Marinate Steak With Just 3 Ingredients For 20x More Flavor

Choosing the best cuts of steak according to chefs is just one facet that makes the dish a success. But marinating? It's the pillar of all good dishes. With just three ingredients — balsamic vinegar, red wine, and liquid smoke — and a few hours on your side, your steak can be made more flavorful.

Balsamic vinegar contributes a faint sweetness and a hint of tang, making it the secret weapon for infusing meat with lots of flavor. It helps with the texture too, allowing the meat to become more tender as it soaks in the marinade. Red wine has similar tenderizing qualities, and depending on which kind you choose, it can add fruity, herby, or earthy notes, allowing the meat to develop more depth and flavor intensity. Meanwhile, liquid smoke is like a nifty shortcut to introduce smokiness without actually putting the steak on the smoker. It's typically made out of burnt wood chips to create that woody, grilled flavor experience.

Together, these three ingredients create an acidic liquid with a char-like finish and a complex flavor profile that you wouldn't expect from a simple marinade. But with great marinating power comes great responsibility, so before soaking your succulent steak in this, there are some things to keep in mind.

Choosing the right balsamic vinegar and liquid smoke should be straightforward. The red wine, on the other hand, might be a bit tricky if you don't know what to look out for. Dry red wines with little to no sugar, like malbec and merlot, are classic choices for marinades and you can't go wrong with them. A great rule of thumb when choosing a bottle is to pick one that you would enjoy sipping while eating the steak. And of course, cook with something that you find pleasant even without other elements. 

When creating the marinade, you can decide on the ratio of each ingredient based on your flavor goals. In general, a quarter cup of red wine with three or so tablespoons of balsamic should be enough for three or four strip steaks. Increase the balsamic if you want a more pronounced tang, and add extra red wine if you want a bolder and fuller finish. But when it comes to liquid smoke, make sure to add only a modest drop or two as its flavors are quite robust.

Usually, meat is soaked in marinade overnight, but throw the idea out the window for this one. After all, it's not always better to marinate food for longer, especially if you have an acidic marinade. Two to four hours is enough, or you risk the texture going to mush. And before cooking your steak, it's important to pat the meat dry to create the perfect environment for the Maillard reaction to develop. Otherwise, the steak won't get a beautiful sear which is what makes it even more delicious.