Beer and mustard steak marinade
Lager or dark beer with wholegrain mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and brown sugar for rump, sirloin, skirt or flank steak on hot coals.
- CoalsGas
- No fire needed
- Prep
- 10 min
- On the fire
- 0 min
- Plan ahead
- 2 to 8 hours marinating
- Serves
- makes about 400 ml (1 2/3 cups), enough for 1 kg (2.2 lb) steak
- Done at
- 145°F (63°C)
Ingredients
Method
- Pour the beer into a jug and let the foam settle. Whisk in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, oil, garlic, onion and pepper until the sugar dissolves.
- Lay the steaks in a single layer in a glass dish or a large zip-seal bag. Pour the marinade over and turn the steaks so both sides are coated.
- Cover the dish or seal the bag with the air pressed out. Refrigerate and turn the steaks halfway through.
- Marinate skirt and flank steak for 2 to 4 hours, and thicker rump or sirloin for 4 to 8 hours. Longer than 12 hours makes the outside soft.
- Take the steaks out 30 minutes before cooking. Lift them from the marinade, wipe off the onion and garlic, and pat them very dry so they brown. Salt both sides.
- Braai over very hot coals, where you can hold your hand at grid height for only 2 seconds. Cook skirt and flank for 3 to 4 minutes a side, and 2.5 cm (1 inch) rump or sirloin for 4 to 5 minutes a side, turning once.
- The sugar can catch, so move the steaks to a cooler part of the grid if they char before they are done.
- To use the marinade as a baste, boil it in a small pot for 2 to 3 minutes and brush it on in the last few minutes only.
- Rest the steaks for 5 minutes. Slice skirt and flank thinly across the grain.
Done when: the steaks are dark brown outside and a thermometer reads 63°C (145°F) in the middle for medium, followed by a 5 minute rest. Take them off at 55°C (131°F) for medium rare if you prefer it pinker.
Tips
- Also suits pork neck chops (4 to 8 hours marinating, 5 to 6 minutes a side over medium coals, to 63°C (145°F)), beef sosaties (2 to 4 hours, 8 to 10 minutes turning often) and boerewors-style sausages brushed with the boiled baste in the last 5 minutes.
- Lager gives a light, malty taste. Stout or a dark ale gives a sweeter, more bitter edge that works well with skirt steak.
- Make the marinade up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge until the meat goes in.
A cold beer in one hand and the tongs in the other is part of most South African braais, so it makes sense that some of it ends up in the marinade. Beer adds a malty depth, mustard and Worcestershire bring bite, and a little brown sugar helps the crust. It is best on cheaper, fuller-flavoured cuts. Serve the steak with monkey gland sauce or straight off the grid.
Source
Adapted from Easy Beer Marinade at Berly's Kitchen and Beer-basted Barbecue Steaks at James Whelan Butchers.