Bring on the end of summer grilling! This steak marinade came about almost by fluke. I knew I needed an acid plus tons of garlic (duh) and some sort of herb, but from there it was totally random! The resulting steak was so juicy and tangy, which I credit to the lime. It’s probably the best marinade I’ve ever made, ever. Seriously.
Traditionally my husband does the grilling in our house, however I’ve recently started taking over the job. When I was a kid my dad would have me stack and light the charcoal, which really pays off now. The first couple of times grilling on my own was like riding a bike!
This marinade resulted in an amazing steak on the grill, but if you’re reading this in less-than-desirable winter weather, you could also pan fry and it would still be lovely.
Here’s what you need for the marinade:
Avocado oil
Coconut aminos
Garlic
Cilantro
Red pepper flakes
Ginger
Limes
Salt
Top Sirloin Steak
It will take you just a few minutes to combine all of the ingredients with the steak, and then it goes straight into the fridge to marinate.
Nutrition
Beef is controversial. Recently the World Health Organization International Agency for the Research on Cancer has declared red meat as “probably carcinogenic” – especially if you cook your meat using high heat. Lower heat methods will be less likely to be carcinogenic.
It is my opinion that everything should be eaten in moderation. If you’re consuming barbecued red meat every day, then YES, you are probably increasing your chances of cancer. However, if you barbecue once or twice a month during the summer, you’re probably fine. Life is a fine balance between enjoyment and health. Barbecued steak is delicious AND still nutritious.
Additionally, the WHO study did not evaluate differences in different types of red meat on cancer risk. Grass-fed pastured beef has almost a completely different nutrient profile than grain-fed beef. For instance, grass-fed beef has a third less fat than grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef has a high CLA content (which helps to prevent cancer!) and has four times as much vitamin E (think antioxidants!), and four times as much omega-3’s than grain-fed beef! The omega-3’s in grass-fed beef is almost as much as what you’ll get in salmon! With that said, if you have the luxury of purchasing grass-fed and pasture raised beef, then do it.
No matter how your beef was raised and fed, beef is still one of the only ways to yield B12 from your diet. It’s also a good source of iron, niacin, folic acid, thiamin, and pantothenic acid.
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- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 4 cloves of garlic
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp powdered ginger
- 3 limes, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 pounds of Angus beef, top sirloin (grass-fed/pasture raised if possible)
- Except for the steak, add all ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until the garlic and cilantro are minced.
- Place steak in a glass container (like a Pyrex) and pour the marinade on top. Cover the container and place in the fridge to marinate for at least six hours. The longer, the better!
- Once done marinating, cook on a hot barbecue (roughly 4 minutes per side for medium rare) or pan sear on high heat (roughly 3-5 minutes per side).
Adler, Jennifer, and Jess Thomson. Passionate Nutrition: a Guide to Using Food as Medicine from a Nutritionist Who Healed Herself from the inside Out. Sasquatch, 2015.
“Q&A On the Carcinogenicity of the Consumption of Red Meat and Processed Meat.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 17 May 2016, www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/.
Haas, Elson M., and Buck Levin. Staying Healthy with Nutrition: the Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine. Celestial Arts, 2006.