How to marinate an ideal steak

I used to think that it was enough to put a piece of meat in a frying pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and I would get an excellent steak. If I hold it a little less than usual, there will be a steak of medium roast, a little more – strong. Therefore, I was not sure why there is a whole culture of steaks, and in many restaurants properly roasted meat is almost a highlight in the menu.

Of course, I was wrong. Starting to investigate the part of the Internet in which the “steak gurus” and cooks gather, I realized that these people can teach the same crazy ones as themselves, but not a beginner.

This material is another matter.

The American Lifehacker experiment I want to divide into three parts:

1. What they took – what ingredients were used for the marinade.
2. What was done – what actions were done with meat and marinade.
3. What happened was which steak was the best.

What did they take

Glory to the culinary gods – the cook did not become perverted and took the usual products as ingredients for the marinade:

• half a cup of soy sauce,
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce,
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped onions,
• 2 tablespoons of sugar,
• 4 crumbled cloves of garlic,
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (you can cook yourself, you can buy in the store),
• 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.

What did

Each of the four steaks in different ways marinated:

1. The first steak is a quarter marinade 12 hours before frying.
2. The second steak is a quarter marinade three hours before frying.
3. The third steak is a quarter marinade 45 minutes before frying.
4. The fourth steak was fried with salt, sugar and pepper, then they made holes in it, poured marinade into them, wrapped in foil and left for five minutes.

What happened

The most extreme methods won.

1. The first steak had the most pronounced flavor of marinade with a note of soy sauce. Despite the long process of marinating, the steak remained moderately firm.
2. The second steak. The taste of marinade was heard, but, in comparison with the first steak, it is not so pronounced – this is a minus. The meat was not so soft.
3. The third steak, due to the short pickling time, retained a solid structure, but practically did not absorb the taste of the marinade.
4. Fourth steak. Since garlic and onions from marinade were not absorbed into the steak, their taste was noticeably different from the taste of meat. And this did not add points. In addition, there was not a taste of well-roasted meat, which was marinated for a long time. But salt and sugar were well heard.

In general, Suzanne Chen, the chef who conducted the test, suggests choosing either the first option with prolonged pickling, or the latter, if you want to preserve the taste of meat and give it only a small tint of marinade taste.