Grilled Steak in Beer Marinade with Salsa Fresca

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Grilled Steak in Beer Marinade – Just in time for summer patio time! This balsamic vinegar and beer steak marinade is perfect for tenderizing and adding flavour to your steaks before grilling them on the barbecue, in a cast iron pan or on an indoor grill.

Serve it with a refreshing salsa fresca, a fresh tomato salsa with a bit of spicy heat.

When You Should Marinate Steak

Marinating beef in a marinade of slightly acid ingredients both tenderizes and adds flavour to meat. This can be really handy for a cut of meat that’s lean (such as sirloin) or a steak that’s tough, such as flank steak.

You can also use beer marinades to add a boost of flavour to more tender cuts of meat such as strip loin, rib-eye and T-Bone. You can try different types of beers to add new opportunities for flavour. Marinades also make a steak turn out juicy every time

Grilled Steak Marinade – The Best Beer to Use

For this beer steak marinade I used a red lager from The Old Flame Brewing Co. in Port Perry, Ontario because the caramel red malt of this craft Vienna lager adds a delicious sweetness to the marinade. But, you could use any one of your favourite strong ale or lager beers.

When choosing a beer for your beef marinade you want to look for a beer that has a medium amount of hops flavour, the ingredient that adds spice to beer. The alpha acids from hops also add bitterness to beer.

This bitterness helps balance the sweetness of the malt and the various types of hops add flavour notes ranging from citrusy to fruity to beer.

If you’re trying to decide on a beer to use for a marinade it’s worth considering its bitterness rating. The bitterness of a beer is measured in International Bitterness Units  (IBUs), on a scale of between 5 and 120. Generally, the higher the IBUs, the more bitter the beer.

The best beer for marinating steak has a medium amount of hoppiness so it doesn’t overwhelm the natural flavour of the beef with its bitterness.  For example, the flavour of a bold India Pale Ale can be too dominating, so it’s best to enjoy a hoppy beer for sipping rather than cooking.

Another option when choosing a beer for a marinade is to go with a dry stout. The coffee-like taste of roasted barley adds character to the beer and will infuse the marinade with a delicious depth of taste.

How to Make Grilled Steaks – Time and Temperature

You want to cook steaks on a very hot grill so you get nice char marks on the outside. Whether you use an indoor grill or outdoor barbecue (gas or coal) you want to make sure it’s extra hot before starting.

Top Tip: If grilling your steaks indoors use a heavy cast iron skillet or griddle pan for a nice char on the steaks.

Timing is important when grilling steaks so if you are unsure on when the steak is done use a meat thermometer while cooking. One of my favourites is the Deiss PRO Digital Meat Thermometer  as it’s very easy to use and doesn’t take up much space.

Here’s a guide for cooking a 1.5-inch thick steak.

Rare: 1½ mins per side (an internal temperature of 120 – 125 F)
Medium rare: 2 mins per side (an internal temperature of 135 degrees F)
Medium: About 2¼ mins per side (an internal temperature of 140 degrees F)
Well-done steak: Cook for about 4-5 mins each side, depending on thickness. (an internal temperature of  150 degrees F)

Tips for Making Grilled Steaks

• When marinating the steak use a glass or non-reactive dish to avoid a chemical reaction between the metal and the acid in the marinade.
• How long should you marinate a steak? The key is successful marinating is to avoid leaving your meat soaking in a marinade for too long. One hour is long enough to infuse the surface of the steak with the flavours of the ingredients you’re using but not so long that the acid begins to “cook” the proteins as it does when you mix lime juice with raw seafood for ceviche.
• Don’t reuse the marinade – it should be discarded after use.
• Use a meat thermometer if you are unsure on cooking times.
• Make sure to let the steaks rest for around 5 minutes before cutting or serving. If you don’t let them rest they will dry out and you’ll lose a lot of flavour.
• Make the salsa in advance (at least 1 hour) so there’s time for the flavours to merge. 

Salsa Fresca

Salsa fresca, also known as pico de gallo and salsa cruda, is a mix of freshly topped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, hot peppers lime juice and salt. It adds a burst of summery freshness to grilled meats and is especially delicious if you have fresh tomatoes from the garden.

The key to making salsa fresca is to use tomatoes that aren’t too ripe. If the tomatoes are soft or the skins are wrinkly, then you’ll end up with a mushy, watery salsa. White onions are also the best choice of onion to use as they aren’t as bitter as yellow onions.

Much like our recipes for Mexican salsa verde (green tomatillo sauce),  chirmol (Guatemalan charred tomato salsa) and Freezer Tomatillo and Tomato Salsa, this salsa fresca is great with taco chips, on scrambled eggs or as a side to almost anything.

A fantastic side dish for this grilled steak is Guatemalan Black Beans and Rice – an easy, economical dish that doubles as a vegetarian and vegan entree.   

Or, for a light and creamy side, try our recipe for Jicama Apple Slaw. 

You Might Also Enjoy these Recipe Ideas for Summer Grilling and Beef:

If you enjoyed this beer marinade for beef, check out these recipes filled with the flavours of summer:

• Traeger Ribeye cooked on the Pellet Grill 
• Grilled Ribs with Spicy Peach Glaze from Jen Around the World 
• Salpicon (shredded beef and radish) Salad Appetizer 
• 15-Minute Grilled Halibut with Peach Salsa 

Print

5 from 16 votes

Grilled Steak with Beer Marinade and Salsa Fresca

An easy recipe for beer and balsamic vinegar marinade perfect for grilling striploin or other beef steaks.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time10 mins

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 servings

Calories: 187kcal

Author: Old Tomorrow Beer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup red lager beer
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar I recommend Carli brand
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• rosemary leaves finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon chile garlic sauce or one clove crushed garlic and a ¼ teaspoon red chile flakes
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Montreal Steak Spice optional

Salsa Fresca

• 1/2 cup tomatoes finely diced
• 2 tbsp white onion finely diced
• 1 crushed dried chiltepin pepper or 1/4 tsp finely diced fresh jalapeno
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed
• 1/4 tsp salt

US Customary - Metric

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients (except the salt and Montreal Steak Spice) into a bowl and mix together until well combined.
• Add your strip loin steaks to the mixture
• Marinade for one hour or longer.
• Season with Montreal Steak Spice and sea salt
• Grill the steaks over hot coals to your liking

Salsa Fresca

• Combine all the ingredients in a glass or non-reactive bowl
• Adjust seasonings and allow to rest for one hour

Notes

• You can substitute fresh mint leaves for cilantro in the salsa fresca or even use a mix of both.
• Chiltepin peppers are tiny, round peppers that pack a lot of heat and are most commonly used dried outside of Mexico and the southwestern USA.
• Another option is to serve the dried chiltepin peppers in a bowl on the side and people can crush them and sprinkle the pepper flakes on their salsa to spice it up as much as they dare.  

Tips for Making Grilled Steaks

• When marinating the steak use a glass or non-reactive dish to avoid a chemical reaction between the metal and the acid in the marinade.
• How long should you marinate a steak? The key is successful marinating is to avoid leaving your meat soaking in a marinade for too long. One hour is long enough to infuse the surface of the steak with the flavours of the ingredients you're using but not so long that the acid begins to "cook" the proteins as it does when you mix lime juice with raw seafood for ceviche.
• Don't reuse the marinade - it should be discarded after use.
• Use a meat thermometer if you are unsure on cooking times.
• Make sure to let the steaks rest for around 5 minutes before cutting or serving. If you don't let them rest they will dry out and you'll lose a lot of flavor.
• Make the salsa in advance (at least 1 hour) so it has time to marinate.

Nutrition

Calories: 187kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 69mg | Potassium: 17mg | Sugar: 8g | Iron: 0.1mg

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Michele Peterson

Dividing her time between Canada, Guatemala and Mexico (or the nearest tropical beach), Michele Peterson is the founder of A Taste for Travel. Her award-winning travel and food writing has appeared in Lonely Planet’s cookbook Mexico: From the Source, National Geographic Traveler, Fodor’s and 100+ other publications.

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