Buttermilk Steak
Buttermilk steak marinates your steak in a flavorful bath of buttermilk, garlic, rosemary and pepper for a tender and delicious supper.
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Why we love this recipe
It’s all about the buttermilk! One of my favorite recipes is this one for buttermilk grilled chicken, and I’ve gotten lots of emails from folks telling me it’s now their favorite way to make grilled chicken too, because it is So Dang Tender.
(It gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling to know that there’s a nice big posse of folks all united in their love of buttermilk grilled chicken.)
A nice long soak in buttermilk is going to turn your steak delectably tender, and if you throw a few more ingredients in with the buttermilk, you can add even more flavor!
Anyway, I figured what’s good for the chicken might be good for the steak as well. It couldn’t hurt to try, right? Yep. It definitely didn’t hurt.
What is buttermilk?
Don’t be scared, but buttermilk is actually milk that has been fermented, which means that lactic acid has been added to milk to give it the thick, slightly sour taste and texture that is buttermilk.
It’s similar to the way yogurt is made, and like yogurt it is actually pretty good for you!
It’s loaded with good probiotics, and while it might not be something you want to drink straight from the carton, it is an amazing, tenderizing ingredient for everything from pancakes to, yep, buttermilk steak!
In the case of this steak, the buttermilk joins forces with some rosemary and garlic to serve up the tenderest steak ever.
And by rosemary I mean the fresh stuff. It’s glorious!
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Steak: I usually go for a flank steak for this recipe, but other cuts such as top round, skirt steak, bottom round and top round will all work. They all have a robust flavor, but need to be marinated to break down some of the tough fibers inside.
- Buttermilk: You can use either regular or low-fat. Look for it near the cream and milk in your dairy section.
Here’s how you make this recipe
STEP 1: Mix up some buttermilk, a few cloves of mashed up garlic and some rosemary stalks that you have rolled between your hands until they are crushed and the aroma of rosemary oil is wafting through your kitchen.
STEP 2: Grind in a generous amount of pepper, pour everything into a zippered plastic bag, pop in your steak, put it in the fridge and go about your day for the next 8 hours or so.
STEP 3: When suppertime rolls around, fire up the grill, pop the steak on the grill (discarding the marinade) and grill over high heat for four to five minutes per side, which makes the steak come out on the medium rare side.
Pro Tip: The best way to check to see if your steak is done is with a meat thermometer. Rare is about 125 degrees, medium rare is 135, medium is 145 and well done is 155 – 160.
If you like yours rarer, take it down by a minute per side – if you like it more well done, leave in on for a minute or two more per side.
STEP 4: Now comes the hard part. Put it on a cutting board, put some foil over it, and leave it alone for at least 5 minutes.
I know you want to dig right in, but if you do all those delicious steak juices are going to run right out onto your cutting board. If you let it rest, a lot of them will stay inside the steak where you want them.
Has it been five minutes? Okay, slice!
Recipe FAQs
You can if it is a Rosemary Emergency, but I promise that using fresh rosemary will take the flavor to a whole new level. You can usually find bunches of fresh rosemary right in the produce section.
You bet! The longer you marinate, the better.
If your steak is thicker than one inch, close the grill (this will intensify the heat and help cook the inside of the steak while the outside sears). If it is thinner than one inch, keep that top open, especially if you are aiming for rare or medium rare.
You bet! Use your heaviest skillet (cast iron is best) on the highest heat. And make sure you turn on your stove vent so you don’t have to cook to the sound of your fire alarm!
Leave your question in the comments section below and I promise to answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
I love a side of baked mashed potatoes with this steak – they can be prepared ahead of time and popped in the oven when the grill goes on.
A cherry tomato and green bean salad is always perfect, especially when those veggies are in season. And how about some chocolate chess pie for dessert?
Other steak recipes we love
Could you leave us some stars?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Buttermilk Steak
Marinate your steak in this glorious bath of buttermilk, garlic, rosemary and pepper for a tender and delicious barbecued supper. Buttermilk steak for the win!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Marinating Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- One 1 1/2 to 2 pound steak (flank, skirt and top round steak all work well for this recipe)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 4 fresh rosemary sprigs, rolled between your palms to crush the leaves
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Combine buttermilk, garlic and rosemary. Grind in a generous amount of pepper. Pour into a zippered plastic bag.
- Add the steak to the bag, seal and turn it over a few times to make sure the steak is coated. Place in fridge for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Heat grill to high. Grill steak for 4-5 minutes per side for medium rare.
- Transfer steak to cutting board, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
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- Steak: I usually go for a flank steak for this recipe, but other cuts such as top round, skirt steak, bottom round and top round will all work. They all have a robust flavor, but need to be marinated to break down some of the tough fibers inside.
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- Buttermilk: You can use either regular or low-fat. Look for it near the cream and milk in your dairy section.
Thank you, Maybe I will boil it up for the critters. I just hate wasted food and they won’t mind the texture. I usually do not do dairy based marinades. Boiling non dairy does not seem to hurt it.
Can the buttermilk left over be boiled and then used for gravy?
Hi Kathleen! Do you mean the buttermilk that the steak has been marinated in? If so technically yes, but you would want to do it this way: Strain out the garlic and rosemary, bring the buttermilk to a boil for safety, whisk in a little flour to thicken it up and then simmer it – and hope it doesn’t break, which buttermilk can do when it boils. That said, my recommendation would be to make a fresh gravy with beef stock and a little fresh buttermilk and flour whisked at the end for texture and tang. You’ll get a smoother, better-tasting sauce than trying to salvage the used marinade, although I appreciate you trying not to waste it!.