Beef Steak Marinade

Recipe

This is just an excellent beef steak marinade that adds juiciness and flavour into steaks, transforming economical steaks from just ok to “wow!”. It injects extra flavour without overpowering the natural flavour of beef and makes the meat tender.

Terrific for any type of steak – for grilling or pan-searing!

Beef Steak Marinade

You can turn everyday beef steaks into something that tastes as good as a premium cut (in my humble opinion) by using a great beef steak marinade!

When should you marinate steak?

Use this marinade for economical steaks – it will make the flesh more tender and add flavour. Do not use this for expensive, prime-grade beef steaks!

This steak marinade makes steaks juicier and enhances the flavour rather than overpowering the natural flavour of beef

It’s actually easy to make marinades that infuse flavour into steaks. But it’s harder to make marinades that enhance without adding too much flavour into the steak. You want the steak to taste mainly of (gasp, shock horror!) BEEF. Not overwhelmed by marinade flavour!

What goes in Beef Steak Marinade

Here’s what you need for the Steak Marinade. Use this marinade for an economical steak – do not use it for expensive steaks, that would be a waste!!

Here’s why this combination of ingredients makes your steak plump, juicy and adds flavour:

Balsamic vinegar – the tenderising ingredient, because it’s acidic (which breaks down meat fibres);
Soy sauce – the salty liquid to act as the brine so the steak retains moisture. It does not make this steak taste Asiany, we only use a bit!
Dijon Mustard – a touch of flavour and to thicken the marinade slightly so it coats the steak better (thus marinates it more effectively, rather than having to worry about turning the steak regularly);
Flavour – all the other ingredients! Worcestershire is pretty intense in flavour so you only need a bit to add savoury flavour into things.

How to marinate steak

I always marinate my steak in ziplock bags which I acknowledge is not environmentally friendly, but it is the most effective way to marinade steak because it keeps the steak evenly coated with a relatively small amount of marinade.

If you want to use a container instead, use a glass or other non-reactive container and I would recommend doubling the marinade.

How long to marinate steak?

12 to 24 hours is best. You can also freeze it immediately – then it will marinate as it thaws!

Pan fry or grill it, and marvel at how JUICY and FLAVOURFUL your steak is!!

The steak marinade injects enough flavour into the steak such that you don’t need to serve this with a sauce. But I couldn’t resist adding a smidge of garlic butter on top!

You could also serve it with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce or Creamy Peppercorn Sauce, or even gravy.

As for sides, it’s pictured with buttered baby potatoes and a classic Rocket/Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmesan. Here are some more suggestions for great sides!

Watch How To Make It

Recipe video above. This is a marinade to transform good value steaks by making them juicier, more tender and adding a hint of flavour while not overpowering the flavour of the beef. With this marinade, you won’t need a sauce for the beef, though I can never resist some garlic butter!

Ingredients

▢2 steaks, economical (Note 1)

MARINADE

▢1 tsp Dijon mustard
▢1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 large garlic clove)
▢1/2 tsp onion powder (or sub with garlic powder)
▢1 tbsp soy sauce (Note 2)
▢1 tbsp oil (I use olive oil, but any oil is fine)
▢1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
▢1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
▢Black pepper

Instructions

Mix together mustard, garlic and onion powder. Then mix in the remaining ingredients.
Place beef in a ziplock bag with Marinade and marinate overnight (12 – 24 hours).
Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to bring to room temperature – key for even cooking of steaks. Shake off excess marinade.
Brush BBQ Grills with oil, then heat on high heat until it is really hot – you should see wisps of smoke. Or heat a heavy-based skillet on high until very hot, then add oil – it will heat almost instantly.
Add steaks. For 2cm / 3/4″ thick steaks, cook the first side for 2 minutes, then turn and cook the other side for 2 minutes (medium rare 52°C/125°F, chart below for other doneness temps). (Note 3)
Remove from skillet onto a WARM plate, cover loosely with foil and set aside for 5 minutes.
Serve! I couldn’t resist garlic butter – see recipe in notes.

Recipe Notes:

1. Choosing steak: Use this for any good value cut of steak, not prime cuts. Typically, most steak cuts purchased in supermarkets are what I would consider good value steaks. Basically, the more you pay, the better the steak!

And remember, it’s not just the steak cut that determines quality. There are different grades for the same cut of steak. Rib Eye at my butcher costs almost twice as much as it does at the supermarket. I would never marinade the one from the butcher!

Make sure you use a GRILLING steak. Any cut of steak suitable for grilling is great for this.

2. Soy sauce – use an all-purpose, normal soy sauce. I use Kikkoman. Do not use light soy sauce (too salty), tamari or dark soy sauce (too much flavour)

3.Internal temperature of cooked steak. The most popular (and my personal preference) is medium-rare. Cook times differ drastically depending on how thick your cut is.

Internal temperature cooked steak medium rare

4. Garlic butter: 100g / 1 stick unsalted softened butter, 1 small garlic clove very finely minced (using crusher is best), 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley. Mix together, place on baking paper to form a log. Roll up then twist ends tightly repeatedly until it forms a neat log. Refrigerate until firm, cut to serve.

5. Nutrition per serving for a 400g/14oz bone-in steak (T-bone, ~300g/10oz etc bone), excluding butter.

Enjoy! – AzizaW

You’re In Good Hands

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