Beef Steak Marinade
2 min read
This is just a fantastic marinade for beef steaks that adds flavor and juiciness, elevating inexpensive steaks from “okay” to “wow!”. It tenderizes the meat and adds flavor without dominating the natural flavor of beef.
Fantastic for grilling or pan searing any type of steak!
Like wine, the more you pay, the finer the steaks get. Juicier, more flavorful, and more tender, with no stray chunks of sinew.
And despite the fact that we’d all like to be able to treat ourselves to top-notch beef whenever we get a craving for steak, the majority of us simply cannot!
But if you use a great beef steak marinade, you can make regular beef steaks taste (in my humble opinion) as good as a premium cut!
Making marinades that give steaks flavor is really simple. Making marinades that improve without overpowering the meat with flavor is more difficult. You want the steak to primarily taste like (gasp, horror!) BEEF. not overpoweringly flavored by the marinade!
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.
Although I recognize that marinating steak in ziplock bags is not ecologically friendly, it is the most efficient method since the steak is kept uniformly covered with a relatively minimal quantity of marinade.
If you decide to use a container instead, I would advise double the marinade and using a glass or other non-reactive container.
There is no need to serve the steak with a sauce because the marinade gives it enough flavor. However, I couldn’t help but drizzle some garlic butter on top!
Additionally, you might serve it with gravy, cream sauces with peppercorns or mushrooms, or both.
As for the sides, it is shown with a typical rocket/arugula salad with shaved parmesan and buttered baby potatoes. Here are a few more ideas for fantastic sides!