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My steak tip marinade is a beer-based marinade made with IPA, lemon juice, oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and spices. Beer teriyaki marinade is a result of experimenting with different ingredients I had in the fridge. The marinade is slightly sweet with a very mild kick!
Marinated steak tips are a summer grilling staple. They are easy to throw on the grill or skewer with your favorite grilled veggies. Steak tips are widely available pre-marinated at butcher shops but over the years, I’ve been marinating my steak tips with awesome results.
The best part is, that most if not all of these ingredients are already in your fridge/pantry, making it a quick recipe to pull together on the fly.
This recipe pairs great with pesto pasta salad, lemon butter couscous, or truffle fries. I’d also love to teach you how to reverse sear a steak or the basics of sous vide.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
You may be surprised how easy it is to make homemade steak marinade. There is a simple formula you can follow to create the perfect sauce:
- 1 part acid, such as vinegar, wine, beer, or citrus (lemon or lime juice).
- 3 parts fat, like olive oil, canola oil, or sesame oil.
- Seasonings and dry spices, to taste, such as herbs, garlic, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, etc.
These are just a few examples but I think you get the idea. Here is the guide I used to make my beer teriyaki marinade. How to make marinade magic.
- Sirloin steak tips: steak tips, often called sirloin tips, come in long thin strips and are ideal for marinating and grilling. Look for bright red tips that have nice marbling throughout. Fat content helps make this cut especially tender.
- Beer (IPA or Pale Ale): I recommend using an IPA or pale ale as your beer of choice. There are a lot of strong competing flavors and spices so your ale needs to stand on its own. Add all marinade ingredients in a blender or whisk vigorously in a bowl until combined. Also, see my flank steak skewers using a similar marinade!
- Fresh lemon juice: citric acid is critical for breaking down the muscle fibers and tenderizing the steak. You can also use lime juice.
- Olive oil: you can also use vegetable, canola oil, avocado oil, or sesame oil.
- Soy sauce: you can use light or dark soy sauce for a bolder flavor.
- Mirin: mirin is a sweetened Japanese sake. I’ve listed it as optional, but it’s a standard ingredient in classic teriyaki.
- Brown sugar: to balance the spices with subtle sweetness and to caramelize.
- Dry spices: I like a combo of dried parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika, and fresh garlic. You can optionally opt for garlic powder.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities below.
Mechanically Tenderizing Steak Tips
Premarinated or packaged steak tips are commonly mechanically tenderized to make them ultra-tender. If you’ve marinated steak tips in the past, and they were still on the chewy side, they’re either lacking fat content (too lean) or they need to be further tenderized with a meat mallet.
Before marinating your steak, strike the steak several times with a meat mallet until tender. Rotate and repeat on each side. It’s important not to pulverize or flatten the steak, the goal is to break down the muscle fibers so the marinade can soak in and work its magic.
Cooking Steak Tips Indoors
If you’ve tried my pan-seared filet mignon recipe you’ll better understand my obsession with using a cast iron skillet to cook steak. Cast iron is the perfect combo for searing meat on the stovetop without losing the juices. It’s also perfect for cooking steak year-round if you don’t use your grill in the winter (nothing stops us New Englanders).
Cook times and temp should be relatively consistent with either method, however, you may want to lower the heat and cook steaks longer when using a skillet to prevent burning.
| Doneness | Temperature Range |
|---|---|
| Very rare/rare | 120°F to 125°F |
| Medium rare | 125°F to 130°F |
| Medium | 135°F to 140°F |
| Medium well | 145°F to 150°F |
| Well done | 160°F and above |
More Steak Recipes You’ll Love
Enjoy this recipe? If you made this recipe, please leave a ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ star rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments!
Marinated Steak Tips with Beer Teriyaki Marinade
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sirloin steak tips (nice marbling throughout), not pre-marinated
Beer teriyaki marinade
- 1/2 cup beer, IPA or Pale Ale
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2-3 green onions, chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 1 lemon, juice squeezed
- 1-2 cloves garlic (grated), or 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley, optional
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Prep steak by cutting into varying 3-5 inch strips in length if desired. Optionally tenderize with a meat mallet for ultimate tenderness. This helps the marinade better penetrate the muscle fibers, however, it's not necessary if steak has adequate fat content.
- Combine beer teriyaki marinade ingredients in a blender or whisk in a bowl until spices and oils are well combined. Place steak tips in a container with a lid or a large sealable gallon-sized plastic bag. Pour marinade over the steak and refrigerate. Marinate for at least 8 hours and 24 hours for best results.
- Remove steak tips from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking so the steak and marinade can reach room temperature.
- Preheat the grill with the cover down to medium-high heat. Clean the grates well. Allow the grill to get hot before cooking the steak. Discard marinade after grilling.
- Grill tips for 4-6 minutes per side for medium. Depending on the thickness, it may take more or less time. Over the last few minutes, I rotate the tips to sear any non-seared edges or corners so the outside has a nice caramelized crust throughout the exterior. Let steaks rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Rare: 120°F to 125°F
Medium rare: 125°F to 130°F
Medium: 135°F to 140°F
Medium well: 145°F to 150°F
Well done: 160°F and above
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Shawn, I just found this recipe and can’t wait to try it. I do not have a cast iron pan, but I do have a cast iron griddle that can be used on the grill. Looks like this:
One side is flat the other with ridges. Can I use this to cook the steak tips on the grill?
If yes, which side do I use, and do I cook over direct heat on high?
Thanks for your response.
Hi Tracy,
I made these straight on the grill and they were awesome! Hope that helps!!!
Hi Tracy – that will work. In fact I have the exact same thing and love it. I typically use the flat side for searing bigger steaks with butter on the grill. It’s the most like a cast iron skillet. Either side will work for steak tips, since they are marinated, they have absorbed most of the flavor and you don’t have to worry about it running off. You can also straight up grill them on the grates too.
I don’t like beer can i leave it out or use something else
You may be better off finding a different marinade. The recipe is really built around the beer so no substitute.
OMG- was this marinade amazing! 10 lbs of steak tips – 5 X your recipe above, followed to the letter, and 24 hours marinading! My family went insane for these tips! Thank you for sharing!
Awesome to hear! Glad everyone liked it.
I am having 6 people for dinner. How much more steak will I need and how will I adjust the marinade recipe?
I would double the recipe, Debra. You probably want to figure 8 ounces of steak per person. Assuming you are also serving sides.
Making this tonight; any suggestions for a side dish?
Grilled asparagus, sautéed or roasted brussels sprouts, or mashed potatoes? Just a few of my favs. Also, check out my baked fries 😉
Sorry forgot to rate!
I used this recipe for a friends bbq…outstanding! “mmmm” and “top notch steak” were the first things I heard. Thank you for this recipe
Thanks Steve – glad this worked out.
Hey Shawn,
I’ve been kicking ass and taking names with your steak recipes ever since I came across your rib-eye post and I’ll be attempting your Beer Teriyaki Marinade recipe this weekend. Quick question, is their another name for “steak tips” that you’re familiar with? I searched online and came across contradicting information and wanted to make sure I use the right cut (I’ve either read that it’s the flap, the sirloin tip, etc). Thanks again!
Gary – so glad to hear you are tearing things up with K Swag. I usually see either steak tip or sirloin tip. I would shoot for that as I think it’s the “official” cut. Thanks for the note!
I think Sirloin Flap is another name.
Holy crap that was the best teriyaki steak I ever had, first time using beer for a marinade. Using cast-iron, the char was on point and each bite had a nice balance of sweet and slight tang; the double IPA made a difference with the acidity. Thanks again Shawn for the awesome recipe – definitely sharing your website with all my friends.
In pursuit of steak tips, I ended up discovering my new favorite cut of meat at my local butcher – Bavette (rests right next to the flank). I found Bavette to be more flavorful, tender, and less costly than Flank and according to my butcher, has plenty of versatility and can be cooked and served in many ways; definitely check it out as it went so well with this recipe.
Thanks Gary – I appreciate you spreading the word. I love flank steak so I will check that out and look into the Bavette cut. That double IPA sounds perfect.
Just found you…yeah because your recipes look amazing! For your marinated steak tip recipe, can I just use a sirloin cut and how thick should it be?
Thanks Sue! I’ve never tried the marinade on sirloin, but I can’t see why not. I would follow this recipe here for cook times as it’s the same process minus the chimichurri sauce. One inch thick is probably typical for sirloin. https://kitchenswagger.com/recipes/pan-seared-sirloin-steak-chimichurri-sauce-recipe/
I love that this uses stuff that I have at home! Can’t wait to try it out this week. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent. Yes, it’s so easy Sharon!