Marinated Steak Recipe and Tips
Hints for Creating a Moist, Tender, Juicy Steak with Easy Marinade
Follow these instructions and you'll end up with a divinely flavourful, melt-in-your-mouth grilled steak dinner.
Preparing the Meat
First, choose good-quality steak. For this recipe the steak should not be too thin. Porterhouse, sirloin and eye fillet cuts are the most tender. This recipe is designed to serve two, but you can easily multiply the marinade ingredients to make a larger quantity. Trim any excess fat from the steaks: then, using a sharp knife, score very shallow cross-hatched cuts on either side of the steak.
Preparing the Marinade
Chop 2 cloves of garlic. Rub the garlic into the scored meat, pressing it firmly into both sides. Put the meat into a strong ziplock bag.
Add to the bag:
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- 1 T tomato paste
- 2 T brown sugar
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- a splash of soy sauce
- freshly ground pepper
- a pinch of chilli seasoning, if desired
- a few sprigs chopped fresh rosemary
The acid in the red wine vinegar and tomato paste helps break down the connective tissues of the meat, making your steak tender. Brown sugar caramelises during grilling, which helps to achieve a well-seared outside while allowing the interior of the steak to remain rare. Do not add salt to the marinade—salt draws juices out of meat, which defeats the purpose of marinating. Squeeze the ziplock bag to mix the marinade ingredients and work them into the meat.
Marinating the Steak
Seal the bag and refrigerate. Preferably, steak should be marinated overnight, or prepared as early as possible in the morning for a dinner meal. Even a few hours of marinating, however, will dramatically improve the flavour and tenderness of the meat.
Half an hour before you wish to serve the steak, remove the ziplock bag from the fridge and allow the meat to come to room temperature. As steak cooks quickly, time your side dishes carefully. Steak is often served with rich mashed potatoes and a green salad or cooked beans and carrots.
Preparing the Steak Sauce
Lift the meat from the bag and pat as dry as possible with paper towels. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan, add 1/3 cup of water and 1 T flour. Whisk over low heat until the marinade thickens into a sauce.
Grilling the Steak
Preheat a frying pan or grill—it should be very hot when you add the meat. It is not necessary to grease the pan. Add the steak, and leave to cook without moving the meat around. A medium-rare, medium-thick steak will take 3 minutes per side. Only flip the meat once—steak should be handled as little as possible.
When the steak is cooked, leave to rest on the serving plate for a minute or two. This raises the internal temperature of the meat and increases its juiciness. Pour the sauce over the steak and/or mashed potatoes and serve. Bon appetit!
