This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
I have an eight-pound beef tenderloin which I’d like to try this out on, using a cast-iron griddle. For New Year’s Eve appies. Are there parts of the tenderloin that would be more suitable than others? Should I carve it into cubes before cooking? Thanks!
Typically I wouldn’t treat a tenderloin with any marinades because it’s an expensive cut, however you could soak in the marinade for 24 hours and use the griddle to sear the outter edges. I would transfer to the oven and bake to desired temp after that. Maybe slice and serve after? Cutting into cubes before hand may dry it out and lose some of it’s tenderness. Over never tried this but just my two cents!
Thanks for the advice Shaun. I don’t need the entire tenderloin, just enough to contribute to an assortment of apps for eight people (so, approx 2-3 pounds). Think I’ll try the filet head of the tenderloin, marinade for 24, grill as I would normally for medium rare. Remove, let sit for 15-20, thin slice and double over with toothpicks to give it a more appetizer-style proportion.
For better or for worse, made this with 4 lbs of prime tenderloin tips (double recipe) for this weekend’s bbq… $DID NOT notice until check out$… Nevertheless, AMAZING! Grilled, and whether done medium-well to medium-rare based on the size of the cut, didn’t matter. Just AMAZING! As suggested (pale ale/IPA), used a Flying Dog 8.3% abv Begium IPA ;-), 24hrs marinade (I was worried about too much beer flavor, but not at all). Fortunately, had plenty of side dishes, otherwise 4 lbs would not have been enough for 7 adults. Shawn, Thank you!
I will be trying this recipe with elk tenderloins this weekend… any tips?
Shawn,
I’m looking forward to trying your recipe. I just have one question, I purchased a cast iron pan is it true that I need to Prime the pan?
Thank you
If you bought a Lodge then it will already be pre-seasoned and ready to go.
Hi Shawn, I have made this recipe several times now.It,s my favorite.Just thought I,d let you know.Thanks.
Thank you, Serge!
How much time do you add per side for medium or mefium well?
I would add 1-2 additional minutes per side. Steak tips are tough because they vary in thickness. I would cut into one to verify!
Hi Shawn, For this marinade could i use a bottled lemon juice? Its all i have on hand.
Yes – totally fine, sometimes I dilute the bottled lemon with water if it tastes too sour
I noticed that the recipe calls for 3/4 cup of olive oil. I would like to cut down on the oil. Would cutting the recipe in half for the same amount of steak work? Thx
I would cut down on the olive oil before cutting the marinade in half. You may have too little for the amount of steak. Try 1/2 a cup or 1/3 instead.
Hi, curious if I could use New York strip for this.
I’ve never tried it but I don’t see why not. Let me know how it turns out.
My favorite marinade ever!! The whole family loves it! I make a side of rosemary scalloped potatoes and roasted butternut squash for a fall twist. Love!! Thank you ?
Delicious – thank you, Julie.