Steak
 

What do you guys use to marinate your steak?

I have used Beer, Dr. pepper, bbq sauce, all sorts of things, but it is never as flavorful as i expect. Any suggesstions?

Depends on what type of steak.

I never put anything but salt and pepper on a good cut of meat. A filet, Porterhouse, Rib Eye and New York don't need anything.

That would be like putting lingerie on the wife on the wedding night. Might be nice, but it is taking away from what you are interested in. With a good piece of steak it is about the flavor!

Now with a cheaper cut...

I like to use some Italian dressing on Tri-tip or on London Broil. I also recently did one that was marinated in Ceasar dressing. It was suprisingly good.

Balsamic vinegar.....

Marinate your steak, naturally only a crappy steak, in vinegar, salt and pepper and tell me it isn't juicy.....

Balsamic is actually better with grilled chicken breast, talk about juicy....

As has been mentioned, the best cuts of meat should not be adulterated by marinades or rubs.

For tri-tip (its actually more of a roast that you slice), I found this steak rub at Walmart that is made by McCormick that is delicious.

Never marinate a good piece of meat! As others have said, marinate away with a crappy piece of meat, but don't you dare do that to a fine cut.

If anyone that has ever lived in Cali and moved on wants the official name of "Tri-Tip" I can post it later today.

You can get it from the butcher, you just have to let them know what you want.

I wouldn't consider it a roast, because roasts suck.

I marinate rarely, but when I do I usually try to make something up and vary it each time. Sense of adventure I guess that gets activated when staring cheap steak in the face. the last one I made was very good--couple spoonfuls of brown sugar, little vinegar and worcestershire, oil and soy base, and some dry mustard, little bit of lemon juice.

It was yummmmmmy.

For good cuts, I'm a butter, salt, and pepper guy.

The Tick speaks wisdom and truth... As Grapevine would say "Good beef need not marinate."

I use Lawry's seasoned salt or Tony Chashire's seasoned salt in some cases but just good ol' salt & pepper works well too...

I think I will have some Santa Barbara Tri-Tip tomorrow night while I'm down there. That area (Santa Maria) invented that cut....I bet you didn't know that...

That is their big claim to fame down there.

Or perhaps I DID know that!

Santa Maria style seasoning is the greatest for Tri-Tip.

I am going to let you all in on a little secret... here is my BBQ.

You can't burn anything with this thing. Well worth the price.

http://www.smbbqoutfitters.com/backyard_files/30X20.jpg

And I see that they have added some new ones.

Before I move to Utah next year I am going to pick up this one for tailgates...

http://www.smbbqoutfitters.com/backyard_files/18X12.jpg

So is this confirmation that tri-tip is a California thing? I never heard of it until I moved here 8 years ago. It is THE standard BBQ fare now. But when I've gone to other states, people sometimes have no idea what I'm referring to.

I'd love to find out what the Tri-tips from Costco are marinated in. They come from Morton's and one other place that I can't recall. But whenever I've cooked on at a BBQ people think I'm the man.

It is a California thing....

I have been able to buy it in Costco in other states though.

Costco's pre-marinated is really good.


When I lived in Washington I asked the butcher for Tri-tip and he brought me brisket. I may be a redneck but good hell.

Now I have the official name!

For Tri-Tip
I use this maranade from Alton Brown

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and cut in 1/2
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar or Mexican brown sugar

It is great. And Alton Brown is the coolest.

I know whenever I go to Outback and ask for A-1 I always get the "You do know that our steaks are seasoned with....." Yes I know.

Of course I know at the higher scale restaurants asking for A-1 or any kind of Steak sauce is considered an incredible insult. So when I'm at those places, I never do.

I like A-1. So sue me.

Note to self....

Can never go out to eat with RB. He is the infidel.

A-1? Consider yourself sued.

Yeah, so I don't have the most sophisitcated palate in the world.

I like steak will all kinds of different kinds of marinades.

There's a Jack Daniels Marinade I've tried a few times and it's good stuff.

By the way,,not only do I like A-1...I like A-1 Bold n Spicy too. :)

Hey I like A-1 as well.....on HAMBURGERS! If you ever see me put A-1 on a steak I'm basically saying this a crappy piece of meat.

Not so much a California thing as it is a "thing that people who know what to do with a grill" thing.

This isn't a steak tip, but if you want to have some good burgers on your grill, add a dash or two of Tobasco to each burger before you put it on the grill.

Mmmm, mmmm.

That looks great. And yes, Alton Brown is the man. I love his show and think he's the perfect commentator for Iron Chef America.

I've got to disagree about not marinading great steak. Sure, a great steak will taste good even without putting anything on it. But a great marinade will also take a great steak and give it a bit of variety and make it more tender.

You need two things when marinading: an acid to tenderize the steak, and an oil to keep the steak from drying out. My favorites are lemon juice and olive oil (with a bit of mustard powder and soy sauce thrown in as well. The steak should be submerged in the marinade (about 2/3 oil, 1/3 lemon juice and then however much soy sauce you want).

It tastes EXCELLENT. I will tell you it is better than any non-marinaded steak I have ever had.

Season with garlic salt and parsley.

We know here that you need to let the meat rest right after cooking right?

Everyone except for Rocky does....

He believes that right after cooking you destroy the steak with A-1.

SINNER!

Spoken like a true democrat. ;-)

Actually that sounds fine and dandy for plenty of cuts, but not for a good steak. Never adulterate a great steak.