Bourbon Steak Tips, Foil Packet
Steak tips marinated at home, frozen flat, grilled over the fire the first night out.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 5, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 22 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Steak tips | 2 lb | trimmed, cut into bite-size pieces with scissors |
|---|---|---|
| Brown sugar | 1/3 cup | |
| Bourbon | 1/3 cup | |
| Neutral oil | 1/4 cup | |
| Soy sauce | 1/4 cup | |
| Dijon mustard | 2 tbsp | |
| Red wine vinegar | 2 tbsp | |
| Worcestershire sauce | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic | 3 cloves | minced, or 1 tsp granulated |
| Black pepper | 1 tsp |
Method
- At home, whisk the brown sugar, bourbon, oil, soy sauce, mustard, vinegar, worcestershire, garlic, and pepper until the sugar dissolves.
- Put the trimmed tips in a gallon freezer bag, pour the marinade over, press the air out, and lay it flat in the freezer. Five hours is the minimum if you are cooking the same day.
- Pack the bag frozen flat at the bottom of the cooler. It thaws over the drive and keeps the rest of the cooler cold on the way.
- Burn the fire down to coals and set the grate over them. No flames.
- Drain the tips, keeping the marinade off the fire, and spread them on a doubled sheet of heavy foil with the edges turned up. Fold it shut.
- Ten to twelve minutes on the grate, flipping the packet once. Open it, look at one piece, and give it two more minutes if the center is still cold.
- Discard the used marinade. It has been sitting on raw meat.
This is a night-one meal and it is honest about that. Steak tips need a cooler, so they get eaten before the ice goes. The marinade is what makes a cheap cut worth carrying: acid from the vinegar and mustard, salt from the soy sauce, and sugar that caramelizes on the coals. Cutting the tips small doubles the surface the marinade reaches, which is why the long soak actually pays off.
The foil packet is the trail change. Direct grilling over a campfire means flare-ups from all that oil and sugar, and a grate you then have to scrub in the dark. Sealed foil traps the juices, cooks evenly over uneven coals, and gets balled up and packed out. Freeze the bag flat at home and it works as a cooler block for the drive in.
Packing
One gallon freezer bag does marinating, transport, and cleanup. Freeze it flat so it stacks and thaws evenly. Bring two arm-length sheets of heavy-duty foil.
Variations
- Skip the bourbon and use apple cider plus a splash more vinegar. The sugar and acid do most of the work anyway.
- Sear the tips straight on the grate instead of in foil if you want char and do not mind scrubbing.
- Roll leftovers into tortillas with hot sauce for lunch the next day.
https://mealswithmaria.site/bourbon-marinade-recipe