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.
I tried both recipes. Unfortunately it was a flop. Much too sweet for anyone in my family to enjoy.
Sorry you were disappointed Madi!
Do I simmer the sauce for 5 minutes or do I add the steaks in there as well?
Hi Kali – You’ll simmer just the marinade ingredients. The steak tips are cooked later in the recipe.
Truly happy I came across this recipe while searching for sirloin tips recipes. My fiancé & his son really enjoyed the flavors of the marinade & the tenderness of the tips, they want to know when I’ll be grilling again with this delicious recipe!! Thank you!!
You’re very welcome Cathy – so glad you all enjoyed the recipe!
My son is the pickiest eater I know; he gobbled these up and asked for more! All of us gobbled it up, actually! We also made the Parmesan Truffle fries; sans truffle unfortunately, as my husband is incredibly allergic to mushrooms. But they still loved them. It’s not often both DH and son say, “You need to save this so we can have it again!”
Yay Stephanie! As the mom of a picky eater too, I share your excitement! So glad the recipe was a hit!
The marinade by it self taste bland. Lacking seasoning. I double checked the ingredients. Is that how its supposed to be?
Hi Eric – The marinade flavors as written are meant to compliment the flavors of the steak, not mask the flavors, to be served as a sauce, or eaten on it’s own. Having said that, any recipe is starting point and you should always feel free to add your favorite seasonings if you’d like!
How would you cook the steak tips on the stove instead of grill?
Hi Kelly – The big difference would be that you’d want to blot as much of the marinade off the outside of the tips as possible so the liquid doesn’t steam the tips, and they caramelize instead. Also if you have a ribbed grill pan, that would be the pan to use.
My kids love this
Yay – So glad the recipe was a hit! Thanks for taking the time to write to us Michele!
After cooling the marinade and adding it to the meat can I then freeze both the marinade and meat together until ready to thaw and cook?
Honestly don’t see any reason why you couldn’t do this by why would you want to? If it was me, I would freeze the steak, then when ready, thaw, marinate and grill the next day.
Delicious! Definitely will make again!
Thanks Vicki!
Do you have to marinate 8 hrs?
That’s our recommendation for the best results, but if you have run out of time, I’d suggest at least 1-2 hours at room temperature
Thank you.😊