My Grilled Steak Marinade will knock your socks off – it’s super simple and packed with flavor, giving you a tender, juicy piece of meat every time you’re grilling steak!
Grilling steak is one of my all time favorite summer activities. That’s right, I said activity! I love to grill anything really, from meat to veggies to dessert, but steaks… a nice grilled steak is just summertime perfection to me and this steak marinade I’m about to share with you takes it over the top.
Should Steak be Marinated?
A good marinade is comprised of a few specific elements. These elements add flavor, tenderize the meat and help to keep your steak nice and juicy.
- Fat is an important component of a steak marinade because it helps to transfer soluble flavors into the meat and retain moisture as it cooks.
- Acids help to break down the tough fibers of the meat, making your steak more tender and easier to chew.
- Flavor bring the flavor! This is the fun part of a great marinade because you can spotlight what you love best, whether it’s garlic, or spicy pepper, or sweet teriyaki.
How to Make the Best Steak Marinade
- For this steak marinade let’s start with some fat. Add about 1/2 cup of olive oil to a small bowl, then add some lemon juice (acid), then whisk that together.
- Now it’s time for my favorite part – the FLAVOR! For steak you want a nice, rich flavor, which comes from a combination of soy sauce, Worcestershire and garlic. I like to balance that all out with a little honey for sweetness and caramelization.
- Steaks can be left in the marinade for up to a day, but you want to marinate them for at least 6 hours to allow all that rich goodness to penetrate the meat, tenderize and add flavor. I love how versatile this steak marinade is – it will work with pretty much any type of steak from strips to sirloins to filet mignon!
Steak Marinade Tips
- What do you marinate steaks in? You can use a gallon size ziploc bag or a sealable container. Either way, you want to make sure that your steaks and marinade are stored airtight in the fridge so the flavors aren’t compromised.
- How can I marinate quickly? To help the marinade permeate the meat more quickly, pound the steak gently with the pointy ends of a meat mallet.
- When using a sealed container, make sure to flip the steaks halfway through the marinade time if possible, to ensure even coverage.
How to Grill Steak
I’ve got some great tips for you to follow, plus a handy printable chart to follow!
- When you’re ready to grill, remove the steaks from the fridge and let them come to room temperature to promote even cooking. Throwing a cold steak on the grill will fully sear the steak before it’s really cooked.
- Remove the steaks from the marinade and discard it. Never reuse marinade that had meat in it.
- Steak grill time will vary depending on the thickness of the steak. Mine were an inch and a half New York Strip Steaks and I grilled them about 7 minutes on the first side, 5 minutes on the other for medium rare.
- If you’re unsure of how long to grill steak, follow this handy dandy chart. I’ve even made it into a printable version to take the guesswork out of grilled steak temperatures and doneness all summer long! These are all based on a medium-heat gas grill, at a temperature of about 350-400 degrees.
- Heat your grill to 350-400 degrees before putting your steaks on.
Now that you know the basics of grilling steak, you’re ready to make your steak marinade and get to grilling! This marinade is enough for up to 4 medium sized steaks.
More Recipes for the Grill
We don’t just do steak marinade around here. We grill everything, from Grilled Shrimp Pasta Salad to Grilled Chicken Thighs to Grilled Pork Tenderloin because we love meat on the grill. If you have some time to marinate your steak or chicken before throwing it on the grill, great! If you don’t have time to marinate, sprinkle on some seasoned salt and lemon pepper.
Serving Suggestions for Grilled Steak
When grilling marinated steaks, use your grill to cook as much of your meal as possible or prepare things like salad and garlic bread ahead of time. Here are some of our favorite things to serve with grilled steak. These recipes all go beautifully with our very best steak marinade.
- Grilled Zucchini Recipe
- Perfect Baked Potatoes
- Grilled Corn
- Macaroni Salad
- Grilled Potatoes
- Steakhouse Green Beans
Grilled Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 5 cloves garlic minced (2-3 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 pounds New York Strip steaks
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the ingredients for the marinade, except for the meat, in a small bowl.
- Place the meat in a large zip-top bag and massage the marinade into the meat. Seal the bag, making sure to get out as much air as possible. (Alternatively you could place the meat in the marinade in an airtight container - just be sure to flip it a few times so the meat gets the marinade on both sides).
- Store in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to 5 days. Or keep in the freezer for up to 12 months.
- Set meat on the counter for 20-30 minutes to come to room temperature before grilling.
- Use the printable guide for in this post to determine the temperature and grill time for your steaks.
Notes
- I like to use New York strip steaks here, other great options are rib eye, top sirloin, flank or skirt steak.
- Nutritional information is approximate as you will discard much of the marinade.
Nutrition
Updated March 13, 2020
So yummy!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Lori.
I’m trying this out for the first time. I will let you know if the men like it.
Really love this marinade, and so does everyone who’s had it in my family! I try to marinade my steaks in the fridge for 2-3 days before grilling, and it always turns out great!
Amazing marinade. I have used it on tri tip and New York strip. My whole family raves about it.
Thank you Nicole! So happy that you and your family loved this recipe!
I try to marinate beef in the morning for dinner and its flavor is great too. Thanks a lot your printable, it is so convenient.