How to make marinated bourbon steak tips

For Father's Day, 2018 we hosted the first official cookout at our new home, and we got to give the new grill a workout.  The day before Father's Day, I made a shopping list and set out to purchase items for our meal. At this point, I didn't need to look in the the refrigerator or cabinets to see what I needed since all were still bare, but I was determined to create a meal as if we have been in our home for years and that included grilling up some  Kielbasa, hamburgers, and marinated steak tips.  I have created some highlighted links within this post if you need or would like to research any of the items or similar items that we used. 

While at the grocery store, I read the ingredients on the prepared package of marinated steak tips and there were so many unknown ingredients that I decided to make my own marinade and looked up the base ingredients for a Bourbon marinade.

3 1/2 - 4 lbs Beef Sirloin tips

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup and 3 Tbsp. of honey

2 shots (or two purchased nips) of bourbon ( I had no idea the small bottles were not called nips in other parts of the country until recently)

1/4 tsp. salt

How to make Bourbon Marinated Steak Tips

Cut the beef sirloin tips into cubes and place in a one gallon sealable bag or bowl then set aside

To make your marinade, combine the above ingredients in a bowl and mix well until the honey is dissolved. 

Pour marinade into the bag or bowl covering the sirloin tips and seal / cover. 

Place in a refrigerator overnight. If using a sealable plastic bag, you might want to place it in a deep container, like a roasting pan, in case it leaks (let's just say I'm glad I did!). 

my base ingredients for a Bourbon marinade - Soy souce, honey, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, bourbon (or an american whiskey), salt

The marinated steak tips were placed in a sealable bag, such as a Ziplock bag, and then I poured in the marinade sauce. I used two bags, but you could use one depending on the amount of meat you are marinating.  Squeeze out any excess air before sealing the bag and place into the deep pan or baking dish.  I flipped the sealed bags over a couple of tips before heading off to bed, then I did it a couple times more in the morning just to make sure each piece was soaked in the marinade. 

We finally got a new grill! We had two oldies at our new home, that were way past the point of no return, and tossed them before the move knowing a new all stainless grill would be purchased. The Mr. went for this all stainless grill from Weber and he loves it! He opted for the black top over the all silver and I like it!   Our other grills did not have interior stainless parts like this Weber grill does and they had to replaced once already and they were deteriorated again, so it was time for them to go.  We also invested in a new cover.  NOTE - Weber makes several size and style grills including grills without the stainless interior that costs less, so the choice is up to the consumer. 

At this point the Kielbasa was already cooked and was put in the warming drawer of our oven. Up next up was the marinated Bourbon steak tips followed by the burgers.  In the above picture, you will see I poured the Bourbon marinated steak tips into the pan along with the marinade sauce to be used while grilling. You may already know this, but.do not use any of the left over marinade unless it is cooked. 

One of my stepsons cooked the Bourbon steak tips while the other grilled the burgers and they came out great.  It was so nice having a grill that finally worked properly and evenly cooked.

Since the steak tips were smaller cuts of meat, my stepson cooked them on high heat, making sure to turn and sear them on all sides. He stood by them the whole time making sure they did not get over-cooked.  As the steak tips were cooking, marinated that was saved was used to baste the steak tips as they cooked.  Instead of spooning on the Bourbon marinade, I gave him a turkey baster with the syringe tip installed.  It worked perfectly! 

And there you have it, a recipe for how to make a Bourbon marinade and how to grill Bourbon marinated steak tips.