Tonight I made a grilled London Broil for friends, and I wanted to do something a different with my marinade. So I threw together some smart ingredients and created a rich, smoky marinade that would translate well for all types of game. The key with this marinade is that whatever you are cooking, it needs to be grilled. Real open flame is what I’m talking about people. But regardless of how you make it, here’s the recipe for my marinade.
Espresso Marinade for Beef and Venison
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice (2-4 limes depending on size)
4 tbsp. yellow mustard
2tsp. ground ginger
5 whole cloves of fresh garlic (substitute 3 tbsp minced garlic)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper
4 tbsp. finely-ground Starbucks Sumatra Coffee or espresso beans (substitute traditional commercial ground coffee—the darker the roast the better) *
1tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
*No, the coffee/espresso will not make your meat taste like coffee. It burns off and adds a smokiness to the meat that feels natural on your palate, rather than chemical like some sauces. Ahem, Liquid Smoke.
Combine all ingredients into a blender and puree on high for 3-5 minutes until smooth. Coffee/espresso grounds may be visible in the mixture if you used pre-ground coffee like Folger’s Classic Dark Roast; just make sure all the ingredients are well blended. Pour some marinade into the bottom of whatever pan or dish you will use to marinate your meat. Then place your meat in the pan, smother with marinade and place in the refrigerator, allowing the meat to marinate for at least 4-6 hours prior to cooking. Meat can marinate up to 14 hours, but should not sit much longer.
This will marinade about three or four pounds of meat, depending on the cut. It’s always a good idea to make more marinade and set some aside to freeze for another time, than to make too little
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Tonight we had a tenderized 3lb. London Broil that marinated for about 4 hours. I threw the meat on an oiled-up white-hot grill on each side for 8 minutes to achieve perfect medium-rare/medium. (I learned a trick a while back to brush the grill with a bit of olive or vegetable oil to keep the meat from sticking and to help achieve those perfect grill marks. For non-marinated meats, a sprinkling of sugar on the meat will achieve the same effect—and no, it won’t make your meat taste sweet.) No picture for tonight’s dinner. Zero to stomach in 10 minutes. Sorry, but it was really friggin’ good!
Enjoy!
*I did also discover that I still have not learned how to properly prepare rice. You would think that with all my culinary skills and knowledge of food history that I could prepare this most basic staple. But no, I ruin rice. Someone want to teach me? Now accepting applications.
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