Return to News
Although high-quality beef doesn’t require a marinade for tenderness, there are still advantages to marinating, like extra flavour. If you like to cook with secondary cuts of beef (like chuck, round, brisket or shank), marinades will help to tenderise the meat.
Regardless of whether you are marinating for taste or texture (or both), the amount of time you should marinate the meat depends on the beef cut.
How Much Marinade?
In general, allow about ¼ cup of marinade per 500 grams of beef. Since most marinades contain an acid (like lemon juice, vinegar or even yoghurt), make sure you don’t leave the meat to soak up the marinade in a metal pot (the acids reacts with the metal and causes undesirable flavour). Ideally, place the marinated meat in a glass/plastic container or a ziplock bag, and then refrigerate according to the times below. Make sure to let the meat return to room temperature before you cook it, as this will allow the muscle fibres to relax (and the meat to cook more evenly and become more tender).
Want to know how to make marinades from scratch? Check out our 6 steps for making delicious marinades.
Beef Marinating Times
| Primal | Cuts | Marinating Time |
| Chuck (Steaks) | Chuck Arm Steak, Chuck Eye Steak, Mock Tender Steak, Chuck Shoulder Steak, Top Blade Steak | 4 to 6 hours |
| Chuck (Roasts) | 7-Bone Roast, Arm Roast, Chuck-Eye Roast, Cross Rib Roast, Shoulder Pot Roast | 8 to 10 hours |
| Rib (Steaks) | Rib-Eye Steak, Rib Steak | 30 minutes to 1 hour |
| Rib (Roasts) | Rib Roasts, Rib-Eye Roast | 1 to 2 hours |
| Short Loin (Steaks) | T-Bone Steak, Tenderloin Steak, Top Loin Steak | 30 minutes to 1 hour |
| Short Loin (Roast) | Tenderloin Roast | 1 to 2 hours |
| Sirloin (Steak) | Sirloin Steak, Tri-Tip Steak | 2 to 4 hours |
| Sirloin (Roast) | Tri-Tip Roast | 4 to 6 hours |
| Round (Steak) | Round Steak, Round Tip Steak | 4 to 6 hours |
| Round (Roast) | Bottom Round Roast, Eye Round Roast, Round Tip Roast, Rump Roast, Tip Roast | 8 to 10 hours |
| Plate (Steak) | Hanger Steak, Skirt Steak | 4 to 6 hours |
| Flank (Steak) | Flank Steak | 4 to 6 hours |
| Brisket | Trimmed | 10 to 12 hours |
| Brisket | Untrimmed | 16 to 18 hours |
The information in this post is adapted from The Spruce.
