TravelTalkOnline Forums People Talk Recipes Steak Marinade

Anyone have a recipe for steak marinade that has incredible flavour and tenderizes?

Also - when you grill asparagus, do you just place it directly on the grill or do you put it on foil?

And Dharma - grilled caesar salad????? I have to have the recipe for that!!

This is my new favourite - I have also injected the marinade into the meat if it is a really tough cut, and have boiled the leftover marinade & blended it to use as a dipping sauce for Beef on a Weck.

Bourbon Marinade

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup (75 mL) bourbon or rye whisky
2 tbsp (25 mL) vegetable oil
2 tbsp (25 mL) balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) coarsely ground pepper
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt

Mix everything together and throw in a baggie with the meat and turn every couple of hours. Marinate a roast for 12 to 24 hours, less for steaks.

When I grill asparagus, I toss the stalks in Olive oil, balsamic & fresh chopped basil and toss it straight on the grill on low and move them around for about 5 minutes (we do not like our veggies soggy!).

After I thoroughly coat it with olive oil and whatever seasoning I want (If any),I place the asparagus right on a medium high heat grill, turning it often. Turns out great.

Sandy, do you need a Caesar dressing recipe or just a grilling technique? I typically make a super low-cal/low-fat caesar but I have a good one for a spicy Caesar (not low-cal)as well.

The important thing about grilling Romaine is to make sure the grill is super hot. Split Romaine hearts lengthwise & brush with olive oil on the cut side. Grill cut-side down for about 2-3 minutes until grill marks appear & rest of lettuce juuust begins to wilt. Grilled side will be golden with grill marks & that's just enough to heat the half-heads through.

Drizzle generously with Caesar dressing and top with shaved parmiggiano reggiano and garlic croutons (I can give you the worlds easiest crouton instructions too if you'd like).

I also like to sprinkle a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes over the whole thing but this is certainly not necessary because the grilling adds a unique layer of flavor as well.

Incidentally, we've found that good steaks need no marinade. We really like reduced-sodium Montreal Steak Seasoning (do they have Montreal Seasoning in BC? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />) to add a little flavor without covering up the flavor of the meat. Without that, just a little sea salt & coarse black pepper is all steak should need.

As far as the asparagus, I agree: toss in a little olive oil, a teensy bit of salt, and directly on grill for 4-7 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with a squeeze of lemon juice and grated Parm before serving if desired, though a little pepper is enough if not desired!

was this recipe posted here previously? it sounds familiar. if so, i made it and it was delicious!

Thanks guys!!

And Dharma - I have never heard of a grilled Caesar but I am going to make it this weekend for sure! It sounds amazing. I wouldn't mind both recipes for dressing and your crouton secret.

I like taking some skirt steaks... coating with OLD BAY... let sit in fridge overnite...
Then I add Kikkomans Terriaki... and let sit during the day...
flash grill, Grill on HIGH (500F) for 2 mins a side... Cook RARE!!! Only way!
Let stand for 10 Minutes...
Slice across the grain on a steep angle, VERY thin!
YUMMMMMM!!! Nothin' Better! Hot and sweet! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Goes great on a nice split baguette or toasted chibatta roll with thin sliced raw onions and a good remoulade sauce!

Sandy,
Sorry all my recipes are always so vague, but I really adjust everything to taste every time so I don't do anything in specific quantities! (that's why i totally SUCK at baking!) I'll post the other Caesar recipe tomorrow... that one is from Bobby Flay, so it'll be a real recipe!

I cannot believe that I can't find my basic low-cal Caesar recipe, but this one is very similar & mine varies every time anyway:

2/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic -- minced

Dump everything into the blender & give it a whir. Thin with milk or water if needed. It's quite a bit tangier than regular Caesar because of the yogurt, but I like Tangy. If you prefer, you could use 1/2 yogurt & 1/2 low-fat mayo... or I suppose ALL low-fat (or fat-free) mayo, but I'm not a mayo fan. But it would certainly be more similar to "traditional" Caesar that way.

EASY, quick croutons

1 Baguette, sliced 1/2"-3/4" thick (I use whole wheat)*
1/2 cup olive oil (doesn't have to be extra virgin)
Several cloves of garlic, peeled
About 1/3 cup Parmiggiano-reggiano, finely grated
Black pepper, coarsely ground

*Any crusty bread will do.

Brush bread slices lightly on both sides with olive oil.

Toast bread in oven or on "toast" setting of toaster oven until lightly browned & crispy. If I use the regular oven I find it's quickest to put it 4-5" under the broiler for a minute or 2 on each side, keeping a very close watch on it because it'll turn black in a heartbeat! Remove & turn oven off.

Rub the toasted slices with the garlic cloves... like you're using a pencil eraser. The crispy bread will wear down the garlic fast so you'll have to determine how garlicky you like them. I just do one side of the toasts but if you love garlic, rub it on both!

Cut the slices into cubes and toss in a bowl with the grated Parm.

Spread the cubes on a cookie sheet and pop them back into the still hot but turned-off oven for about 5 minutes just to crisp them up a teensy smidge. If your cubes were very crispy after the first toasting, you can skip this step.

Sprinkle with black pepper while still hot & allow to cool, uncovered, before use.

This makes a LOT of croutons, but you can make just a few slices if you don't need much. But once they're cool they'll keep for a week or more in a Ziplok.

Since these don't read like normal recipes, I understand you may have questions, so feel free to ask if needed!

This looks like a nice grilled Caesar-style salad, too! (and a great pic so you can see what the lettuce should look like!)(and a "normal" recipe!) Well anyway, here:

http://thinkitchn.com/2011/03/grilled-romaine-lowfat-caesar/

we have had very good results from using orange juice as a marinade for steak - from as little as 2 hrs to as much as 24 hrs, leaves it nice and sweet and tenderized.

We marinate 2 to 2.5 lbs of flank steak for 24 to 48 hours in:
1/2 C soy sauce
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C white granulated sugar, definitely ok to use dark brown sugar instead
3 green onions (scallions) chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Hey Dawn,

I just mixed up the marinade and have it in the fridge with the steaks. It didn't make a lot of liquid - maybe the onions soaked most of it up? I have 5 filets in it, do you think I should have doubled the recipe?

The steaks (filets) are marinading as we speak. On the menu for dinner tonight:

Provolone drizzled with balsamic reduction and savoury crackers. Grilled caesar salad. Grilled fillet mignon in a bourbon marinade, grilled asparagus spears, oven roasted new potatoes with bacon and scallions. Dessert; profiteroles with raspberry sauce. Mmmm.

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Wow! We'll be right over! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Coming in late on this one but thought I would add cuz its really good and easy for a Flank steak

Score x crossed top & bottom of steak ...if you have a super sharp knife be careful to not cut too deep...just about 1/4 inch or less each side
Put steak in tupperware container.....
On top of steak place:
garlic...whatever you have on hand...powder, chopped
1 med white or yellow onion sliced (like for fajita's)
(I also add a green onion for that flavor)
1 green pepper cut in strips...I sometimes add red too if I have it

Generously douse w/ Teriyaki sauce
Sprinkle lightly with Montreal steak seasoning
Cover tightly and turn container over every now and than. I usually let it sit over night or all day.
Cook on super hot grill only about 5 mins per side....slice on angle thinly.

The flavor of the veggies soaks into the meat. You can cook the veggies on top of the meat or I put in a corning-ware dish (spray with Pam) and put the dish on the grill...stir every now and than

This is not really a marinade but we tried Anne Burell's (Food Network) recipe for aged dry rub steaks. Rub the ingredients on the steak, wrap in plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for 3 days. Her recipe calls for rib eye steaks but we used T-bone and the results were fantastic! Did them on a charcoal grill instead of gas and they were out of this world! Need the recipe? Let me know or else check out her site on Food Network. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Sorry I missed this - we didn't have a lot of liquid left either, but it didn't seem to matter - we don't usually make 5 steaks though, so I am not sure - as long as you turn it around and let it hit all the meat, it should be good to go...

How did you make out? Sounds like an awesome menu!

sounds delicious. can you share the recipe for profiteroles?

The meal turned out fabulous!! The steaks were excellent and the kids kept saying how great they were throughout the meal. The LOVED the grilled Caesar salad - as did I. Definitely doing that one again. I cooked up the marinade once the steaks were out of it, and they really enjoyed it with the steak. They also really liked the asparagus grilled and I grilled a red pepper, quartered, to add a bit of color to the meal.

I just bought the profiteroles but I have made cream puffs in the past... it's the same thing only smaller. I will have to dig the recipe for the dough out of my stash when I finally get all of my stuff out of storage one of these months. I made raspberry sauce out of seedless raspberry jelly - just heated the contents of a small jar with about 3 Tbsp of water until it was all blended and then let it cool. I drizzled that and chocolate syrup over them all piled up on a platter and then let them dig in.

i haven't looked very hard, but i don't think that i've ever seen profiteroles sold in stores. will have to keep my eyes open for them. it is one of my weaknesses.

Good to hear! Glad everyone enjoyed!

Costco has them. I got mine at Safeway (don't know if you have that store where you live).