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    🏠Home » Recipes » Sauces, Rubs, and Seasonings Recipes

    The Best Steak Marinade

    Jul 23, 2021 | Last Updated Jul 23, 2021 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.13 from 115 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 Long to Marinade?
    • 🐄Steak Cooking
    • ✔️Tips
    • 📖Complete the Meal
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    A homemade steak marinade can quickly elevate your steak past most steak houses. While perfect for strip steaks, it will elevate even cheaper cuts to outstanding.

    Marinades add flavor to meat, but when made with acid ingredients, like lemon juice, they will also tenderize some.

    The inspiration is a very popular recipe around the internet on blogs and recipe sites. The original (I think) is known as "Best Steak Marinade in Existence" on Allrecipes.com.  

    This is my simplified version of that popular recipe. Only a few changes the technique and some minor changes to make it friendly for smaller amounts.

    My Rating

    My rating system. Great 5 out of 5

    A lower 5. The "lower" is due to only being a marinade recipe. The steak is a high 5. My wife felt it was the best strip steak she has had in years. We have repeated it many times since.

    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.

    🐄Steak Cooking

    While you can use this marinade with almost any method of cooking your steaks, it is outstanding with grilled steaks.

    Grilling Instructions

    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 to get medium-rare.

    Detailed Steak Recipes

    How to Grill a Strip Steak on a Gas Grill

    Pan Seared Oven Roasted Strip Steak

    Grilled Marinated Sirloin Steak

    Chart of final internal beef temperatures.

    ✔️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 to me.

    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.

    📖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
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    steak marinade ingredients.

    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.

    steaks marinating in a bag.

    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.

    marinade steak cooking on the grill.

    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.

    piece of steak on a fork.

    Allow to rest for 5 minutes or so before cutting.

    graphic Subscribe to 101 Cooking for Two

    📖Recipe

    grilled marinaded strip steak ona white plate

    The Best Steak Marinade

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    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.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.13 from 115 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    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.
      steak marinade ingredients.
    • Trim your steaks of extra fat.
      two trimmed New York Strip steaks on a red board.
    • 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.
      steaks marinating in a bag.
    • If grilling, clean and oil grates. Then preheat the grill on high.
      clean and oil grill crates
    • Remove from the marinade and discard the marinade. Do not rinse or pat off.
      marinade steak cooking on the grill.
    • 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.
      piece of steak on a fork.
    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.

    My Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. As little as 30 minutes will give some results. The recommended time is 2-8 hours, but up to 24 hours should be fine.
    2. Fresh garlic is a good substitute.
    3. I really like the white pepper here but if you don't have it, use black.
    4. This is probably not for the steak purest. They want plain steak.
    5. Trim the steak well before adding in the marinade.
    6. 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

    Calories : 71.7 kcal (4%) | Carbohydrates : 4.7 g (2%) | Protein : 1.8 g (4%) | Fat : 5.8 g (9%) | Saturated Fat : 0.9 g (5%) | Polyunsaturated Fat : 0.6 g | Monounsaturated Fat : 4.2 g | Sodium : 198.4 mg (8%) | Potassium : 205.5 mg (6%) | Fiber : 2.4 g (10%) | Sugar : 0.6 g (1%) | Vitamin A : 47.6 IU (1%) | Vitamin C : 2.2 mg (3%) | Calcium : 139.7 mg (14%) | Iron : 5.7 mg (32%)
    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

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

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

    Molly dog relaxing
    « Easy Chicken Marinade
    Honey Glazed Grilled Chicken Breasts »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Emma

      May 30, 2022 at 4:41 pm

      Just used it for grilling today, with sirloin steaks and veal chops. Absolutely delicious

      Reply
    2. Menolly

      February 02, 2022 at 1:00 pm

      This looks intriguing, and I will try it. I have another marinade for duck breast that also has soy. Which leads me to my question : what does the soy do? You've explained the Worcestershire and the lemon, but not the soy, and now I want to know what the soy does, as well. 😏

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        February 02, 2022 at 5:51 pm

        From what I remember... first, it adds a ton of flavor—the main effect. Second, if there is acid (vinegar, etc) soy helps the proteins react to that and brown better. There may be more, I don't believe it is a tenderizer.
        Dan

      • Ralph

        June 26, 2022 at 8:27 am

        Tried this recipe yesterday it is the best steak that I ever ate so did my company I will definitely keep this recipet

    3. Ted

      August 11, 2021 at 1:25 pm

      5 stars
      Wow tried this recipe with company last night
      Don’t think I have had a better steak in years
      One person had extensive high end restaurant experience and she was passing thw zip lock bag around for everyone to smell
      Think one of the keys was grilling the steak 4 mins per side on 550 grill
      Thank you for a great recipe

      Reply
    4. Ellen

      April 19, 2020 at 1:46 am

      5 stars
      This marinade is spectacular. I had a nice strip loin from the farmer's market, marinated it in a glass dish (try to avoid plastic anything) for about six hours, then pan-grilled. The flavor is incredible! It didn't disguise the good beef flavor; rather it enhanced it. Thank you!

      Reply
    5. Philip Dally

      June 16, 2019 at 4:18 pm

      5 stars
      Sounds really good! I'll give this a try soon. Sounds like if you make it once might as well double up for the next go around. Looks like it would store well in the fridge for awhile.

      Reply
    6. Rosalie

      June 12, 2019 at 11:01 pm

      I used this marinade for my top sirloin and it was absolutely tasty and tender, I will use this again, Thank you !!

      Reply
    7. Jaime

      June 11, 2019 at 11:28 am

      5 stars
      This really is a fantastic marinade. Used it for steak kabobs and they were delicious.

      Reply
    8. Katherine Asher

      February 03, 2019 at 11:47 pm

      I really loved this marinated for the steak I did. My family really enjoyed them to..

      Reply
      • DrDan

        February 04, 2019 at 5:24 pm

        Hi Katherine,
        Welcome to the blog.
        I use this frequently with strip steaks to "kick them up a notch" for company and special dinners.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

    9. Patricia Henry

      June 24, 2016 at 8:57 pm

      This marinade is my new "go to" marinade. I have never liked beef let alone steak, but got two Omaha Strips as a customer appreciation gift. I was so proud of how these turned out that I wanted to go out and buy a beef! This is going in my private collection. Thanks for perfecting and sharing it!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        June 24, 2016 at 10:08 pm

        I've one it twice in the last 2 weeks... so it is now my "go to" also
        Dan

    10. Brian

      June 07, 2016 at 1:01 am

      This turned out great on a flank steak. I'm not a fan of lemon and was worried the lemon juice would be overpowering, but I couldn't taste it at all. Due to available ingredients, I substituted peanut oil for the olive oil. Have you tried different oils (vegetable, olive, peanut, etc.) and what would be your opinion on why you choose a certain one over the other?

      Reply
    11. neftaly

      April 15, 2015 at 10:56 pm

      4 stars
      Good ingredients my wife loved the steak but I usually like my steaks medium. 15 minute's it came out well done. Maybe they should put the different types of minutes for rare, medium or wealt done.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        April 16, 2015 at 7:27 am

        Thanks for the note. .This post was about the marinade. I have a separate post on cooking strip steaks at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/pan-seared-oven-roasted-strip-steak/
        DrDan
        PS I'm changing this post to point to those instructions.

    12. Phil

      August 14, 2014 at 11:08 am

      All of the ingredients sound fine except for the lemon juice. Lemon juice will cook the meat and should NEVER be used in any marinade where the meat, or fish for that matter, will be in it for more than a few minutes. Also, lemon has NO place in flavoring a steak.

      Reply
      • DrDan

        August 14, 2014 at 9:15 pm

        Well I will disagree. A marinade needs an acid to denature the proteins of the meat. The usual ones used are lemon or lime juice or vinegar. If by "cook" you mean to denature or break down some of the proteins then yes...but that is a big exaggeration of the word. This allows the other components to penetrate better and usually will tenderize some. So NEVER is wrong... As for the taste, I couldn't taste it but do what you want.
        DrDan

    13. Pam

      June 16, 2013 at 2:51 pm

      This sounds great and looks delicious; I want to try it. I don't think I've ever marinated a steak. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell

        June 21, 2013 at 8:24 am

        Definitely try it.

      • David Romano

        September 12, 2014 at 8:32 pm

        Excellent. I love to cook but a good steak was never in my grasp until now.
        I do not like rare beef but strips just get tough when overcooked.
        This marinade gave me incredible flavor and remained very tender
        and juicy at the medium to medium well stage. Very good. I can make steak now!
        Made the smashed potatoes and honey grilled carrots. Also very good.

      • DrDan

        September 13, 2014 at 8:23 am

        Thanks for the note David. You might want to try my post on how to grill a t-bone or porterhouse at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/how-to-grill-t-bone-or-porterhouse/ . It will make you look like an expert.
        As for rare... most expert would say I over cook my beef. An excellent filet can have a little blood but only a little pink for a strip or porterhouse.

        DrDan

    14. Chris

      June 16, 2013 at 8:31 am

      It's funny because I thought about that same recipe when I posted my variation of Troy's. I've had that "best steak marinade in existence" on my try queue forever, but it's just so rare that I marinate steaks. Your looks like it turned out great.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell

        June 21, 2013 at 8:23 am

        It did turn out great... I'm sure yours did also.

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