Black Garlic Steak Marinade
My all time favourite steak marinade that’s made with sweet black garlic, fresh herbs & punchy Dijon mustard. It’s quick to make and adds loads of flavour to any cut of beef.
This black garlic steak marinade is my all time favourite way to flavour steaks and it can be used for anything from 12 ounce sirloins, to whole picanhas and bone in roasting joints, like a prime rib! It takes 5 minutes to make and will add a seriously tasty, sweet & savoury umami flavour to whatever you choose to use it on.
If you’ve never had black garlic before, this marinade is a great introduction. This type of garlic has a richer, sweeter, more milder flavour compared to regular garlic. And it works perfectly with beef. Once your beef is marinated, you can cook it on a barbecue, in a smoker, in a pan or in the oven. It’s great however you use it!
Take a look at our ever growing collection of main course recipes for more dinner inspiration! Here you’ll find steaks, pasta dishes, barbecue, burritos & loads more.
What Is Black Garlic?
Black garlic is regular garlic that has been aged for several weeks in a controlled environment. Whole bulbs of garlic are left undisturbed at a low temperature, in a high humidity environment for 3-4 weeks. During this time, the Maillard reaction takes place, essentially slow roasting and caramelising the garlic. This turns the cloves a deep black colour, with a soft, chewy texture. The flavour changes from sharp & intense to sweet, savoury & tangy with notes of balsamic vinegar and molasses.
What You’ll Need
- Black Garlic Paste – Available as a jarred paste, in most supermarkets. This paste has a concentrated garlic flavour, so you don’t need a lot of it!
- Soy Sauce – Dark soy sauce is best for this marinade as it has a rich, slightly sweet, umami flavour that works great with the tangy black garlic.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Adds a savoury, slightly tangy flavour to the marinade. As Worcestershire & soy sauce have salty flavours, they help season the beef.
- Dijon Mustard – Mustard & beef is a great combination and Dijon adds a sharper mustard flavour compared to a mild yellow mustard.
- Fresh Thyme – I like to add finely chopped fresh thyme to my marinade but rosemary, sage or fresh oregano can be used instead.
How To Make Black Garlic Marinade
This black garlic marinade is seriously easy to make! You simply add all of the ingredients into a small bowl and mix to combine. My recipe calls for black garlic paste which is available in most supermarkets.
If you’ve got a whole bulb of black garlic, you can easily make it into paste by blending the cloves with vegetable oil. I’ve included the quantities for doing this in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
How To Use Steak Marinade For Different Cuts
This steak marinade can be used for all cuts of beef but the amount of marinade & how long you’ll need to leave it for will depend on the weight & thickness. Below there’s a rough guide on the timings for different cuts, whether it’s thinner steaks, thick bone in steaks or rolled roasting joints.
- Small Steaks (around 12 ounces, sirloins, ribeyes, flat irons, etc.)
Smaller steaks can be marinated in as little as 4 hours but shouldn’t be left for longer than a day as the texture of the meat will start to break down. - Larger Steaks (bone in ribeyes, whole rump caps)
Thicker, larger steaks can be marinated for up to 2 days. The ideal marinating time would be overnight or a whole day. - Roasts (prime rib, rolled sirloin, topside)
Marinade larger cuts of beef for 1-2 days for the best flavour but for no longer than 3 days at most. This is ideal for whole prime ribs and large rolled roasting joints like sirloin or topside.
The Best Way To Cook Black Garlic Marinated Steaks
Black garlic marinated steaks can be cooked like regular steaks, either on the barbecue, in a griddle pan or in a frying pan. To avoid burning the steaks, make sure to wipe any excess marinade off the outside before cooking and don’t cook over a high heat. Aim for a slightly gentler, medium heat instead.
As this garlic steak marinade doesn’t contain any extra sugar or honey, it’s less likely to burn compared to say a teriyaki or honey based marinade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Black garlic is readily available from most supermarkets, usually in paste form but you can also buy black garlic as whole bulbs or separated cloves as well.
Any cut of steak can be marinated with black garlic, as it adds a rich, umami flavour. Smaller cuts of steak will need less marinade & a shorter marinating time and larger steaks & roasts will benefit from more marinade and a longer marinating time.
As long as you wipe any excess marinade off your steaks before grilling, they won’t burn! Black garlic marinade doesn’t contain lots of sugar like other marinades, so as long as you don’t cook the steaks over a super high temperature they’ll be fine.
To turn black garlic cloves into paste, simply blend them with vegetable oil until smooth. As a rough guide, for 6 cloves of black garlic, you’ll need 1-2 tbsp of oil.
More Steak & Grilling Recipes To Try
- Slow Roasted Prime Rib (Reverse Seared)
- Black Garlic Roasted Picanha (Beef Rump Cap)
- Reverse Seared Fillet Steak
- Black Garlic Hanger Steaks
- Brisket Style Smoked Pork Belly
- Irn Bru Smoked Spare Ribs
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Black Garlic Steak Marinade
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 20 g Black Garlic Paste (See Notes For Using Whole Cloves)
- 1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
- ½ tsp Dijon Mustard
- ½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ tsp Finely Chopped Thyme
Instructions
- Add all of the marinade ingredients into a small mixing bowl then stir to combine.
- Next, pat your steaks dry with kitchen paper then place them into a container.
- Spoon the marinade over the steaks then use your hands to massage it into the meat, making sure to cover the entire surface of the steaks.
- Chill the steaks in the fridge for at least 4 hours or for up to a day.
- Before cooking, use kitchen paper to wipe any excess marinade off the steaks then season with sea salt and cook as you like.For using bigger steaks & roasts, take a look at the notes section below for scaling up the recipe & marinating times.
