Pork Steak Marinade

Whether you’re firing up the grill to prepare tender and juicy pork steaks or sticking to indoor cooking by roasting or pan-searing your pork, a pork steak marinade can come to the rescue. In this guide, we explore what a tasty pork steak marinade entails, tips for creating one yourself, and an easy pork steak marinade recipe to follow along with. 

Flavor Variations of Pork Steak Marinade

Like marinades for any type of meat or poultry, pork steak marinade can vary significantly in flavor based on the ingredients you use. In fact, that’s one of the reasons we love marinades so much. They’re fun to experiment with, and there are virtually endless options, allowing you to create something new every time.

Pork has a relatively unique flavor, and some flavor profiles work extremely well with it. Here are a few suggestions for pork steak marinade flavor profiles:

• Fruity flavors: Pork works well with fruits like oranges, cranberries, and apples. Adding natural fruit juices to your pork steak marinade is a surefire way to flavor your pork successfully.
• Teriyaki and other Asian-inspired flavors: Asian flavor profiles pair well with pork and could be good additions to marinades when making Asian-inspired side dishes with it, like fried rice or stir-fried vegetables.
• Smoky flavors: If you want more of a fresh-off-the-grill flavor for your pork steak, try a smoky marinade with additions like Liquid Smoke or cayenne pepper. A little barbecue sauce can also enhance the flavor of your marinade.

Tips for the Perfect Pork Steak Marinade

Marinades are easy to make if you know what belongs in a successful marinade. Be sure to include an oil, an acid, and flavoring ingredients. Your oil can be something like olive oil or avocado oil, and an acid can be an ingredient like balsamic vinegar, orange juice, or white wine. Flavoring ingredients include all the herbs and spices you’ll add to boost the marinade.

From here, you can get creative and have fun experimenting. We like to add some sweetness to many of our marinades with a little granulated or brown sugar, but again, this depends on the overall flavor profile you’re going for. Our best tip: Use ingredients that fit a similar flavor profile. For instance, if you want the end result to be a smoky marinade, you probably won’t add cranberry juice. Similarly, soy sauce may not pair well with a fruity, sweet marinade. 

Finally, make enough marinade to cover your pork steaks in the refrigerator completely. You’ll want both sides of the pork to be fully immersed in the marinade for best results.

Best Method for Cooking Marinated Pork Steak

There’s no right way to cook pork steak once you’ve marinated it. Marinades are often used for tenderizing meat, making them a good choice for cooking methods that can dry out pork, like oven cooking. However, some people use marinades simply for their ability to enhance the flavor of pork. In this case, any cooking method will do.

Here are three of our other favorite cooking methods for marinated pork steak:

• Grilling: Using a marinade on grilled pork steaks really helps bring out the flavors of the grill and pork. As the grill crisps up the outside of the pork, it also weaves in some flavor from the flames, which pairs well with marinades.
• Pan-searing: This quick way to fry up pork steaks is not only convenient but is also incredibly tasty. It’s a cooking method that doesn’t add a lot of its own flavors to the meat other than that of a good sear, so your marinade can shine through.
• Sous vide: You can keep a bit of marinade in the sous vide bag with the pork while cooking it, allowing the marinade to continue penetrating and flavoring the meat throughout the process.

Best Pork Steak Marinade Recipe

Follow along with this quick and easy pork steak marinade recipe, which takes just a few minutes to whip up.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup of low-sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup pineapple juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp minced onion
• 1 tsp minced or crushed garlic

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and whisk together until thoroughly combined.
2. Place pork steaks in a food-safe plastic storage bag or large bowl. Pour the marinade over the steaks, ensuring that each one is covered completely in the marinade. 
3. Zip the bag or cover the bowl with a lid and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least two hours or preferably overnight. 
4. Before cooking the pork steaks, pat them dry with a paper towel. Discard unused marinade.

Conclusion: Making Pork Steak Marinade

Pork steak marinade can take your steaks to an entirely new, mouthwatering level. Plus, marinades are fun to work with, as you get to let your food and flavor creativity shine through. Whether you like bold and savory or sweet and tangy, there are endless combinations of ingredients you can add to a pork steak marinade to make it work. Join us at Steak University for more cooking guides and recipes for pork, chicken, steak, and more.

Marinated Pork Steak FAQs