The Best Steak Marinade {Quick and Easy}- 101 Cooking For Two

Name: The Best Steak Marinade
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 3 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 2 teaspoons garlic powder; 1 1/2 tablespoon dry basil; 2 teaspoons dry parsley flakes; 1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper (white preferred)

Recipe Table of Contents

4.17 from 137 votes

This easy, mouth-watering steak marinade is not only insanely good but adds tenderness to any steak in as little as 30 minutes. Using soy sauce, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and a few other pantry ingredients, you can have the best juicy steak at home in less than an hour.

grilled marinaded strip steak ona white plate.

Table of Contents

👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
⏰How long to marinade?
🐄How to cook steaks
✔️Tips
❓FAQs
📖Complete the Meal
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
📝Full Recipe

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Introduction

A homemade steak marinade can quickly elevate your steak past most steak houses. Marinades add flavor to meat, but when made with acidic ingredients, like lemon juice, they will also tenderize.

The inspiration recipe is "Best Steak Marinade in Existence" on Allrecipes.com. Simplified with a few changes to the technique and some minor changes to make it friendly for smaller uses.

While perfect for strip steaks, it will elevate even cheaper cuts to outstanding. We frequently use this marinade with New York strip steaks for company meals.

👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

In a 1-gallon zip lock bag combine soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and other spices.
Add the steaks to the bag, squeeze out the air and mush the steaks around to get them coated well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes but 2 to 8 hours should be fine.
Remove from the marinade and discard the marinade. Do not rinse or pat off.
Steaks are ready to grill or inside with a stovetop sear and oven baking.

⏰How long to marinade?

As little as 20 to 30 minutes will transfer lots of taste to your steaks. I like to get a few hours if I have time. Please refrigerate for food safety.

Up to 8 hours is fine, and some recommend up to 24 hours. But due to the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce with vinegar, it can affect the texture if marinaded for over 8 hours.

🐄How to cook steaks

While you can use this marinade with almost any method of cooking your steaks, it is outstanding with grilled steaks. Here are some specific instruction recipes.

Specific Steak Recipes

How to Grill a Strip Steak on a Gas Grill

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Strip Steak

Grilled Marinated Sirloin Steak

How to Grill a T-bone or Porterhouse Steak - A Tutorial

General Grilling Instructions

Clean and oil grates. Preheat the grill to high (not for filets or ribeye steaks)

Grill for about 5 minutes per side until you reach your desired internal temperature. The exact time varies by thickness and your grill. Generally, about 10 minutes for me to get medium-rare.

✔️Tips

Trim the steak well before adding to the marinade so you won't need to manipulate the meat before cooking.
The acids, in this case, the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, will help tenderize. This will be better if you marinate for a few hours.
The oil will help carry any fat-solvable flavors into the meat. This will occur fairly quickly.
Run through a blender if you want, but it doesn't seem necessary.
Use black pepper if you don't have white.
Add a pinch of crushed red pepper or a hot or pepper sauce if you want.

❓FAQs

Why discard remain marinade?

Once used, any marinade liquid is considered contaminated and should be disgarded.

If you want to use a marinade later during the cooking process, some of the marinade should be reserved for later use before adding the meat.

Should you refrigerated during marinading?

Good food safety should always be followed and if the marinade is at room temperaute for 2 hours or more, it and any meat should be disgarded. So only if it a brief time, please refrigerate.

📖Complete the Meal

Crispy Parmesan Baked Potatoes

Green Beans with Bacon

Grilled Asparagus

Berry Crisp for Two

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

Beef Recipes, Sauces, Rubs, and Seasonings Recipes

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

In a 1-gallon zip lock bag, combine 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 ½ tablespoons dry basil, 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes, and ½ teaspoon white or black pepper.

two trimmed New York Strip steaks on a red board.

Trim your steaks of extra fat. Here are two strip steaks about 12 oz each.

Add the steaks to the bag, squeeze out the air and mush the steaks around to get them coated well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes but 2 to 8 hours is a bit better.

Remove from the marinade and discard the marinade. Grill as usual. You can also pan-sear.

Grilling Instructions (more details in recipes listed above and in recipe card)

Clean and oil grates. Preheat grill on high.

Grill about 5 minutes per side until you reach your desired internal temperature. The exact time varies by thickness and your grill. Generally about 10 minutes for me for medium-rare.

Allow to rest for 5 minutes or so before cutting.

📝Full Recipe

The Best Steak Marinade

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

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4.17 from 137 votes

Print Collection

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 2 servings

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

▢ 3 tablespoons soy sauce
▢ 4 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice
▢ 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
▢ 2 teaspoons garlic powder
▢ 1 ½ tablespoon dry basil
▢ 2 teaspoons dry parsley flakes
▢ ½ teaspoon black or white pepper - white preferred

Instructions

In a 1 gallon zip lock bag combine: 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 ½ tablespoons dry basil, 2 teaspoons dry parsley flakes and ½ teaspoon white pepper.
Trim your steaks of extra fat.
Add the steaks to the bag, squeeze out the air and mush the steaks around to get them coated well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes but 2 to 8 hours should be fine.
If grilling, clean and oil grates. Then preheat the grill on high.
Remove from the marinade and discard the marinade. Do not rinse or pat off.
Grill about 5 minutes per side until you reach your desired internal temperature. The exact time varies by thickness, your grill, and desired final internal temperature. About 10 minutes total for me for medium-rare.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

As little as 30 minutes will give some results. The recommended time is 2-8 hours, but up to 24 hours should be fine.
Fresh garlic is a good substitute.
I really like the white pepper here but if you don't have it, use black.
This is probably not for the steak purest. They want plain steak.
Trim the steak well before adding in the marinade.
I especially use this on strip steak, but it should be great on sirloin or other cheaper cuts.

Nutritional information: The entire recipe can do 3-4 steaks, and only a small amount stays on the meat. Nutrition is assuming 10% of the marinade is absorbed.

Grilling Instructions

Clean and oil grates. Preheat the grill on high.

Grill about 5 minutes per side until you reach your desired internal temperature. The exact time varies by thickness and your grill.

Suggested detailed instruction

How to Grill a Strip Steak on a Gas Grill

Pan Seared Oven Roasted Strip Steak

Grilled Marinated Sirloin Steak

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Seasoning

Cuisine : American

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Editor's Note: Originally Published June 14, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.