Sunny Anderson Shows You How to Make Your Steak So Much Better

Using a flavor-packed marinade is an easy way to upgrade whatever protein you prefer, but perfecting a marinade is as much a science as it is an art form. Whether your marinade is simple (oil and herbs) or elaborate you need to know how to use it correctly. And that's where BBQ Brawl star Sunny Anderson comes in.

In an interview with Tasting Table, the Food Network star shared four common mistakes you might be making when you marinate meat—and boy are they eye-opening. In the interview, Sunny focuses on steak, but these tips apply to whatever meat you're cooking (and tofu, too). Give them a try and watch your grilling game improve immediately.

Related: The 15 Best Steak Cuts and How to Cook Them (Trust Us On This!)

For starters, one of the first mistakes you could be making lies in the ingredients. The Food Network personality shared that “one of the biggest things people do wrong is a whole lot of acidity without the alkalinity.” You can balance out the acidity of vinegar, tomato juice or citrus juice with creams, milk or oils. Ingredients such as buttermilk and yogurt are both acidic and alkaline alike, and can be used to create a better balance within your marinade as well.

The second common mistake that Anderson points out is a fairly easy one to miss: “wiping off the marinade” before throwing the meat on the grill. In this case, it's not necessary to wipe it off entirely, but the goal is to prevent flare-ups on the grill and to ensure a properly browned meat when sautéing or stir-frying.

Related: Martha Stewart's Super-Simple Tip Will Give You the Fluffiest Baked Potato Ever

Another mistake that we're probably all making? According to the How’d That Get On My Plate host, we may be using too much marinade. Over-marinating your meat, for example, will create weird textures in the meat that — while still safe to eat — will most definitely look unappealing when cooked.

Lastly, it’s important to make sure to remove the marinated meat from the refrigerator before cooking and give it some time to return to room temperature. Barbecuing cold meat only leads to an unevenly cooked disaster and will utterly destroy all of the hard work put into that magical marinade.

You can read the whole interview here, along with some other fantastic barbecue tips that you can still put to use during these final days of summer. And while you’re at it, check out our roundup of amazing slow cooker BBQ chicken recipes where you'll likely find some inspiration for your next marinade.

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