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February 1, 2022 Beef

Traeger Grilled Bourbon Steak Tips

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Marinated in a combination of sweet and savory flavors (with a splash of bourbon), these Traeger grilled bourbon steak tips come together in a quick hour and result in a delicious and tender dinner option. Served with some grilled onions and mashed potatoes, it is the perfect quick Traeger grilled winter meal. 

finished bourbon steak tips
finished bourbon steak tips

If you were to come into my house, you’d quickly find out that I love to collect interesting and delicious bourbons. While I don’t get the chance to enjoy a drink as often as I wish (hello twins!), I do try to enjoy a glass– neat, of course– a couple of times a week. So when my wife suggested we make a recipe using bourbon as part of a marinade, I was both excited and perplexed. I certainly didn’t want to use something too rare or valuable, but also didn’t want to shortchange the recipe. 

So I grabbed my go-to bourbon for cooking– Buffalo Trace– and got ready to pull together a delicious and quick meal for the family. Marinating while the grill gets hot, we can usually whip together this dinner in under an hour and the leftovers are something I look forward to eating at work the next day for lunch. These Traeger Grilled Bourbon Steak Tips will become a family favorite and because they grill hot and fast on the Traeger, they’re great for a cold winter night– much less time required standing in the cold while you cook!

PRIMARY INGREDIENTS FOR BOURBON STEAK TIPS

  • Steak tips or tenderloin pieces- we source ours from Snake River Farms
  • Bourbon
  • Brown Sugar
  • Soy Sauce 
  • Garlic
  • Worchestershire sauce
  • Oil
  • My Garlic Junkie seasoning from Spiceology
  • Sweet white onion

For this recipe, we kept it super simple to ensure that the flavor of the ingredients we used came through. Brown sugar is a critical ingredient in this recipe because it carmelizes really well on the hot grill and adds a new dimension to the finished dish. Because these bourbon steak tips are cooked hot on cast iron, you can get great all-around searing and the brown sugar gets slightly sticky and coats the meat really well. 

Bourbon steak tips ingredients
Bourbon steak tips ingredients

WHY COOKING THIS ON THE TRAEGER WORKS 

As you know, cooking on the Traeger year-round is one of my favorite things to do. Of course, doing so during snowstorms and cold spells is a little unpleasant, but because of the versatile ways you can use a Traeger– low and slow or hot and fast– you can cook according to how long you want to be outside.

 A Traeger, with its wood-pellet fuel, is designed to have a constant source of heat for both long and short cooks. No need to go out and stoke the fire during a snowstorm if you’re slow-smoking a pork shoulder in your Traeger. And likewise, when cranked up to high heat, the Traeger produces really consistent and even heat for searing things like burgers, chicken, and of course these Bourbon Steak Tips!

I like to use my Traeger Ranger for an application like this because it’s compact and quick to get hot. But if you have another Traeger model, doing the same kind of high-heat, quick cooking on cast iron is easy to do. All you need to do is put a cast-iron skillet or griddle in the Traeger while it heats up and you’ll have the perfect, screaming hot surface on which to cook these Bourbon Steak Tips. 

STEP-BY-STEP

  • Make the marinade for the steak.
  • In a dish or bowl, combine the bourbon, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, oil and garlic junky and whisk until the brown sugar dissolves. 
  • To the marinade mixture, add the steak pieces. Turn to coat evenly. 
  • Slice the sweet white onion into ½” thick rings and place in the marinade with the steak, turning to coat. .
  • Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (and preferably 30) while the grill gets hot. 
  • Preheat your Traeger Grill to high heat (450* on most grills) and place a cast iron pan, griddle or insert inside to let it get really hot.
  • When the grill is hot, add a little oil to the cast iron. 
  • Remove the steak from the marinade and place pieces on a paper towel to allow the extra sauce to run off. 
  • Grill the steak pieces on the grill until just cooked through and brown on all sides. 
  • While the steak is cooking, also grill the onion rings until tender.
  • Remove meat from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then serve. 

  • Bourbon steak tips marinating
    Bourbon steak tips marinating

RECIPES SIMILAR TO BOURBON STEAK TIPS TO TRY

Maybe I should make a Cooking with Bourbon category on my blog? Because as they say, everything is better with bourbon. Definitely use a fairly nice bourbon for this recipe, which will be worth it. And since you need such a small amount, there will still be plenty to enjoy alongside dinner. 

Other recipes that I’ve used bourbon in include: 

  • Palisade Peach Bourbon Crisp
  • Scallops in an Old Fashioned sauce
  • And my favorite spatchcocked turkey that brined in a mixture including bourbon

Products used in this cook:

  • Traeger Grill- I used my Traeger Ranger with the cast iron plate, but you could definitely use any model of Traeger you have
  • Cast iron griddle or pan if you don’t have a Ranger insert
  • Cambro pan

Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to know how it turned out!
Leave a review below or snap a photo,
share it on Instagram and tag me at @ThisJewCanQue

finished bourbon steak tips

Traeger Grilled Bourbon Steak Tips

thisjewcanque
Quickly marinated in a mix of brown sugar, bourbon and savory ingredients, these steak tips grill up quickly and are the perfect quick weeknight meal.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Marinate Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
Course beef, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Traeger grill
  • Cast iron griddle, pan or insert
  • Dish or pan for marinating

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound of steak tips or tenderloin pieces
  • ¼ cup bourbon
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1 clove garlic smashed
  • ¼ cup Worchestershire sauce
  • ⅛ cup oil- any kind
  • 3 tbsp Garlic Junkie seasoning from Spiceology
  • 1 large sweet white onion

Instructions
 

Prepare the Marinade

  • Combine the bourbon, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, oil and garlic junky in a dish or pan and stir well until all the ingredients are combined
  • Slice the white onion in ½ inch rings
  • Add the steak pieces to the marinade mixture and turn to coat
  • Then add the sweet onion and submerge in the marinade
  • Cover the pan and refrigerate at least 15 minutes

Grill the Steak and Onions

  • Preheat your grill to 450* and include a cast iron skillet, griddle or insert
  • When preheated coat the pan with a little oil
  • Remove the steak and onion from the marinade and allow the excess sauce to run off on a paper towel
  • Grill the steak pieces and the onion rings on the grill about 2 minutes per side, turning frequently until just cooked through and brown all over
  • Pull the steak and onions from the grill and allow to rest 5 minutes before serving

Notes

If you want to add more savory flavors to this dish, add a tablespoon of dijon mustard to the marinade. It’s great served with mashed potatoes!
Keyword Bourbon steak tips

Categories: Beef Tags: beef, beef tips, bourbon beef, grilling

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