Marinating Steak Tips

Marinating Steak adds flavor before cooking

In many recipe books you will find that experts recommend that you marinate your steak fillets before you cook them. But what does marinating mean? And how will it improve the quality of your steak?

Marinating Steak is basically the process of soaking your meat in a sauce before cooking it. The process is deemed as an essential part of cooking for those who love their different flavors and it is also a great way of retaining the juiciness of the meat.

Prior to cooking, many cooks like to tenderize their meat by beating and soaking their meat in various kinds of marinade. This not only enhances flavor, but is also great for making the meat softer to the taste and tenderer to chew.

Marinades usually come in three types; acidic, alcoholic or salty. The meat needs to be trimmed before soaking in the marinade, and should be mixed together according to each individual recipe. The acidic, alcoholic or salty marinade only needs a few hours to soak into the meat and shouldn’t be left overnight like other marinades (especially citrus marinades) as this may impair the taste of the meat. However, the acid marinades are great for tenderizing meat. Overnight marinades may only be used if they are specifically for steaks.

For a basic marinade recipe you will need an oil (olive, corn, peanut etc), an acid (wine, vinegar, lemon juice etc) and some seasoning to add flavor. Alternatively, you can buy some pre-prepared marinades if you want to focus all your attention on cooking the steak itself.

The marinating steak process is different for each different steak cuts

The marinating process is simple if you know how long to marinate your steaks for. Marinating times can vary for different cuts of meat and it is a general rule that the tougher the meat, the longer it needs to soak in the marinade:

• Ribeye Steak – Between ½ hour and 1 hour
• T Bone Steak– Between ½ hour and 1 hour
• Sirloin Steak – Between 2 and 4 hours
• Round/Cross Cut Steak – Between 4 and 6 hours

There are many types of marinades that go well with steaks and each person may have their personal favourites, but one of the great recipes includes: ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tsp crushed garlic, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. All ingredients simply need to be mixed well together and then the steaks should be soaked in the marinade for approx 2 hours.

A similar recipe can be used with slight variations if you prefer your steaks with a spicy kick – you can add a ¼ tsp hot pepper sauce. Some might even like to throw in some chilli seeds – but this really is only for those who love their spicy food. Don’t make it a heat you can’t handle or you wont be able to enjoy the steak! Find some delicious recipes for steak marinades on Recipebridge.