A YouTube chef has shared a simple trick that could make a cheap cut of beef taste as good as a fillet steak. The method involves soaking the meat in cold coffee for several hours before cooking.
Marinade trick
Cowboy Kent Rollins, who has over three million YouTube subscribers, demonstrated the technique in a recent video. He claims the marinade is something "no one has ever heard of."
He explained: "We're talking about marinating these steaks in coffee. Yep, you heard it, coffee. You want to make sure the coffee is good and cold before you ever start this. Now what is the coffee going to do? There is acid in coffee that's going to help break down this meat to make it even more tender."
How to do it
Place the cuts of meat in a sandwich bag and pour cold coffee over them until fully submerged—about four cups. Refrigerate for at least four hours, though eight is preferable.
After marinating, remove the meat and pat it dry with paper towels. Rollins noted: "Pat them really dry with a paper towel. I want you to notice the colour has changed... that coffee has penetrated in there, it's going to make things more tender."
Season with salt, pepper, or other preferred spices, then let the steaks rest on a board for 30 to 45 minutes. They can be cooked on the hob or barbecue; Rollins used a barbecue for a charred flavour.
Taste test
After cooking to the desired doneness, Rollins sampled the meat and said: "I am shocked. I have cooked hundreds of sirloins that were never this tender. The flavour that you get from the coffee is not like a cup of coffee, but you can sort of taste the aroma of coffee."
