Broil (Frozen)

Mix ingredients well and place together with the meat in a sturdy zip lock bag or plastic container that will hold the meat with liquid well sealed. (I use freezer bags and double bag just to make sure it doesn't leak. I also have a secure Tupperware container for larger cuts.) Refrigerate overnight. The London broil will marinate as it slowly thaws. Chances are it will not be completely defrosted by morning but will by dinner time if kept in a cooler.

To cook, simply place on a hot grill and cook 5-10 minutes per side depending on how well you like it cooked. Use the remaining liquid to baste the meat continuously as you cook. This will seal in the moisture and keep the meat from drying out.

Seawater Smashed Potatoes

If you've never had potatoes cooked in seawater, you won't believe how great they taste. It's actually best if you cook them in a big pot over an open fire on the beach, but we just don't get to do that too often where we live. So the next best thing, is to do so in the galley. Be certain you take the water from an area free of pollution. As close to the ocean in open waters, where it's relatively clean is where you want to collect your bucketful. (Do not use water from crowded harbors with a lot of boats.)

Rinse your potatoes and cut them in half unless they are new (baby) potatoes. Cover with seawater and cook. DO NOT peel them. DO NOT add salt. Just cook. Bring the water to a boil, then continue to boil for another 20 minutes. Drain the water. You can eat them just like that with a little butter or you can smash them.

To smash, add a tablespoon of butter and enough heavy cream (or half and half or milk) to moisten potatoes so they are fluffy and moist when mashed. Mix in a half onion, chopped and browned in butter, if you'd like to spice them up. Yummy.

Summer Tomato Salad

The best addition to this dinner is a fresh beafsteak tomato from New Jersey, sliced with Vidalia onions, and topped with a gentle 1:1 vinagrette of olive oil and vinegar (white, balsamic, or apple). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.