Some Favorite Steak Marinades?

[ackvil]

Well, heck! A request for marinade ideas and all these posts basically saying, "Don't do that."

I often use Kikomans soy sauce as a marinade. Apply about an hour before cooking. Doesn't mask the taste of the beef and is enough salt for me after it is cooked.

There are certain cuts of steak that IMO do better with a marinade. I would not use a marinade on a porterhouse, ribeye, or T bone but I usually do on some of the london broils, etc.

[YetiDave]

I like to use sea salt and garlic - use coarse grain salt and smash it together into a paste with garlic using a pestle and mortar and cover the steak in a thick coat for 30 mins to 1 hour on a wire rack to allow water to be drawn to the surface and drip off. Using cold water rinse off the mixture and thoroughly dry the steak with kitchen towel and brush very lightly with oil before cooking at a screaming hot temp on the grill. I wouldn't use this for really great cuts but it's awesome for cheaper pieces of steak

[professorchaos]

Dijon mustard, tarragon, coarse salt and pepper.

[KyMash]

When we do use marinade for our steak, it usually a mixture of soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, fresh finely chopped garlic, and pepper. Of course this depends on the cut of meat we are having at the moment.

[BobS]

I second the use of Chimichurri on the steak after it is cooked. It is the only sauce I ever use.

I do not use a marinade very often, but have tried this one and like it a lot.

2 - Nice 1-1/2" thick, preferably prime, ribeye steaks
2 tbsp - Cumin seeds (toasted in a pan over medium heat until fragrant and then ground) (Cumin powder will work as well)
1 tbsp - Smoked paprika
1 tsp - Ground coriander
2 tsp - Accent seasoning (I used Kosher salt)
1/2 tsp - freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp - Louisiana hot sauce
2 tbsp - Extra virgin olive oil

The Preparation

Mix all of the dry spices in a non-reactive bowl and add the hot sauce and EVOO and mix into a paste. Rub the paste into the ribeyes, place the ribeyes in a gallon size ziploc bag and place in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours but preferably overnight.

[Samurai-5]

Kosher Salt and Course Ground Black Pepper. :)

[century]

Im a chimichurri fan as well.
My vitamix does a brilliant job of pureeing it.

[oc_in_fw]

+1, the right cut of meat from the right butcher needs no marinade help. I save all my marinades for pork or chicken. If I am doing a cheaper cut like eye of the round or something, Montreal steak seasoning never fails!

+1

[bhtoad]

A great cut needs nothing more than S&P, but if you have a lesser cut, then a marinade works wonders. Or maybe you like the taste and want to marinate a great cut. Doesn't matter either way as long as you enjoy your meal. I'm a fan of Steve Raichlin's chimichurri sauce (sorry, I know I butchered his name). Parsley, cilantro, mint, S&P, hot pepper flakes, vinegar, garlic and olive oil in a food processor. Marinate the steak in 1/2 of the mixture. Use the other half to dip the cooked meat in. Works great with lesser cuts like flank or skirt steak.

A much simpler prep that I've always loved (and it works with almost any cut) is simply pour some Jim Beam over the steaks, add S&P, wait 20-60 minutes, and grill.

If you like smoke, red oak goes great with beef.

[Shamejedi]

One of our all-time household favorites for very lean cuts is made up of equal parts bourbon and soy sauce with a little drizzle of olive oil whisked in. Perforate the steak with a fork on both sides, then give it about 1 hour per side in the soak for an avg thickness flank steak, a little longer for a london broil. If you're pressed for time, you can get away with 30 minutes per side, but the flavour won't be as deep when you're done.

May's issue of Cooking Light had a great chipotle marinade: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/stea...0400000120712/

We made the entire recipe (veggies and all) on the grill for Cinco de Mayo--it was a big hit with our guests, all of whom asked for the recipe. I used two whole skirt steaks rather than cutting them up before marinating, and found that I really needed to quadruple the marinade recipe to feel like I had decent coverage. Since then, I've used the marinade on B/S chicken breasts, too, and it was out of this world.

[latetolathering]

Well, certainly a good cut doesn't NEED marinade / sauce, just like chiken doesn't need flavour and potatoes don't need to be cooked anyway but boiled.
Variety is the spice of life (excuse the pun) so mix it up and try all these suggestions.

Just had some tasty striploins the other night:
Rubbed a small amount of English Mustard into each side of the steaks, good sprinkle of black pepper, left for a few minutes. Then poured on some worcestershire sauce. Small amount of olive oil on the griddle pan then added the steaks.
Cooked until rare and removed to rest.

The mustard has a nice bite that cuts through the sweetness of the worcestershire.

All in all - delicious.

Though all the sauce in the world won't make up for a poor quality steak. Find a good butcher and stick with them

[LegendofVogel]

A buddy of mine from El Salvador said that people down there take bad cuts of meat and marinate them in papaya. Apparently papaya has digestive ensymes that break down the meat and make it fork tender. Havn't tried it yet, but plan on doing so soon.

[thebikingengineer]

A buddy of mine from El Salvador said that people down there take bad cuts of meat and marinate them in papaya. Apparently papaya has digestive ensymes that break down the meat and make it fork tender. Havn't tried it yet, but plan on doing so soon.

Pineapple juice does the same thing. Just make sure to not leave it in there too long, tenderized meat is nice, the meat jello outer layer you get if you leave it too long is not.

[jrward2]

I think Allegro marinade is great. Really tenderizes and its nice to be able to make a steak taste great effortlessly.