Steak Marinades That Work - Cooks Illustrated

Published May 1, 2007.

Most marinades fail miserably, neither tenderizing meat nor adding much flavor. We found a way to quickly do both: double dipping.

The Problem

Marinades are supposed to make steaks more flavorful and tender, but most do neither. We wanted our marinades to accomplish both these tasks, without having to marinate the meat overnight.

The Goal

We wanted intense flavor, while keeping the marinating time under an hour.

The Solution

We started with soy sauce. The salt in soy sauce acts much like a brine, helping the meat retain moisture during cooking and making it more tender. But to add more flavor depth, we needed additional strong seasonings. We found them in the international section of the supermarket, with ingredients as diverse as red curry paste, Dijon mustard, and chipotle chiles. We divided up the marinade’s tasks to meet our time limit. We first marinated the meat to do the tenderizing work of a brine (reserving some of the marinade). Then before we allowed the meat to rest, we dipped the steak in the reserved marinade to absorb flavor.

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