What is the minium time that I should marinate a steak for?

Question

One hour, two hours, or does it have to be overnight?
I don't want my steak to turn out tough but I wan to cook it tonight!

Answer 1

If you are in a rush marinate it for at least an hour or two, and a good little tip if you have limited amount of time to marinate the steak is to use a fork and poke a few holes on both sides of the steak to let the marinade really get into the steak. It works great. It works the best with flank steak, but it will work well with any kind. Ideally you will want to marinate a steak overnight, two or three days at the most, any longer and the steak will get too salty (depending on what your marinade is). Hope this helps!

Answer 2

It depends on the marinade, but less than 1 hour may not get you too much, but it's better than nothing. Two hours to overnight (depending on the marinade). If you want to cook it tonight, pop it in.

You can, although, for future reference, over-marinate. Marinate for days, for instance, and the steak starts to get mealy and in poor texture.

I will say, though, that if you're trying to keep it from getting "tough", you don't need to marinate it. Unless you have a particularly crappy cut of meat, it shouldn't be tough. Strip steaks, rib-eyes, t-bones, London Broil, sirloins - all those should taste great without marinade.

What you need to do is NOT OVERCOOK it. This is the big mistake, and what makes it tough.

I can't give you good instructions for tonight not knowing what kind of steak and how thick it is, but it would vary anyway depending on your heat source (grill, oven, whatever).

Go to the store and buy an "instant read" thermometer in the kitchen supply aisle. They cost $10 to $15. If you're grilling, buy some garlic salt too (in the spice aisle).

Let the steak come up something close to room temperature before cooking. If grilling, coat moderately with garlic salt and rub it in.

Grill on one side (5 to 8 mins often, but depends on the steak) until juices start to show on the other or until the first side is getting well cooked - don't let the grill flame up on it, or it'll overcook.

Flip it, go for another 5 mins, then stick the thermometer in lengthwise (or at least horizontally, not from the top) so you measure the center. Take it out (don't leave it in, it'll melt).

When the center gets to 135 degrees, take the steak off. Let it sit for another 5 minutes. This lets the juices redistribute and lets the steak come up to 140 degrees, which is medium rare.

If you do this, you will not need marinade, unless you're looking for a particular flavor. If you just want it to be "juicy", then all you need to do is not overcook it. That's why they come out tough and dry. You can only cook meat (and fish) so much. Vegetables and pasta get mushy, but meats get dry and tough.

Good luck with your dinner!

Answer 3

It actually depends on what youre using I would say at least 1 hour, unless you are using Dale's, don't marinate more than 10 minutes! Your steaks will be terribly over seasoned! Ideally anything else it would be best to go overnight, since you want them now though give at least 1 hour.

Answer 4

We usually marinate ours for a miniumum of 30 minutes, and when we do, I like to take a fork and tap into the steak (or even chicken). This helps the marinade to seep into the meat a little more, especially helps when only marinating for a short time.
One of our favorite marinades is a mix of Teriyaki sauce, Worcheshire sauce, and liquid smoke. Just a little of each goes a long way.

Answer 5

You can marinate for however long you want to. The longer you do it the more flavor you will have. Also if you don't have time marinate it for as long as you can and then when you go to cook it, pour some of the marinade on the steak.

Answer 6

Two hours is about right unless it is a really salty marinade. If you don't have 2 hours to wait; poke some holes in the meat and marinate it as long as you can.

Answer 7

20-30 minutes is considered long enough.