Cook Marinated Steak In Fanta For 24 Hours. Here's What Happened

Carnivores across the country love to sink their teeth into a tender, juicy steak, but home cooks know achieving a glorious end result can be a game of swings and roundabouts. Getting the best steak for your particular culinary needs is an important first step, but cooking it is a whole 'nother ball game entirely. We love to experiment with different marinades to tenderize the meat and imbue flavor, but, as one TikToker learned after soaking a steak in sparkling orange soda Fanta; the wheels of that journey of discovery can very quickly come off.

Harrison Pawluk marinated a thick hunk of beef steak in a bowl of the soda for 24 hours before searing it in a skillet. Unfortunately, shortly after the meat hit the pan, things started to go wrong. The sugars in the soda burned fast, charring some parts of the steak (which also smelled strongly of the soda when it was pulled from the marinade). Although the texture of the cooked steak wasn't too bad, the taste was downright awful. Pawluk said the Fanta had "ruined" the steak, leaving it tasting "like toilet water." We're going to abide by his request not to ask how he knew that but — more importantly — we think his marinade could have worked if things had been done a little differently ...

On the face of it, there's nothing wrong with using Fanta as a way to tenderize steak. Some sodas can make great marinades because their blend of acids and sugars work together to tenderize the meat, while at the same time adding a hit of sweetness when the steak hits the grill and the sugars caramelize. Marinating steak in beer serves up similarly tender results, and they'll also give you a broader taste profile to play around with. We think the problem with the Fanta experiment lies in the fact the meat was left in the soda for way, way too long.

Fanta's sharp, citrusy taste is down to the citric acid it contains, which is refreshing as a drink, but also great for tenderizing steak. However, the soda has less sugar than Coca Cola, so the final flavor of the marinated meat is harsher and so tastes less appealing. Using sugar-free sodas – which have many unsettling issues of their own — might lead to even worse results, so what's the solution? We think Fanta could be used as a steak marinade, but we suggest leaving it for a couple of hours, rather than a full 24. A little added sugar could take the edge off that acidity, while throwing in some salt and herbs would also help enhance the meat's taste.