Vodka In Marinade

Our answer

Nigella's Vodka Marinated Steak (from FEAST) has a marinade made from olive oil, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper and vodka. The vodka helps to carry the flavourings in the marinade into the meat as it sits in the fridge. When the steak itself is seared any alcohol on the surface will evaporate quickly and not leave any taste. Vodka itself is flavourless so you should not taste it in the sauce and if you let the sauce simmer briskly for a couple of minutes then it should help to evaporate most of the alcohol. But if you are concerned then add the reserved marinade to the pan to deglaze it and then add the beef stock (broth) and bubble for a minute before adding the butter (but remember to check how much stock you need to make the liquid up to 150ml/2/3 cup).

If you don't have vodka available then you could use red wine or red vermouth instead. If you need to avoid using alcohol then omit the vodka and use beef stock (broth) instead. However as some stocks can be quite salty you may wish to use less salt in the marinade. We would suggest using half to three-quarters of the amount of salt, depending on how salty the stock is.