How to marinate a steak: recipes, types of marinades, soaking features and secrets of cooking meat

Steaks are the fastest and easiest way to cook amazing meat. It is sometimes mistakenly believed that steak and beefsteak are exactly the same dish, but this is far from true. Beefsteak is a type of steak and is prepared only from beef.

In addition to the successful selection of meat and knowledge of the technology of preparing it for culinary processing, it is necessary to properly treat it with marinade. Naturally, pork makes it quite possible to cook steaks without any marinating, that is, they are simply salted, peppered and immediately started frying. Many people do this, but soon the monotony of taste becomes boring and you want to try new, different flavors of cooked steaks. And in this case, any marinade for pork steak becomes a powerful tool in creating new flavors of your favorite dish. Let's look at some original marinade recipes and start with the simplest option.

Types of meat marinades

Before marinating a steak, you need to choose the right marinade for it. After all, it not only shapes the taste of the dish, but also performs a number of other functions, for example, softens meat fibers, etc.

Each marinade has a base - a liquid component. In addition to it, there are spices that add flavor. Here is what is most often used to prepare a steak marinade:

1. Soy sauce. It not only adds salt to the meat, but also softens its muscle fibers. For this reason, it is most often used for beef steak. Soy sauce goes well with grated ginger, onion and garlic or lime juice.
2. Olive oil. Envelops steaks, preventing them from burning, and also reveals the true taste of spices well.
3. Balsamic vinegar. The main thing with it is not to overdo it, otherwise the meat will turn out sour. Perfectly softens meat and also combines with many types of spices.
4. Mustard softens the meat, gives it a piquant and pungent taste. Combined with soy sauce and honey.
5. Red wine. Requires the correct proportions and a certain type of seasoning. But, if you do everything right, the marinade will turn out great.
6. Mineral water is used to make meat juicier and softer.

Secrets of the right steaks

1. We choose boneless and sinewless pork; there are many options. There is no need to go into too much detail, take the neck, sirloin, and lumbar part.
2. The pieces need to be 2 centimeters thick. They won't cook thicker, but they will dry out thinner.
3. Turn the grill over the heat less often, the juice will then remain inside.
4. If a fire appears on the coals, you need to sprinkle water, but not too much, so that the heat remains.
5. It is better not to fry the onions, it will have a specific taste.
6. Soy sauce can serve as a marinade; it combines well and makes the steaks softer.

The secret of a delicious steak

Having chosen meat for steak, it must be properly marinated. Those who have marinated meat more than once have identified several subtleties of this process that allow them to achieve a better result.

1. It is better to soak the steak in the marinade in a glass, ceramic or clay bowl. Many cooks are sure that aluminum cookware spoils the taste of meat.
2. If you plan to use onions, then they need to be chopped not large so that they release their juices as much as possible.
3. As for the marinating time, it depends on the quality of the meat, as well as on the marinade chosen. As a rule, just 60 minutes is enough. But some extend the process for several days.
4. You should not combine wine with vinegar and lemon juice in one marinade. It is better to choose one of the above.
5. You need to choose a steak like this: the meat should be fresh and have streaks of fat, which will add juiciness when fried.

Benefits of charcoal steaks

In addition to having a pleasant time in nature, you can grill kebabs or steaks over coals. Pork is the most suitable meat for this. A large amount of fat and juices make charcoal steaks juicy and soft; if you pre-marinate, a pleasant dinner in nature is guaranteed.

It is enough to have a grill grate, meat, barbecue can be built from bricks, and coals can be obtained in a natural way. Alternatively, buy ready-made coals for the barbecue, this will increase the cooking speed.

Today we will delight you with culinary recipes for preparing pork steaks. We have selected methods from the simplest to the original.

Marinade for grilling

Properly marinating a grilled steak means providing yourself with a flavorful and tasty dinner. There are a great variety of marinades for grilling: sour, spicy, sweet, etc. Here are a few of them:

1. 4 tbsp. l. sesame oil, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tbsp. l. balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp. l. brown sugar, dried basil and sesame seeds, a pinch of ground white pepper. Mix everything and soak the meat in the mixture. A couple of hours for the marinade will be enough. And then you can listen to the sizzling of a delicious piece of meat on the grill.
2. Kefir marinade is suitable for pork. 0.5 liters of kefir of any fat content, salt and pepper to taste, a mixture of Provençal herbs and other spices. First, the meat is rubbed on all sides with salt and spices. Then it is placed in a bowl and poured with kefir so that it covers the steak. Soak for 2 hours. After a couple of hours, sprinkle the meat with Provencal herbs and send it to the grill.
3. Tomato marinade. 3 large tomatoes, 3 medium onions, a mixture of herbs, a bunch of fresh basil, ground red pepper, salt. Everything needs to be mixed. Soak the steaks in the prepared marinade for 4 hours. Then the meat is grilled.

Brute physical strength

More precisely, mechanical impact. Wrap a piece of meat in a plastic bag and give it a good pound on both sides with a hammer. After beating, even the oldest meat will become softer and more tender. If chops are not your thing, but you need to put the bad meat somewhere, grind it in a meat grinder. White bread and onions soaked in milk will add tenderness to the minced meat.

Often the meat feels too tough due to membranes and tendons that you forgot to remove during processing. Next time, pay more attention to cleaning the meat and everything will work out. But, of course, that's not all! There are other methods in the world, after all.

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Delicious marinade for pork steak

How to marinate a pork steak so that it turns out not only tasty, but also juicy? You need to choose the right marinade.

1. A simple marinade: finely chop fresh cilantro, parsley, basil, oregano, add a few rosemary needles and pressed garlic. The resulting mixture is poured with two tablespoons of olive oil or kefir/yogurt/airan. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice. The steak is immersed in the marinade for a couple of hours.
2. The second marinade option is for how to quickly marinate a pork steak for frying in a pan. Mix 200 ml of dry red wine, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, add a teaspoon of a mixture of ground peppers, bay leaf, a pinch of nutmeg, 3 onions, cut into half rings. Pour the resulting marinade over the pork steaks for an hour, and then fry in a frying pan.

A simple option for the lazy

Pork steak fried on the grill is an option for the lazy, because the skewers with the kebab need to be twisted all the time so that the pieces of meat are fried evenly. Another thing is steak on the grill - you turn the grill with meat over several times, and that’s it, you can drink wine and enjoy nature! But the meat on the grill turns out almost as good as kebabs. And the tenderloin bone... a delicious delicacy that will give a head start to the grilled dishes on the menu of the best restaurants!

How to marinate beef steak?

Beef meat is considered healthier than pork. However, its fibers are stiffer. Therefore, it will need a marinade that will soften the flesh of the meat.

1. Wine marinade: 150 ml dry red wine, 55 ml olive oil, 80 ml soy sauce, salt and ground pepper to taste. Beef steaks are soaked in the prepared marinade for a couple of hours and then fried.
2. Lovers of marbled beef steaks should use the following marinade for a gourmet dish: mix half a cup of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 3 large spoons of finely chopped white onion, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 4 cloves of pressed garlic, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard and 2 dessert spoons of balsamic vinegar. Steaks remain in the finished marinade for 12 hours - this time will allow you to achieve a richer taste.

Ready temperature

How to marinate turkey steak?

Turkey steak will turn out no worse than beef or pork. And a properly selected marinade will brighten up its taste.

1. Mix lemon juice (40 ml), olive oil (80 ml), cumin (5 g), lemon zest (10 g) and 3 cloves of garlic. The turkey is soaked in a fragrant marinade for 2 hours, and then fried in a pan or baked in the oven.
2. Second option: 150 ml of kefir, 3 garlic cloves, 20 grams of dried dill, 1 bay leaf and ground black pepper - to taste. Soak turkey steaks in the prepared sauce for 2 hours.
3. Third option: 3 tbsp. spoons of Dijon mustard, 80 grams of sour cream, 40 ml of lemon juice, a little coriander and ground white pepper. A couple of hours in the marinade - and you can safely fry turkey steaks.
4. Fourth option: 4 tbsp. l. olive oil, half a glass of dry white wine, a third of a glass of soy sauce, 10 grams of a mixture of different peppers, 2 garlic cloves and a head of red onion. All ingredients are mixed together, and then turkey steaks are placed in the prepared marinade. Just 30 minutes of soaking is enough.

Choosing meat

Tenderloin, ham meat, and the neck portion of the carcass are suitable for preparing pork steak.
Choose meat with a moderate layer of fat. The pork should be smooth. Choose elastic meat without bleeding. Pork color is pink-red. The cut should have a slightly pearlescent tint. It is advisable to keep the meat in the refrigerator for several days, but if you don’t have time, you can cook it from fresh. Initially, steak was cooked over a fire, baked over coals. There are several types of steak:

• with blood;
• medium rare;
• deep fried.

The ideal option is medium rare. Rare steak is not to everyone's taste, and a deep-fried steak is too dry. To get the perfect steak, you need to fry it for no more than fifteen minutes. The color should change from red to grayish. The meat should remain elastic.

Fish steaks

Fish steaks are the most delicate dish that true gourmets can appreciate. By properly marinating red fish fillets, and this type of fish is considered the best for steak, you can easily get a delicious dish.

Here are some marinade recipes for fish steak:

1. A simple marinade for fatty fish is prepared from 3 tbsp. l. olive oil, a spoonful of lemon juice or lemon rings, ground white pepper and a sprig of thyme - to taste. Soaking for 20 minutes will be enough to obtain a rich taste.
2. For lovers of sweet taste in dishes, the following marinade for salmon steaks will be suitable as a dominant. It is prepared from a tablespoon of liquid honey, the same amount of vinegar or white wine, 3 cloves of garlic, passed through a press, herbs, dry peppers and a spoon of olive oil. All it takes is 10 minutes of soaking in the marinade, and the dish will turn out delicious.
3. Another option: mix 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 100 ml of white wine. Ground paprika and salt are added according to individual preferences. Place fish steaks in the marinade for 20 minutes and then fry. You can even grill it.
4. The most popular marinade for salmon and other types of red fish is prepared from: grated ginger root, lemon juice and olive oil. After 20 minutes of soaking, you can put the steaks on the grill or in the oven.

With hibiscus tea

• pork itself - about one kilogram;
• onions - three medium onions;
• Dry hibiscus tea – two tablespoons is enough;
• soy sauce – five tablespoons;
• honey, basil and ground ginger - one teaspoon is enough;
• red pepper 1/3 teaspoon;
• salt - according to preference.

1. Hibiscus is brewed in one glass of boiling water, infused and cooled.
2. Place chopped steaks, grated onions and other marinade components into a suitable bowl.
3. Next, cooled tea and soy sauce are poured.
4. The contents of the bowl are mixed and left to marinate.
5. Marinating time is about ten hours.
6. Then the marinated meat is removed, cleaned of adhering marinade components and fried.

Dairy recipe

Often in the autumn season you can’t buy a choice neck, but you want to cook some goodies on the grill or on the grill. The procedure is very simple: make a marinade using mineral water, kefir, fermented baked milk or sour cream.

Dairy ingredients help with cooking tender meats and improve flavor

Here's what you need to buy:

• Pork, softer cuts. It is better to choose those parts that are convenient to cut into steaks.
• Onion. It weighs the same as meat.
• Favorite seasonings.
• 1 liter of kefir or a jar of sour cream.
• Vegetables for side dishes.

We prepare the marinade like this:

1. We cut the pork more conveniently.
2. Rub each piece with spices.
3. Then comes the cutting of the onions into rings.
4. Then it is the onions that are poured with the dairy product.
5. And at the end, it is more correct to place a layer of meat in the dish on a layer of onions with kefir.

It is customary to keep the marinade in a cool place for 4 to 12 hours. Although more often they give it a rest until the wood or coals burn out. During the cooking process, it is advisable to place the onions separately from the meat so that there are no coals in the end. You don’t even need to fry vegetables in kefir, but serve them as a side dish to a hot dish.

From the above it is clear that preparing a marinade for pork steak is quite simple, since pork does not require lengthy pre-treatment or scarce components.