The perfect combination of a few ingredients make this the best ever steak marinade.
The Best Ever Steak Marinade
From the recipe collection of Tara Ippolito
The search for the best ever steak marinade ever stops here.
And I really do mean that.
This is the most incredible marinade you could possibly ever try for your steak.
It’s just the perfect combination of ingredients. I bet you’ll have most of them in your home already, too.

There’s nothing complicated about it at all either. Just toss everything together, pop it in the fridge and you’re done!
I love the bold beefy flavor of most steaks. I usually eat mine with just some simple herbs, garlic butter and salt.
But some cuts of beef are simply made to be marinated.
This recipe is specifically for those cuts that really take hold of a marinade well.

They’re the ones that will lock all of the delicious flavors in resulting in the juices, most flavorful and all around best steak ever.
I really enjoy experimenting with food and trying different things.
Once I stopped on the best ever steak marinade it’s been my top requested recipe for steak since.

I don’t even have any wiggle room to try something new. It’s all anyone wants me to make.
Not that I’m complaining. I completely see their point. It’s the best ever steak marinade for a reason.
If you try it, I’m sure you will agree that it really is the best ever steak marinade..

By the way, I have a fantastic recipe for Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes that would be a great side to this steak dinner.
And try a Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet for dessert.
What kind of steak should I use?
Generally speaking not every steak is a great option for marinating.

Thought cuts are usually the ones you want to go for. Like these for example:
The marinade will really penetrate meat and add so much intense flavor.

It will also help to tenderize those tougher cuts also.
Any one of these suggestions would be wonderful but I went with the skirt steak for this recipe.
How long do I need to marinate it?
There are different schools of thought on this subject.
Some say that 8-12 hours is the sweet spot. Some say it only takes a couple of hours.
For me, I usually pop the marinated steak into the fridge the day before I’m going to make it.

If you don’t have that kind of time for whatever reason, try to marinate it in the morning if you’re eating it for dinner or as soon as you can.
It needs at least a couple of hours for those flavors to really make their way into the steak.
The longer you marinate, the more flavorful the steak is going to be.

Don’t go past marinating for more then 24 hours though. The acid will start to break the steak proteins down after that point.
The short reply to this question would be anywhere from 2-24 hours.
How should I cook the steak?
This is entirely up to you. Any method here would work like these for example:
- Grilling
- Grill pan
- Cast iron skillet

Choose whatever one you’d enjoy the most.
Important Steak Cooking Tips:
There are 4 really big tips I have for making sure your marinated and incredibly flavorful steak is cooked to perfection.

Follow these important steps and the best ever steak marinade will be working in your favor for sure.
1. Warm it up
The first one is to remove it from the refrigerator for 30 minutes before you cook it.
Try to let the steak come close to room temperature if you can.

Taking a super cold steak and putting it onto a hot surface is not going to yield great results.
Letting it sit out for a half an hour or so will raise its temperature. So when the steak hits the hot surface it’s working with it not against it.
The steak will be cooked much more evenly that way.

2. Drain the marinade
This may just be the most important one out of them all. Make sure to remove the steak from the marinade!
Completely drain the marinade from the steak. I even use a kitchen towel to dry it off completely.
I highly recommend you do the same. This marinade will 100% burn and ruin the flavor of the whole thing if you don’t do this.
A little char is fantastic! That’s not what I mean.

I’m talking about the whole thing turning black.
Make sure you remove as much of the marinade as you can before cooking the steak. You’ll be happy you did.
3. Preheat the grill
This may sound like an obvious one but make sure your surface is hot before you put the meat down.
Get whatever you’re using super hot before you decide to cook.

This will give the beef a nice even cook and you may possibly even get some awesome looking grill marks, too.
4. Let it rest
Let the steak rest.
Tin foil tent the meat for half of the amount of time your cooked it for.

If you cooked it for 8 minutes, let it rest for 4 before you slice into it.
All the flavors will lock into the meat instead of pouring out when you slice into it.
The best ever steak marinade video:
The best ever steak marinade ingredients:

- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Balsamic vinegar
- Lemon juice, fresh
- Garlic powder
- Chopped garlic
- Olive oil
- Black pepper
Instructions:
First, add the steak to whatever container you’re going to marinate it in.

Then, add all of the ingredients on top of it.

Combine everything together.

Place it in the fridge to marinate for 2-24 hours. The longer the better for more flavor!

Now, remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it.

After that, drain the marinade from the beef and dry it off with a kitchen towel. The flavors have already penetrated the beef so don’t worry about losing any flavor.

Then cook the steak however you choose to.

Finally, let it rest for half of the amount of time you cooked it for then slice it up and enjoy the best steak marinade ever.

The BEST Ever Steak Marinade
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds Skirt Steak or steak of your choice
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbs lemon juice, fresh
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place your steak in whatever container you're going to marinate it in
- Add all of the ingredients.Mix them together and into the meat.
- Place it in the fridge for 2-24 hours but no more then that. The longer you marinate the more flavorful the beef will be
- Take the steak out of the fridge and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Remove the steak from the marinade and pat it dry with a dish towel. This will prevent the sugars in the marinade from burning.
- Grill/cook the steak however you'd like
- Let the steak rest under a tin foil tent to half of the amount of time that you cooked it for. Slice it up against the grain and enjoy!!

About Al Dente Diva
Tara Ippolito is a self taught home cook from New Jersey and cookbook author of Fast, Simple, Delicious. Better known as “T” across social media, she makes easy to follow recipes using familiar ingredients. T uses her Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest channels to share recipes and cooking tips for everyday people. Her motivation to share with her followers is simple. To inspire people to cook and become more comfortable in the kitchen.
As a wife and busy mother of two little boys she she’s always cooking fast family friendly meals. Sharing her kitchen with others that want to learn is a true passion of hers. As her social media platforms continue to grow she is committed to delivering consistently delicious content to her followers.
11 Comments
Is it ever possible to over marinate? 24 hours seems like a long time – does it have any effect on a steak’s beefiness?
I’m generally a 4-8 hour marinader but will give a longer time a shot.
24 hours max
Really is the best ever!!
I absolutely love your recipes, Have printed out a few & your Alfredo sauce is excellent. Thank you
Hello, thank you so so much for the nice comment. I really appreciate it
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