Is this a good basic steak marinade?

[tasty food]

After googling steak marinades i just put together a steak marinade. Im on a budget so nothing fancy. I'll be making this on a pan, since i dont have a grill.

For now I know i wanna add this...
-2-3 tbsp veg oil
-1 tbsp minced garlic
-salt and pepper
-maybe 1/2 cup of water

Here are the other things i wanna add. I read about acids can worsen the meat if it marinades overnight. Its better to just marinate for a few hours. So i dunno how much of these i wanna add or should add
-1/2 - 1 cup beef broth, diced tomatoes, and onions
-franks hot sauce original
-lemon juice

and im thinking of buying some kinda sauce i can add to the marinade. i want a flavorful steak. I'd like to leave it in the fridge overnight and cook it for lunch.

 

[Andy M.]

In general, marinades need some oil, an acid such as vinegar or citrus juice and seasonings via herbs, spices etc. No salt.

An acidic environment shouldn't be a problem unless you marinate for an excessive period. If you want to cook steaks for lunch, put them in the marinade at breakfast. That'll do the trick.

 

[tasty food]

i usually dont get up early so i cant wake up and make the marinade. im not gonna add a lot of acid like lemon juice, just about a teaspoon or half

 

[Andy M.]

Make the marinade the night before and add it to the steak before you go to work.

 

[tasty food]

lol thats a hilarious quote in your sig btw

but it sounds like you're against marinating steak overnight? Is the meat gonna be tough or produce a sour taste? I read about that so am a bit concerned.

and i dont have a job, so there's not many reasons for me to wake up early. i do sometimes, but not for food lol

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Marinade for just an hour or two. There really isn't any need to marinate a steak for longer.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

-maybe 1/2 cup of water

I can't see any useful purpose to adding water to your marinade.

Another ingredient you may consider is balsamic vinegar. A small amount, not a whole lot. It's very flavorful.

 

[CharlieD]

Don't marinade at all. Some seasoning and that's it. You can make some sauce to serve it with, but no marinade.

 

[Andy M.]

lol thats a hilarious quote in your sig btw

but it sounds like you're against marinating steak overnight? Is the meat gonna be tough or produce a sour taste? I read about that so am a bit concerned.

and i dont have a job, so there's not many reasons for me to wake up early. i do sometimes, but not for food lol

Not against overnight marinating. It's just not necessary. As Princess Fiona said, a couple of hours is enough. Steaks are thin - a lot of surface area for a small amount of meat so marinades flavor the meat quickly.

I also agree with Greg. You don't need the water.

This type of marinade will not toughen or sour a steak. The internet is a wonderful place but you can read a lot of crap disguised as good advice.

I don't get up early for food either.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

As Andy pointed out, overnight is unnecessary. Perhaps 30-60 minutes. Or as Charlie said, maybe not at all. Experiment. Whatever you like is the way to go. Try different things and keep notes, either formally or in your head.

Another idea I like if you're going to marinate: finely minced garlic or fresh ginger or both. And it might be a good idea to scrape or wipe off to avoid burned garlic/ginger on the surface of the steak.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

A nice steak is a always a nice treat. A marinade does not need to be a large volume. And a little citrus is ok if not I would omit the water. Put the other ingredients in a zip lock bag along with the steak and smoosh and work it around to cover. Turn it a couple times. The water could be added to the pan AFTER you cook it along with a pat of butter and make a nice sauce.

When you remove the steak from the marinade, pat it dry with a paper towel. Yes, you will remove some surface marinade. But you want to cook/ sear it without surface moisture, otherwise it will just steam in those juices which will prevent it from properly browning.

Personally, I don't usually marinate steak, not that I get that many times to make it either. I usually heavily pepper, press into the steak, a little salt and and add either garlic powder or finely chopped garlic. Turn the steak only once. Read about how long to cook a steak, based on how thick it is and how done you want it to be. Let it rest on a plate before you eat it. Good eating to ye.

 

[tasty food]

thx for all the advice, didnt think this would get to two pages in a few hours

i rarely cook steak, im trying to change that though. when i usually cook steak i wouldnt marinate and it wouldnt taste that great either. i add spices but i dont get the foodgasm that i crave. its a really bland taste. im sure i can do things to change that but marinating the steak will assure me a steak full of flavor and foodgasms.

i wont leave it in the fridge overnight though. i was skeptic that the meat itself would spoil a bit.

 

[GLC]

When meat has been examined by cutting following marinading with dye added to the marinade, it becomes apparent that there is very little penetration, a tiny fraction of an inch, and that occurs very quickly. Hardly enough to affect the texture of the meat or to add flavor below the bare surface. It follows that you're as well off to simply season the meat right before cooking or soak in your desired flavor for tens of minutes. And acid will do little but add the flavor of the acid, vinegar or whatever, to the dressing.

It is appropriate, though, to heavily salt steaks and other cuts that will be cooked by a method intended to develop a crust and leave them uncovered in refrigeration overnight to move salt into the meat and water out, so as to retain juices and present the pan or grill with a dry surface that makes minimal steam.

This is not to say that some haven't come to expect a vinegary sort of flavor to some meat preparations, but it's always inferior to the plain seasoned meat.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Heavily salt your steak and let it sit overnight? I've seen other advice to not salt it until immediately before cooking.

I don't expect people to agree on this topic (marinating steaks). In my short time on the forum I've already seen several similar discussions with no common agreement ever reached.

 

[Andy M.]

Heavily salt your steak and let it sit overnight? I've seen other advice to not salt it until immediately before cooking...

The overnight salting draws moisture out of the steak which dissolves the salt and then draws the salted juices back into the meat. Think of it as dry brining.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I understand that Andy. What I'm not sure of is whether a steak benefits from dry brining. I read the other topics. I'm squarely in the camp of 'undecided.'

What are we trying to change here? The flavor? The tenderness? What?

 

[Andy M.]

I understand that Andy. What I'm not sure of is whether a steak benefits from dry brining. I read the other topics. I'm squarely in the camp of 'undecided.'

What are we trying to change here? The flavor? The tenderness? What?

I think it's all about salting the meat to enhance the flavor. I'm not aware of salt's tenderizing properties.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Marinades are for flavor.

 

[Addie]

I can't help but wonder what cut of steak he has been buying if it so lacking in flavor. I buy one steak once a month for myself. A Porterhouse. Because it is such an excellent cut of meat, I find a good helping of just salt and pepper brings out the natural flavor of the meat.

I think the better the cut, the less seasoning is needed. If you find that you need to season a steak, I go with Andy. You don't say what kind of flavors you enjoy. You can pile all the garlic on it you want to. But if you don't like garlic, then you won't like the flavor. And you won't enjoy the steak. If you want a marinade to penatrate the meat, I would suggest you poke holes into the steak so it can get down further than the 1/16 of an inch. Have you ever seen the smoke ring on a piece of BBQ? Well your marinade is not going to even go that deep. Also, how well done do you like your steak cooked? Some swear almost raw, and others well done to look like leather. The longer you cook the seak, the more you will lose the flavor of the marinade through evaporation off the surface.

As you can see, there is no simple answer without additional information.

 

[tasty food]

Huh? I gave the recipe I wanted to use. I'm gonna start with something like that (wont add water). I'm not entirely picky about the flavor, I just want it to be seasoned and taste flavorful.

Since i'm on a budget i usually get cheaper cuts of steak (Not the absolute cheapest, I'll sacfrice a few more dollars). A website I found suggested the best steaks for marinating - flank steak, sirloin, skirt, flat iron, round, and hanger. I know how to look for steaks...make sure there's marbling, lines of fat, light red color, look for choice over select grade, etc.

Oh yeah I didn't mention that im gonna poke holes in the steak. I don't eat a lot of steak, but I do know that I don't want it rare. So medium-rare is where i'm gonna start at.

also need to know this, would marinating the steak with onions and tomatoes be a good idea, have any of you done this?