Worlds Best Steak Marinade!
Are you a steak lover looking for a fail-proof marinade? Look no further. This Worlds Best Steak marinade recipe takes only a few minutes to whip up, but it packs a powerful flavor punch. With just a few easily accessible ingredients, you can create a steak marinade that is guaranteed to make your steaks tender, juicy, and unbelievably delicious. Best of all, this marinade can be used over and over again, so you can have restaurant-quality steaks at home any time you want. In this article, you’ll learn the secrets behind making the world’s best steak marinade, as well as valuable tips for getting the most out of this recipe.
This steak marinade only requires a handful of ingredients, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey, and more. These ingredients marry nicely and the longer you let your steak marinate, the more flavor will work in, and offer an even juicier and flavorful steak.
You can use this on all cuts of red meats; prime rib, t-bone, filet mignon, sirloin, flank steak, flat iron, skirt steaks, etc. You name it, this marinade works. It makes the meat so flavorful and tender and melts in your mouth. I also have a delicious pork marinade that will knock your socks off.
The Only Steak Marinade You Will Ever Need
This steak marinade is genuinely the only steak marinade you will ever need. I have tested a ton of marinade recipes over the years, and we always come back to this recipe. We have been using this recipe for years, and it never disappoints us. A mix of savory and a hint of sweetness helps give your steaks that perfect crust when you grill them up.
How Long To Marinate Steak
You can marinate as little as 30 minutes, but I like to do at least 3-6 hours for the maximum flavor. But let’s be honest I don’t always have things planned ahead, so a quick marinade is what I have to do. Regardless this steak marinade is one delicious pairing for your steaks.
How Do You Soak Your Marinading Steak
You can place your steak in a bag with the marinade. Then every little bit you can go and grab the bag and massage the meat to really help infuse the marinade into the steak more to give your steak the best chance of those rich flavors soaking in. Or if you want you can use an airtight container.
If I have a lot of time to marinate my steak, I will massage my steak about once an hour when I am marinating it.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 3 TBSP minced garlic
- 2 TBSP honey
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 2 TSP ground black pepper
- 1 TSP Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 TSP Onion Powder
Instructions
- Mix all of your ingredients together. Set aside some marinade to use for dipping after the meat is cooked.
- Place meat into the marinade and give it as much time as possible to marinade.
Tips For Grilling Steak
While this marinade is full of vibrant and savory flavors, you must also remember grilling your steak correctly is equally important. The reason being is if you overcook your steak it will end up dry and chewy.
- Preheat Grill | Always preheat your grill, this will help get the grates hot and when you put the steak on the grill it will offer that sear sound which means success.
- Steak Tip | I always sit my steaks out for at least 15-20 minutes before I plan to place them on the grill. I watched this tip on the Food Network channel years ago, and have done it ever since. This always sets you up for the success of a juicy steak that is cooked nicely.
- Don’t Cut Steak | When checking the done-ness of your steak don’t slice into the steak to see how red or done it is. Use a meat thermometer and check it that way. If you cut the steak it will leak the juice and dry out.
- Rest the Steak | Once your steak is done, lay it on a plate and put aluminum foil over the top. Let it sit for five minutes to allow it to soak in all those juices for a juicy and flavorful steak.
Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels
How To Know How Done Your Steak Is With Meat Thermometer
Let me share some temperatures to keep in mind and know when your steak is done.
- Rare Steak – 130 degrees
- Medium Rare Steak – 135 degrees
- Medium Steak – 140-143 degrees
- Medium Well Steak – 150 degrees
- Well Done – 160 degree
Double and triple the recipe when necessary depending on the amount of meat.
Here are some great sides to pair with your steak:
Instant Pot Packaged Saffron Yellow Rice
Worlds Best Steak Marinade
You can whip up this world's best steak marinade in minutes, and let me tell you first hand it is the best steak marinade we have ever used.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 3 TBSP minced garlic
- 2 TBSP honey
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 2 TSP ground black pepper
- 1 TSP Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 TSP Onion Powder
Instructions
- Mix all of your ingredients together. Set aside some marinade to use for dipping after the meat is cooked.
- Place meat into the marinade and give it as much time as possible to marinade.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 96Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 599mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 1g
SO easy to make this! WOW! Thanks!
We love steak and just by reading the ingredients it sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to try it!
Going to try it out tonight, i’ll Let you know how it turned out.
after you marinade meat is it safe to return meat to marinade after meat is cooked??
It is exactly what I do, I actually had that included as part of the recipe but some folks criticized my suggestion of returning the meat back to the marinade after being cooked. I have always done that and will continue to do it because it is absolutely delicious. But I figured I would leave it up to everyone’s own judgement call. But I definitely do. 🙂
To make the leftover marinade a bit safer I decided to reduce it on the stove to use as a sauce, and it turned out delicious!
That sounds delicious! Awesome idea!
Can this be frozen for later us
i have not tried to freeze it yet but I think it should be fine frozen. If you happen to give it a try, let us know. 🙂
FYI, Sparkles, the word “marinate”, with a “t”, is a verb, “marinade”, with a “d”, is a noun. You “marinate” your steak in a “marinade”. Don’t mean to be critical, just thought you would want to know.
I use this recipe all the time, and I love it! I do agree it may be the world’s best steak marinade!
@PATRICIA NIESSNER, No, it’s not safe. Disregard melissakuczera entirely. It boggles my mind that someone would ever think that doing that is OK from a food safety perspective. If you want use the marinade as a final sauce, just make a bit more.
-Josh C, Cornell University, Food Industry Management ’97
You have to keep it set aside before it’s used Josh. Settle down there because that’s my advice.
Re-using a marinade is dangerous. Best to withhold a bit for basting. Unless you heat the used marinade on the stove. Beef poses less threat than say pork or poultry but still not a good idea to get into the habit of doing.
Nice marinade. I used it on some lamb I grilled. Will try it on some steaks next.
@Dr.Gregory, I would’ve thought the vinegar and salty soy sauce would effectively kill any bacteria in the leftover marinade. No?
Does this need to be refrigerated?
Yes it does
Hi Melissa
I will definitely try the marinade. I was wondering, what is the optimal amount of time to marinate the beef – a few hours, overnight in the fridge or other.
Thanks
Bob
The longer you can give it, the better. But I usually only give it about a 1/2 hour since with 4 boys I am often last minute.. and it is amazing!!
What do you recommend as the best way to cook the steak with the marinade….grill, oven, or stove top.
Any of the above. I have cooked my meat all of those ways with this marinade and its always delicious. That really is up to your own preference. 🙂
Made this today, my husband and I loved it. So far best marinade to date. Thanks for sharing.
I mixed your marinade in when i formed my ground chuck into patties, let them sit for 20 minutes, then grilled them @ 500-550 degrees till medium. Wow.
I made 1/2 the recipe . I marinated a Top Round steak I got on sale . I only marinated it for an hour and it tasted great !!!! I sliced it thin and it was juicy and tender Yummy . Thank You I have saved this recipe on Pinterest . It’s a keeper !!!
My husband told me to never use another marinade but this again!
We had this tonight, the balsamic vinegar gave it an interesting flavor…not sure it was my favorite but it was good. I’d suggest blotting the steaks before searing, I forgot and ended up with very charred rather than a nice crust using my cast iron skillet.
This marinade is amazing!!!! I have made it several times and everyone loves it! So easy to make. The longer it sits the better it gets!!!
I am so happy you love it! This is our favorite!! We can not get enough of it.
I don’t have balsamic vinegar on hand. Any substition recommendations?
any other vinegar should do fine. 🙂
Excellent! My new favorite!
This truly is the best marinade. It easy and forgiving. I didn’t have worcestershire sauce at home but I tried it anyway and it was still amazing!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I’ve had this recipe saved forever and finally tried it tonight! We actually felt like we were eating in a fine dining steakhouse! It was amazing!!! My boys (ages 7 and 10) gobbled up their NY strip steaks in seconds and begged for more and my husband just kept making little moans of happiness as he devoured his whole steak. I brought the leftover marinade to a boil and simmerred for a bit to use as au jus and it was amazing! Will definitely use this again and again. Can’t believe I waited so long! Love it!
I am so happy you love it. This is the same reactions in my house, it is our absolute favorite. 🙂
Could you please tell me approximately how much meat this amount of marinade was written for? 1#, 2# ?? – I’m using stew meat. TIA
This recipe is enough for one large london broil. We are a family of 6, if I am cooking a couple of london broils, I will double the recipe. Which would be enough for two separate baking pans.
This is the best steak marinade ever! My hubby and I both love it.
Can I prep this and keep a container in the refrigerator? If so, how long would it be good?
In the fridge the marinade should be fine for at least a week
I am looking for this recipe to cook in a instapot since the instapot cooks much faster what would you recommend for time.
Thank you
I was concerned about the Father’s Day steaks lacking flavor. I came across this recipe for “Worlds Best Steak Marinade” and thought, I’ll try it! I have all the ingredients and nothing to lose. I also have very little time to make it happen.
I am SO glad to report the marinade was/is DELICIOUS!
My steaks had about 3 hours to marinade and I used the Ninja Foodi Grill for 9 minutes (about inch and a half thick) and they were juicy, flavorful and made me look like a Top Chef!!
Thank you so much for sharing!!
e harris
Lots of things say they are “World’s Best” but this actually is. Amazing!
Can you use a balsamic dressing instead of vinegar?
Yes, i suspect that would be delicious.
This marinade was great. I used it tonight. The whole family loved it.
I only put about 3/4 of the marinade in with the meat and saved the rest to blast the meat as I cooked it.
Haven’t tried it yet but it sounds good.
Going to use this recipe tomorrow, sounds delicious. How many minutes on each side do you cook the steak?
Depends how you like your steak. I’m using a air fryer I cook mine for about 10 minutes.
@Felix,
made it yesterday, delicious and easy