Add juicy, savory flavors to your next steak by making this easy steak marinade. This delicious marinade for steak is made with Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and a touch of lemon.
The Best Steak Marinade
There is nothing better than a perfectly cooked steak. Especially if that steak is deliciously seasoned or marinated beforehand to bring out all of the juicy flavors of the steak.
We love this easy steak marinade because it is made with simple ingredients, but adds big flavor. This marinade is. a combination of sugar, salt, and a little citrus that leaves you with tender, flavorful, and juicy steak.
So, whip up this steak marinade and serve your juicy steaks next our grilled potatoes or slice up your steaks and serve it in our famous steak salad recipe!
Why marinate your steak?
Tenderize: marinating your steaks in citrus and/or a vinegar-based product will help tenderize the meat.
Add flavor: this marinade will infuse your beef with tons of juicy flavors, complimenting the steak’s natural flavors.
Steak Marinade Ingredients
What ingredients go in steak marinade? There are some basic ingredients that are usually the base of steak marinade and we have added our own twist, too! Here is everything you need.
- Worcestershire sauce– many steak marinades have Worcestershire in them because it is a vinegar-based sauce that has ingredients like anchovies, garlic, tamarind, and other ingredients that make a salty sauce that goes perfectly with steak.
- Balsamic vinegar– a little sugar to balance out the saltiness of this marinade comes from the balsamic vinegar.
- Minced garlic– adding fresh garlic to any marinade adds so much flavor. We don’t recommend subbing garlic powder.
- Olive oil– the olive oil binds all of the steak marinade ingredients together.
- Lemon juice– a bit of lemon juice lightens up this marinade and aids in tenderizing the steak before you cook it.
- Lemon pepper– adding some lemon pepper to this marinade brings out the lemon flavor in the marinade.
What kind of steak should I use?
There are many different cuts of steak out there and you can marinate any cut of steak in the marinade. We have personally used this steak marinade with the following cuts of meat:
Here are other cuts of beef you can use.
This steak marinade will tenderize any of the steaks below.
- Sirloin
- Ribeye
- New York Strip
- Filet mignon
- Skirt steak
- Skirt
- T-Bone
- Porterhouse
How long should steaks marinate?
We recommend marinating steak for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. The longer you marinate steak the more tender your steak will be. Unlike salmon, you can marinate steak for a bit longer without lemon juice cooking the steak.
prep it ahead of time
You can add all of the ingredients for this steak marinade to a mason jar, shake it up, and store it in the refrigerator to have on hand for marinating steak, chicken, or pork!
Kitchen Tools for Marinating Steak
When you make this steak marinade you add big flavor to your steak, but you don’t need many tools for this recipe. Here is everything you need.
How to Marinate Steak (3 Steps)
- Combine: simply combine all of the ingredients in a bowl or jar and mix to combine.
- Marinate: Place your steak into a dish or large gallon-size bag and pour in the marinade. Make sure that all sides are nice and coated.
- Let sit: Let steak marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Ways to Cook Marinated Steak
Sous Vide Steak
Sous vide steak is the ONLY way to eat steak. We are obsessed with the perfectly cooked goodness of sous vide steak. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.
Grilled Steak
- Add our Grilled Flank Steak to the menu this summer! You can serve this flank steak by itself, in tacos, or even in fajitas.
- Try our Grilled New York Strip (what we used in these photos). We love the fat to protein ratio of this cut of meat and the marinade is so good with this recipe.
The Best
Grilled Steak
Get tender, juicy, perfectly grilled steak with this u0022how to grill steaku0022 post. We’ll give you the best tips and tricks for grilling steak like a professional.
Pan-Seared
If you don’t have a grill, you can easily use a cast-iron skillet or grill pan to sear your steak on high heat and then bake it until it reaches a safe eating temp. Try our cast iron steak recipe.
Steak Internal Temp
Everyone is different when it comes to how they like their steak. We are big fans of a medium-rare steak, but check the internal temperature of your steak when it’s almost done.
Rare: 130ºF
Medium Rare: 140ºF
Medium: 155ºF
Well Done: 165ºF
Remember, as your steak rests after it’s done cooking, the internal temperature will continue to raise around 5ºF.
FAQ
How you prepare your steak is all about preference, but marinating your steaks it will help infuse them with flavor and make them ultra-tender.
We recommend marinating your steaks for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Marinating your steaks in citrus or vinegar helps to break down the tendons of the steak, making them tender.
You can easily use this steak marinade to marinate any cut of chicken.
How to store cooked steak
You can store cooked steak in the refrigerator for up to 7 days as long as it is stored in an airtight container.
Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.