Citrus Marinade

This past weekend Eric had his Annual Roadway Barbecue for work and of course - Eric was in charge of the meat. We were going to take a shortcut and buy already marinated steaks from the supermarket. However, the quality of meat and flavor doesn't really come through when you buy it already pre-made. We bought some nice quality flap meats from Costco and used a marinade that I love for summer grilling. I recently used this marinade on chicken and knew it would work just as great on steak. I've created this simple marinade using some ingredients from our garden -Valencia oranges, Meyer lemons and fresh oregano. The citrus marinade kept the steaks moist and juicy and the flavors were infused from fresh herbs and citrus. The simpler the recipe, and awesome is the taste!

Citrus Marinade

Original Krystal recipe

Ingredients:

Protein of your choice (i.e. 2 chicken boneless chicken breasts or 1 pound of flap meat steak)

1 orange, zested

1 lemon, zested
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of fresh oregano
juice of the lemon
juice of the orange
1 tablespoon of Cumin
1 tablespoon of Complete seasoning *it's in the Mexican specialty aisle at Ralphs or at ethnic markets* 
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper (to taste - but about 1 teaspoon of salt & 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper)

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor except for olive oil. Process the mixture for 1 minute, and slowly add the olive oil until emulsified.

Add the citrus marinade with the meat in a ziplock bag or large container. Make sure each piece of meat is covered in the marinade. Season the meat with salt as you pour the marinade on top. Let it marinade in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 24 hours. (I prefer 24 hours because the flavors really meld together).

Grill steaks/chicken on the barbecue or bake meat on the oven till it’s fully cooked. I love the smokiness of flavors that shine through if grilled, but it's still pretty tasty if you cook the meat indoors.

Review: This citrus marinade got rave reviews from Eric's co-workers. I love the mixture of garlic and fresh oregano paired with the citrus zest of lemon and oranges - it's like a melody of summer on top of your steak. This is a very simple marinade for summertime grilling!