Not Pickle Juice: Marinate Steak In This Budget-Friendly Ingredient For A Tender Cut

There are lots of reasons why steak tastes better at a restaurant, but that doesn't mean home cooks can't achieve a tender bite with the simplest ingredients. If you're out of pickle juice to marinade your meat, a jar of kimchi has got your back. Lots of people pile the fermented cabbage and veggies atop of their meat, but the liquid it comes in is also key to a uniquely delicious, tenderized steak. The secret is the lactic acid in the kimchi liquid, which helps break down the meat just enough to soften it while at the same time infusing the flesh with all that delicious kimchi flavor.

Unlike some marinades, steak can reportedly be left to soak in kimchi brine for a long, long time, particularly for tougher or bone-in cuts. Max the Meat Guy immersed beef short ribs in the kimchi and its sauce for an eye-popping 10 days and was staggered at the meat's color (it was pinker than expected) and its delicious flavor. Still, you may wish to start with a shorter marinade to the tune of 2 hours or so, especially if you have a thinner or more tender cut on hand. 

Just as with this cold coffee marinade, you can add other ingredients to your kimchi sauce before slathering it on your steak. Mayonnaise is a popular inclusion, as it helps the liquid stick to the meat. An open jar of kimchi can last for between a week and up to a year, depending on where you keep it, during which time the flavor will intensify. So, if you're using an old jar's sauce to marinade your steak, it may not need to sit as long.

Given its popularity, you could be forgiven for thinking that kimchi has been a staple of the American food landscape forever, but it's a relative newcomer. Before the 2010s, it was a specialty item in the States, though now we happily chow down on many different kinds of kimchi. Its complex flavor will work magic on your marinated steak, as well as cuts of pork, chicken, and even salmon.

The sauce from a jar of store-bought kimchi is good for more than just a marinade, too. Add a dash to pancake batter or a home-made dressing to give the results some zing. It readily brings brightness to a bowl of fried rice or a panful of scrambled eggs, adds depth of flavor to even the humblest soup or stew, and gives a michelada a delicious twist.

Having a jar of kimchi in your pantry isn't just a shortcut to flavor (it makes a wonderful, if unusual, burger topping), as it comes with a laundry list of health benefits, too. Per Frontiers in Microbiology, kimchi has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, is probiotic, and can help reduce cholesterol, among many other advantages. That said, some brands are higher in salt than others, so it pays to read the label carefully.