10 Most Highly Rated Recipes for Marinating Meat
We've compiled an ultimate recipe round-up for marinating meat that will be sure to leave your mouth watering. These recipes have a 4.6 or higher rating review with a cumulative average of 50 or more ratings from food enthusiasts.
Not only does marinating meat enhance your dish's flavor, but it brings out the full flavor of the meat as well. Whether it be a chuck steak, steak tips, pork ribs, beef ribs, or a pork roast, we've got the recipe for you, from bold and tangy to sweet and savory or zesty and spicy.
You can bring out even more bold flavors by smoking your meat after you marinate it, and you don't even need an actual smoker. All you need is a gas or charcoal grill and our Wood Smoked Barbecue Kit.
Remember, a few important notes on salt when marinating: salt shouldn't be added to a wet marinade, but it should definitely be used in dry marinades. When salt is used in a wet marinade, it sucks the juices out of the cut of meat, but in a dry rub it helps break down the proteins of the meat so other flavors can be absorbed. Wet marinades utilize acid, dairy, or enzymes to help tenderize instead.
Let's add those layers of flavor to your meat with these 10 best meat marinade recipes.
5 Most Highly Rated Recipes for Marinating Beef
1. Perfect Soy-Grilled Steak
Rating: ★★★★★ 5.0 from 1,153 votes
We're all looking for a quick, easy, delicious recipe, and this one serves it up with its simple ingredients--soy sauce, ginger, garlic, honey, and lime.
This is an easy 3-step recipe: mix up the marinade, toss your meat in and set aside the grill while it heats up, then spoon marinade over the meat while it cooks. The acidity from the lime juice tenderizes the meat by loosening the protein bonds, allowing the rest of the juices to be absorbed. This recipe is great for rib-eye, skirt, strip, or T-bone.
2. Asian Marinade for Steak
Rating: ★★★★★ 5.0 from 49 votes
This rich, bold Asian marinade will work with any cut of beef and even salmon. It tenderizes with tangy, sweet, zesty ingredients — rice vinegar, pineapple juice, soy sauce, garlic, fresh ginger, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper. It also serves as a base for a pan sauce or demi-glace.
3. Grilled Apple-Marinated Short Ribs
from 3,796votes
A sweet and savory marinade for beef short ribs. This beef rib marinade utilizes rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, sugar, and a Granny Smith apple to create a unique blend of delicious, compatible flavors.
4. Best Quick Steak Marinade
from votes
This 20-minute Best Quick Steak Marinade will make even a cheap cut of meat, like a chuck, hanger, skirt, or flank steak tender and juicy. You'll end up with a sweet, savory flavor from the honey, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder, combined with a bold richness from the balsamic vinegar, dried mustard, and soy sauce.
In this chuck steak marinade, the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce both serve as tenderizers while the soy sauce adds an extra layer of goodness by creating that caramelization you crave.
5. Best Beef Kabob Marinade
from votes
Even though sirloin steak tips are lean, they can be marinated to make tender kabobs.
This steak tip marinade ranks as one of the best on the internet. It serves as a simple, juicy marinade with a citrus and soy sauce tenderizer and olive oil base blended with garlic, brown sugar, basil, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce.
5 Most Highly Rated Recipes for Marinating Pork
1. Honey-Glazed Baby Back Ribs with Whiskey Marinade
from 3,056 votes
This traditional Thai recipe for baby back ribs was made to create a bold, delicious flavor.
Sweet, sticky, and smoky, this marinade is tenderized with soy sauce and whiskey paired with sweet honey, zesty ginger, cinnamon, and warm nutmeg. And it tastes as good as it sounds.
2. Classic Barbeque Ribs
from 1,050 votes
A sweet, savory marinade for pork spare ribs that only takes 15 minutes to prep and proves to be an easy dinner fix. The soy sauce makes the rib meat even more tender while the brown sugar and ketchup sweeten and the chile sauce, garlic, mustard and pepper bring zest to the rib meat.
3. Honey-Grilled Pork Loin
from 55 votes
A zesty and tangy pork loin with a sweet and sticky exterior, the sesame oil and soy sauce base tenderize while the ground ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and honey enhance the pork's flavors.
4. Balsamic Pork Loin
from 74 votes
This marinade for pork roast creates a sweet and tangy roast by incorporating dry white wine and balsamic vinegar to tenderize. Together, the vinegar and honey create a sweet, crispy coating with hints of rosemary and thyme that keep the roast delicious and moist.
5. A Great Pork Chop Marinade
from 116 votes
You can have dinner done in just over an hour — have the pork chops tenderizing in soy sauce and marinating in brown sugar, worcestershire, dijon, garlic, and black pepper while you whip up a side dish or two.
Once on the grill, all you have to do is flip the chops once they’re no longer sticky with a total cooking time of 5-7 minutes depending on thickness.
The Ultimate Round-Up For Marinating Your Meat
Whether you're enjoying a cut of beef or pork, marinating the meat first is sure to enhance your dish and bring your tastebuds to the next level. This ultimate round-up has a recipe for everyone.
If you love getting creative in and out of the kitchen, be sure to check out our Wood Smoked Barbecue Kit to kick your grill skills up a notch. See how much smoking meat can intensify the flavor of your meat with 3 varieties of wood chips to try, including cherry, hickory, and apple.
You’ll be able to experiment with these 10 most highly rated internet recipes to create new flavors you’ve never tried before. You can even impress your friends and family with your newfound skill.
