A delicious marinate for steak that yields perfectly seasoned, tender and juicy Steak Tips with Caramelized Onions!
At our house, we eat chicken or fish probably 99% of the time – but lately we’ve been on a bit of a steak and potatoes kick! Sometimes, the craving strikes for a juicy burger or steak – and these Steak Tips with Caramelized Onions are a delicious way to satisfy any red meat craving!
My husband Jack developed this recipe for steak tips with caramelized onions many years ago after working in a restaurant where the tips were among the most popular items on the menu. It has a ketchup-based marinade that combines sugar, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and A-1 Sauce with the ketchup for added flavor. The combination of flavors makes a really fantastic marinade for beef! And, if you are using a less expensive cut of beef for your tips – you can also add in some Coca-Cola to the marinade which lends even more flavor, plus it helps to tenderize a tougher cut of beef!
And, a bit more about which cuts of beef to use when making these steak tips with caramelized onions…we recommend a really good cut of meat like sirloin or rib eye. (We used rib eye for the photos show here; it happened to be on sale at the market!) Whichever you choose – just look for nice marbling (thin lines of fat) throughout the meat, which will result in tender tips.
Topped with simple and delicious caramelized onions and served along with our Parmesan Truffle Fries – dinner is ready!
You may enjoy these other Steak recipes:
- Perfect Pan-Seared Steak
- Steak au Poivre with Crispy Shallots
- Perfect Grilled Sirloin Steak
- Sous Vide Grill-Seared Chuck Steak
- Chili Lime Steak Bites
Steak Tips with Caramelized Onions
Using Coca Cola is a commonly-used ingredient in steak marinades and it helps tenderize the beef. But – if you use a really good-quality cut of beef, it is not necessary and water can be used. (For our rib eye tips, we used water.)
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 6 mins
- Total Time: 8 hours 6 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup Coca-Cola or water (see note)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup A-1 Sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
Other Ingredients
- 2 pounds sirloin or rib eye trimmed and cut into large cuts as big as 2 to 3 inches square
- 1 large onion, cut into thick strips vertically
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, place all marinade ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Trim any gristle or large pieces of fat from beef. Cut into large pieces; about 2-3 inches square. Place cut beef in a zip lock bag. Pour cooled marinade over beef, seal and marinate 8-24 hours.
- In a medium sauté pan over low heat melt butter in olive oil and place onions, salt, pepper and sugar and cook stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until onions are caramelized but not cooked down too much. Start cooking tips as the onions get close to finishing.
- When you are ready to grill, drain all marinade and heat a ribbed grill pan over extremely high heat or heat your outdoor BBQ grill to the highest setting.
- Lightly oil or spray pan or grill and place beef onto grill or pan not touching each other and cook untouched for 2-3 minutes (Depending on how thick they are and how hot your grill or stove gets, the timing will need to be monitored). If you are not certain, cut into one and check for doneness. Turn once and cook for another 1-2 minutes for medium rare. Remove to a platter and serve with the caramelized onions.
Has anyone ever cooked this on the stove? Just wondering about the temperature and how it tasted?
Hi Kim – Yes – you can use a stove top grill pan over high heat to cook these steak tips!
Made this for dinner tonight with a grass-fed sirloin. Awesome recipe, thank you!
You’re welcome Denise – sounds great!
If I reheat the marinade after draining, would you recommend topping off the meat with some?
Hi Christine – We haven’t done it ourselves and I don’t think it’s necessary because you already have great flavor from the caramelization during the cooking process. Hope that helps!
These have become a family favorite! The favors of the marinade are out of this world!
Thanks Lisa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This sounds wonderful! I just took my steak out of the freezer this morning, and won’t have time to marinate it before dinner. Would you recommend still using the marinade ingredients over the steak in a pressure cooker?
Thanks!
Hi Allison – no – I wouldn’t recommend using a pressure cooker for this recipe or cut of beef. You could try thawing the steak in the marinade instead. Hope that helps! Martha
Can the marinade but used on something other steak?
Hi Kema – It would work on pork as well!
I made this Wednesday for dinner. The marinade was out of the world! Onions were also fantastic. Unfortunately the beautiful sirloin I bought was tougher than leather:( Definitely going to try again.
Sorry to hear that Suzanne!
Oh my– This sounds wonderful. We are a family that has never met on onion or garlic that we didn’t like. I cant wait to try this.
Thanks Shirley! Hope you enjoy!
I’m allergic to red wine
and red wine vinegar. Is there a substitute that would taste as good?
Hi Nikki – If you are able to have another type of vinegar – use one of those – balsamic, white wine, apple cider, etc. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Looks so yummy.
Wondering how it will turn out if I cook the steak in my crockpot after letting it marinade
Hi Candra – I actually would not recommend the crockpot for this recipe. You won’t get the same caramelization in the crockpot as you would following the recipe as it’s written.