How Do I Choose the Best Teriyaki Steak Marinade?

Teriyaki sauce can make a flavorful marinade for grilled, broiled or sauteed steaks. Cooks have the option of preparing a homemade teriyaki steak marinade, buying a ready-made marinade or mix at the grocery store or making a semi-homemade marinade by mixing store-bought teriyaki sauce with additional ingredients. The cook should first decide what flavorings he wants in his teriyaki marinade and then determine how long he want to marinade the steaks before cooking them. Once he has decided on seasonings and marinating time, he can choose the recipe or product that best fits his plan.

The easiest method of using a teriyaki steak marinade is to buy either a bottled marinade or a powdered mix to use on the meat. These are good options for novice cooks and those who aren’t familiar with Japanese cooking styles. Most of these products call for the meat to be marinated for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. For additional flavor, the steaks can be basted during the cooking process with marinade that been boiled or has not come into contact with the raw meat. Some of these products may contain preservatives or other ingredients that may be undesirable, so it is important for consumers to check the labeling before purchasing.

Preparing a homemade teriyaki marinade is a more difficult process but gives the cook complete control over the ingredients in the dish. Cooks may wish to start with a teriyaki recipe and modify it to fit their tastes. Most simple teriyaki marinades and sauces can be made by reducing a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine and sugar or honey. Some recipes also may call for ginger, garlic or other traditional Japanese seasonings to add additional flavor.

Cooks who want to have more control over their recipe but don’t necessarily have the time to make a teriyaki steak marinade from scratch may wish to try a semi-homemade recipe that blends a pre-made product with other ingredients. Adding fresh ingredients to a store-bought sauce can boost flavor and have guests believing the cook prepared everything from scratch. This is a good option for intermediate cooks who want to experiment with their dishes without a lot of extra work.

Teriyaki steak marinade recipes can be found free in online recipe databases and some food manufacturer’s websites. There also are a number of cookbooks that are dedicated to Japanese cuisine and have recipes for marinade. Before preparing a new recipe for guests, cooks should first test it for themselves to see how it turns out.