15 Steak Marinade Recipes to Keep in Your Back Pocket (2024)

FAQs

How long can steak stay in marinade? ›

Information. Most recipes for marinating meat and poultry recommend six hours up to 24 hours. It is safe to keep the food in the marinade longer, but after two days it is possible that the marinade can start to break down the fibers of the meat, causing it to become mushy.

Sirloin Tip Side Steak

Boneless and lean, this cut is inexpensive and ideal with a tenderizing marinade before grilling.

Try poking holes for better penetration when you only have a short time for marinating the meat. It'll help maximize tenderness in the Flank steak without risking too much of a good thing.

“Acidic marinades help solubilize the collagen in red meat, making the meat less tough; they also increase water retention and tenderization for a moist, toothsome result,” Sharma wrote in his cookbook “The Flavor Equation.” On the flip side, leaving meat in too much acid for too long can actually toughen some meat — ...

Prepare your marinade in advance and tightly seal in a zip-top freezer bag and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Too much salt

In a marinade, it is better to err on the side of little to no salt. Salt pulls moisture out of flesh so you could wind up with a tough and dry piece of meat.

In most cases, you'll want to skip the steak marinade unless you buy budget-friendly cuts. More expensive steaks, like ribeye, strip steak, and filet mignon, end up juicy and tender without the help of a marinade.

Marinate with Acid

Not only does a tenderizing steak marinade imbue aromatic flavour, but the acidic ingredients in it also denature connective proteins in the meat. Regular or apple cider vinegar, wine or beer, lemon or lime juice, buttermilk or yogurt contain tenderizing acids.

For the ultimate chef's steak preparation, if you don't have this steak seasoning, marinade your steak with a pink of sea salt, coarse ground black pepper, and minced garlic – this combo gives your chef's steak the ultimate caramelization and nice thick crust that we all love so much.

Your marinade should be at least 1/2 oil. The oil helps emulsify the marinade into a thick sauce that coats the meat. It's also a flavor-carrier. And having a coating of an oil-based sauce on your steak before you grill it will help it cook better and more evenly.

Why do chefs put butter on steak? ›

Adding butter to steak is completely based on your personal preference but here are a few reasons that professional chefs approve of doing so: It increases flavor and richness. It makes for a glossy finish. It enhances the steak's texture.

Technically, but it barely makes a difference. Tenderizing is puncturing the meat to break down tough fibers and, well, tenderize is. Stabbing will make your steak a bit more tender if you do it a whole lot, but a tenderizer will definitely do it better.

Originally Answered: How do restaurants cook steak so fast? It only takes 4–5 minutes to get a perfect medium-rare steak in a very hot broiler or grill. It then sits in the warmer for 4–5 minutes while the rest of the food gets ready. So 10 minutes after the order goes in, the plate is served.

For marinades that are meant to soak for more than a few hours, they generally call for about 24 hours. This is not an unsafe length of time. Longer than 24 hours is going to have no positive effects on your food... UNLESS you happen to be brining the meat.

For raw ground meats, poultry, seafood and variety meats (liver, tongue, chitterlings, etc.), refrigerate them only 1 to 2 days before either cooking or freezing. Beef, veal, lamb and pork roasts, steaks and chops may be kept 3 to 5 days.

Once you've opened your marinade, you've generally got 1 month to use it if stored in your refrigerator. If you've mixed up your own marinade at home, it's best to use it immediately, but it can be refrigerated for up to 3-5 days. Freezing marinade is also an option; it can be safely frozen for up to 6 months.

Always marinate foods in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter. Some older recipes call for marinating at room temperature. DO NOT FOLLOW THIS PRACTICE. Marinating at room temperature causes the meat to enter the “Danger Zone” (between 40°F and 140°F), where bacteria multiply fastest.