Skip Tenderizer: Marinate Steak In A Bottle Of This Beverage For A More Tender Cut

Few things make us feel happier than sipping on a good glass of wine while enjoying a thick, juicy steak. At first glance it's a combination as old as time, but beneath the surface lies a world of flavor nuance, and home cooks can tap into that by turning the wine from an accompaniment in a glass into a marinade. We've highlighted how enzyme-based marinades like those containing pineapple can tenderize steak, but it's the acids in wine that help relax the proteins in meat, helping it melt in your mouth when cooked.

You can use either red or white wine to marinade your steak, but there are a few dos and don'ts to navigate. Chef Antonio Morichini of New York's Via Vai restaurant warned home cooks to give cooking wines a wide berth, as they often contain lots of extras, including salt, which could unbalance your flavors. You may also be tempted to slosh cheap wine over your steak, but its harsher taste profiles could do more harm than good. We recommend using a bottle you'd be happy to drink; that way, you're not paying an outrageous price, plus you're imbuing the meat with flavors you like.

Although you can marinade your steak in wine for as little as 30 minutes or up to 24 hours, some experts suggest using a low-acid wine if you're steeping the meat for a longer period, preventing the proteins from breaking down too much and turning mushy. If you're not sure whether your preferred plonk is low in acid, swing by your local wine merchant and ask their advice.

Just as beer marinades for steak offer a variety of flavors, so it goes with wine. If you want to push the envelope for your steak marinade, there's a lot to choose from, and personal taste will dictate everything. We love medium-bodied reds like Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon, but dry whites, such as a bright Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc, are also delicious in a marinade for beef. Non-alcoholic wines, which are initially made the same way as full-bore bottles, then treated to remove alcohol, can also make complex, flavorful marinades for steak.

The wine you choose is just one component of your steak marinade, of course. Give it extra layers with aromatics, herbs, and spices. It's important to carefully marry the wine with these added ingredients; a robust red might drown them out, while a delicate white may not cut through the other flavors. Likewise, pay attention to the container you marinade your steak in. Non-reactive glass is best, as some metals don't play well with red wines and can negatively affect the end result's flavor.

It's also worth noting that, although you can reuse some of your wine marinade to make a sauce, only do so if you're going to boil it first, per USDA advice. Otherwise, you should throw it away. Remember that you only need enough marinade to cover the meat and that it doesn't need to be swimming in liquid.