Mason-Dixon Recipes

Omaha Steak Marinade

I love how the men stand around cooking the barbie while the women have done all the work beforehand doing the marinade and making the salads and then everybody says, "What a great barbie" to the guy cooking.

         — Curtis Stone

Originally, marinades were simply made from salt water. This imparted flavor, but its main function was just to help preserve the meat. Sometimes actual sea-water was used, which is where the word "marinade" came from. It was called aqua marina, from the Latin mare for sea; hence marinade.

Today, marinades are seasoned liquid to enhance primarily the flavor of meat before cooking it. The mechanics of how that happens and benefits are disputed. In general, the flavor of the meat is changed, not the tenderness. You can’t turn a hunk of shoe leather into filet mignon, but you can make it taste better.

Marinades are, not surprisingly, highly regional. Whether its tangy, spicy, or smokey, each region stamps its own personality on a marinade. This one comes from the Midwest.

INGREDIENTS

¹/₃ cup soy sauce
¹/₂ cup olive oil
¹/₃ cup lemon juice
¹/₄ cup Worcestershire sauce
1¹/₂ tbsp garlic powder
1¹/₂ tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried basil
¹/₂ tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Mix and pour over meat, cover, and refrigerate up to 8 hours.

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