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.
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
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
✔️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
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar 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.
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.
📖Recipe
The Best Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- 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.
My Private Notes
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.
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 SteakTo 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
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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.
Emma
Just used it for grilling today, with sirloin steaks and veal chops. Absolutely delicious
Menolly
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. 😏
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
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
Tried this recipe yesterday it is the best steak that I ever ate so did my company I will definitely keep this recipet
Ted
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
Ellen
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!
Philip Dally
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.
Rosalie
I used this marinade for my top sirloin and it was absolutely tasty and tender, I will use this again, Thank you !!
Jaime
This really is a fantastic marinade. Used it for steak kabobs and they were delicious.
Katherine Asher
I really loved this marinated for the steak I did. My family really enjoyed them to..
DrDan
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
Patricia Henry
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!
DrDan
I've one it twice in the last 2 weeks... so it is now my "go to" also
Dan
Brian
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?
neftaly
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.
DrDan
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.
Phil
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.
DrDan
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
Pam
This sounds great and looks delicious; I want to try it. I don't think I've ever marinated a steak. Thanks!
Dan Mikesell
Definitely try it.
David Romano
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
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
Chris
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.
Dan Mikesell
It did turn out great... I'm sure yours did also.