Give Your Steak A Mouthwatering Umami Touch With A Miso Marinade

Miso paste is the salty, savory, buttery-smooth umami bomb that your steak has been crying out for. We're here to help you answer the call. Historically, fermented miso marination originated as a utilitarian preservation technique for extending the life of meat and fish. Although, the hack hasn't lost its charm over time. Celebrity chef Jacques Pépin still swears by marinating fish in miso – and the marinade gives beef an aged, matured flavor profile that usually costs extra at the butcher's shop. 

For a truly bangin' miso marinade, pair it with an alcohol component and a sugar. This can be granulated white sugar, brown sugar for richer earthy depth, or not a sugar at all. Enter: mirin, a sweet, acidic, low-alcohol Japanese rice wine. For a tangier marinade, you could soak your steak in a mixture of miso, sake, and mirin. Whatever you choose, the saccharine element creates a crisp crust on the surface of your steak, while the miso and alcohol tenderize the fibers of the meat inside. For this tip, white or red miso will work best with your steak's savory, meaty flavor.

Alternatively, feel free to play around with different flavor combinations and customize your marinade. You could pair that miso with other complementary umami ingredients like garlic cloves, grated ginger, rice vinegar, dry sherry, soy sauce, nutty sesame oil, or peanut oil. Use as little as 2 tablespoons to ⅓ cup of miso paste per 1 ½ pounds of steak, depending on how bold you like it.

To elevate your steak with funky, fermented flair, lather the raw, trimmed meat in the miso marinade. Then, wrap those saucy cuts in plastic wrap or transfer 'em to a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. If you're in a hurry, you can marinate your steak for just five hours, but for bolder flavor, feel free to let that bad boy sit for up to two days. Just take care not to over-marinate beyond that, or the steak will take on an unpleasant mealy texture.

Once your desired marination duration is complete, grab a wad of dry paper towels and blot the surface of the steak, soaking up the marinade. From there, simply cook your steak using any method you prefer. Whether you're grilling, pan-searing, broiling, smoking, or making a quick skirt steak, that miso marinade is the extra step that'll take your cut to the next level. This tip can also be a good way to breathe new life into lower-quality cuts of steak that could use a revitalizing flavor-slash-moisture boost. 

Garnish your miso-marinated steak with fresh cilantro, chopped scallions, and a squeeze of lime juice to serve. A sprinkle of smoked Maldon sea salt flakes would add a mouth-watering finish, as well. To really accentuate the miso, pair your steak with a fittingly umami-forward side dish like pan-seared broccolini and oyster mushrooms, crunchy shaved cucumbers in black vinegar, chilled seaweed salad, or Korean gamja bokkeum potatoes.