This is just an excellent beef steak marinade that adds juiciness and flavour into steaks, transforming economical steaks from just ok to “wow!”. It injects extra flavour without overpowering the natural flavour of beef, and makes the meat tender.
Terrific for any type of steak – for grilling or pan searing!
Beef Steak Marinade
Steaks are like wine – the more you spend, the better they are. Juicier, more flavour, more tender, no random bits of sinew throughout.
And as much as we’d all like to be able to splurge on premium quality beef every time we have a hankering for steak, the reality is that most of us cannot!
But you can turn every day beef steaks into something that tastes as good as a premium cut (in my humble opinion) by using a great beef steak marinade!
When should you marinate steak?
Use this marinade for economical steaks – it will make the flesh more tender and add flavour. Do not use this for expensive, prime grade beef steaks!
This steak marinade makes steaks juicier and enhances the flavour rather than overpowering the natural flavour of beef!
It’s actually easy to make marinades that infuse flavour into steaks. But it’s harder to make marinades that enhance without adding too much flavour into the steak. You want the steak to taste mainly of (gasp, shock horror!) BEEF. Not overwhelmed by marinade flavour!
What goes in Beef Steak Marinade
Here’s what you need for the Steak Marinade. Use this marinade for any economical steak – do not use for expensive steaks, that would be a waste!!
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.
How to marinate steak
I always marinate my steak in ziplock bags which I acknowledge is not environmentally friendly, but it is the most effective way to marinade steak because it keeps the steak evenly coated with a relatively small amount of marinade.
If you want to use a container instead, use a glass or other non reactive container and I would recommend doubling the marinade.
How long to marinate steak?
12 to 24 hours is best. You can also freeze it immediately – then it will marinate as it thaws!
Pan fry or grill it, and marvel at how JUICY and FLAVOURFUL your steak is!!
The steak marinade injects enough flavour into the steak such that you don’t need to serve this with a sauce. But I couldn’t resist adding a smidge of garlic butter on top!
You could also serve it with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce or Creamy Peppercorn Sauce, or even gravy.
As for sides, it’s pictured with buttered baby potatoes and a classic Rocket/Arugula Salad with Shaved Parmesan. Here are some more suggestions for great sides!
Sides for Steak Dinner
So….who’s in the mood for a STEAK DINNER now? 🙂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Beef Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 steaks , economical (Note 1)
Marinade
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 large garlic clove)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (or sub with garlic powder)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp oil (I use olive oil, but any oil is fine)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Mix together mustard, garlic and onion powder. Then mix in remaining ingredients.
- Place beef in a ziplock bag with Marinade and marinade overnight (12 – 24 hours).
- Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to bring to room temperature – key for even cooking of steaks. Shake off excess marinade.
- Brush BBQ Grills with oil, then heat on high heat until is really hot – you should see wisps of smoke. Or heat a heavy based skillet on high until very hot, then add oil – it will heat almost instantly.
- Add steaks. For 2cm / 3/4" thick steaks, cook the first side for 2 minutes, then turn and cook the other side for 2 minutes (medium rare 52°C/125°F, chart below for other doneness temps). (Note 3)
- Remove from skillet onto a WARM plate, cover loosely with foil and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Serve! I couldn't resist garlic butter – see recipe in notes.
Recipe Notes:
4. Garlic butter: 100g / 1 stick unsalted softened butter, 1 small garlic clove very finely minced (using crusher is best), 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley. Mix together, place on baking paper to form a log. Roll up then twist ends tightly repeatedly until it forms a neat log. Refrigerate until firm, cut to serve.
5. Nutrition per serving for a 400g/14oz bone in steak (T-bone, ~300g/10oz exc bone), excluding butter.Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2016. Updated 2020 with new photos and brand new video! No change to recipe.
My favourite back-pocket marinades
These are the ones I use over and over again, made with pantry staples with lots of sub options!
And more steak recipes
Also try this Mushroom Gravy (this is a seared chicken recipe, just switch the chicken with steak) or the onion gravy in this sausage recipe (just directly switch the sausages with steak).
Life of Dozer
Suffice to say he didn’t stray too far the whole time I was photographing and filming this steak….😂
Changed a cheap steak into something totally delicious! Everyone at the BBQ asked for the recipe. Couldn’t believe how tender but full of flavour the steak was.
Could I use red wine vinegar instead if it’s all I have on hand? 🙂 thank you
Hi! I was wondering how many pounds of steak is this recipe good for? I had a little over 2 lbs of skirt steak & noticed I didn’t have as much floating around the bag to cover all the steak as you did in the video.
Hi Christine, I would definitely double the amount for 2 lbs of steak – N x
I don’t have any vinegar in the house, can anything be used in its place?
Hi Nagi,
Would the Chimichurri sauce recipe on your site go well with the steak after using this marinade?
Thanks so much
Jen
What cut of steak did you use in this recipe? I love your recipes!
Yes 100% Jenni! N x
Hi Nagi, would this work on a chuck eye steak? It’s a pretty tough steak to grill.
Hi Dianna, yes you could use that here 🙂 N x
Marinated 3 rump steaks the day before eating them, was really nice (with your peppercorn sauce) My 14 year old son ate his in record time, didn´t even use a knife, just stuck a fork in the middle of it and ate it like a cave man (even though I don´t think cave men had forks) Will be using this marinade again and again x
Hi, can i replace the worcestershire sauce with something else?
Hi Fabiola, HP sauce is the next best thing if you have that! N x
Too great for the food. Thank you for sharing this recipe
The food looks fascinating. And the formula is very detailed. Thank you
This was a great marinade with quarantine/pantry-friendly ingredients. Coupled with a quick sear in my cast iron skillet, it made a cheap budget steak taste absolutely divine!
This sounds tasty. I have used something like homemade Italian salad dressing to marinate things like sirloins. I discovered using a bladed meat tenderizer works great to get the marinade into the meat. I named our tenderizer :Mr. Stabby” and drew a big toothy grin on it.
Love this Nick 😂
Hi Nagi,
im not very good with beef cuts. Can i use tenderloin butt for this recipe? or that beef cut is better for roasting? Do you have any recommended recipe from here?
Thanks!
HI Rhi – yes you could use it on tenderloin if you like – N x
I follow a number of famous chefs: nigella, Jamie, Neil, Adam, Marion, etc… and have been disappointed on Occassion with the result of some of their recipes. However, I’ve never had a fail with yours. And your Arabian feast is my go to for a group. Thanks 🙏
Woah! What a great compliment Karen, thank you SO much!!! ❤️
Hat’s off to you Nagi! This recipe achieves exactly what you said. Our rump steaks were indeed juicier, more tender with a hint of flavour without overpowering the wonderful flavour of the beef. My husband usually prefers dry rubs but this wet marinade gave him food for thought. The steak was beautifully caremalised and seared and deliciously pink inside. Thanks for a restaurant quality marinade Nagi…You and Dozer rock!!
WOOT! That’s fabulous Sherry!! N x
Any alternative for balsamic vinegar?
Best beef steak marinade ever!! Love all the photos of Dozer.
Mmm such a flavoursome marinade! And so great you can use on cheaper cuts. Made this with rump steak and chucked on the barbie. Definitely entering frequent rotation! Thanks Nagi 😁
Thanks for sharing Nagi. Received rave reviews from my family.
Perfect Miranda! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Utterly divine. Supermarket scotch fillet. Incredibly tender after the marinade and divine after being cooked. Even better the next day when made into a steak sandwich with leftover baby spuds 🙂
Perfect Pia – I’m so happy you enjoyed it! N x
This looked to good not to try so bought my sirloin and putting in marinade tonight. Can’t wait to try.
Love to know what you think once you try it Laura – keep me posted! N x
Tender and tasty. The only change I will make is increase garlic to 1 tsp and use fresh onion.
Thanks for the recipes and sharing Dozier.
I cooked this yesterday and was impressed. The first time I try a recipe I follow ingredients/directions completely so I don’t change something and complain it did not turn out good.
It was tasty-used an iron skillet so the 2 min per side was more medium than the rare I prefer-my mistake. That said I believe I would increase the garlic to 1 tsp and use fresh onion–just picky–to make it perfect for me. As for my family, no complaints.
Thanks for the recipes-Momofuku Bossam – Korean Slow Cooked Pork in the oven now- and Dozier.
Laura