basalmic vinegar, soy sauce, worchestershire...

I like to start with the basalmic, add a couple shakes of soy, a few good pinches of brown sugar and garlic powder and one big dash of Worchestershire.

the trick is an acid to start breaking down the meat fibers...some people like to use citrus too..but it's not something I like to use..I think it cooks the meat more than "breaks it down". Citrus is fine if you are doing a quick marinade but over night..nahhhhhh

This is what I use. I usually buy 2-4 striploins and this marinade is enough for all of them.

The Perfect Steak Marinade

2 cloves garlic
2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbs soya sauce
2 Tbs Olive oil

Combine in bowl, and whisk together well. Pour into Ziploc bag with steaks and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or upto 4 hours.

garlic, pepper, soy sauce

Lemon juice
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Pepper

I prefer to dry rub, but Yoshida's Gormet sauce is pretty good.

My marinate is pretty much the same as luckygardnr's but, I also add a little bit of Coke. It's a great tenderizer and gives a great flavor.

The trick like terri said is to use an acid like wine or vinegar or citrus to break down fibers, but you must also use an oil in the mix or the meat will suffer moisture loss because the vinegar pull it out.

If the steak is truly TOUGH then try pounding them out before cooking. This will break down the larger fibrous material that the acid cannot.

If the meat is really, really tough try slicing it first into strips or cubes then pound out Then marinate and then use for stir fry or hearty stew.

Coke alone or with grape jelly

I cheat and buy marinade steak already in teriyaki or maui.

For tri-tip:

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 Jack Daniels
1 T ginger, grated
3/4 cup soy sauce
3 to 4 T crushed garlic

At least 8 hours, Slice thin.

I have been eating this recipe all my life---my Mother had this from a Salinas cookbook from 1945, before I was born.

I remember once years ago marinating a piece of Flank steak with french dressing...only because someone gave me the recipe...it was great.

But I was hoping not to flavor the steak...I don't like flavors...just a good steak taste.

I got a chunk of this sirloin tip that I cut into nice size steaks, put four in a package for meals. I got 5 1/2 packages out of it and a roast....for about 25.00 dollars.

But when I tossed it into the shopping cart...I thought it was sirloin....not sirloin tip.

Will most of these ideas you have given me make it taste different?

patti

I use plain old bottled Italian dressing...its great!

I agree Patti--I want to taste the steak. I used to buy one in a bottle that didn't flavor it, but I haven't seen it for awhile (natch). Mammie's recipe wouldn't flavor if you left out the garlic. I'm trying that one (if I ever see a steak again).

Patti, if you just want to marinate the steak to make it more tender just follow the advice of using acid and oil. Now keep in mind that anything that you marinate the steak in will make some difference in taste. The vinegar/oil combo will be offer the least amount of taste alteration. Use an oil that has the least taste like grapeseed oil. Peanut oil is a good second choice. The lack of added flavor is one of the reasons it is popular for stir fry along with the higher smoke point it has compared to olive oil.

Just pounding the meat manually will tenderize and offer no change in taste.

You may consider buying meat tenderizer, which is different than marinade. It uses enzymes. You only asked about marinade in you initial post.

You can purchase meat tenderizer at the grocer or make your own. The enzyme most commonly used meat tenderizer is papain which comes from papayas. Meat is sprinkled with the powder and the enzymes help to break down the meat fibers. The same result can be obtained by marinating meat in papaya or pineapple juice but this will change the flavor a bit. Pineapples and papaya contain this enzyme, which is why you cannot use fresh pineapple in Jell-O and get it to set.

If you are looking not to change the flavor go with a meat tenderizer and pound them out.

I am a bit confused by what you said about marinating steaks in "French dressing". *French dressing* is a term that refers to vinegar and oil by by culinary aficionados and professionals. For some reason Americans refer to a mix of tomato paste, sugar and oil as "French dressing". This concoction is is referred to as Russian dressing or Catalina dressing elsewhere. It can be a bad idea to use sugar in marinade if you are going to broil steaks as the sugar will burn.

If the meat is truly tough, consider not serving them as "steaks" and using them as part of a dish. Slice thin for sandwiches or use in a dish like Ropa Vieja.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ropa Vieja

I use a bottle of red wine vinegar salad dressing (any brand). Poke the steak with a fork, put it in a plastic bag with the salad dressing 4 hours (or even overnight). Drain and throw out the marinade, broil the steak exactly seven minutes per side.