Steak-Infused Vodka Is A Hilarious, Horrible Idea

Spoiler alert: vodka can run your dinner. We can actually think of a number of ways it could do this, but most of the different ways involve actually imbibing the stuff. You could drink until you're sick, thus effectively spoiling your appetite, or else you could get just schnockered enough to let your dinner burn in the pan. One TikTok creator, however, found a pretty novel way to let vodka spoil a good steak before even taking a sip.

In one viral video, the creator leaves a steak in a jar of vodka for a month. This video is just one of a series on the "Everything in a Jar" channel where booze of various types is infused with everything from Skittles to Werther's caramels to a chicken sandwich. The first two sound fairly flavorful, the last like a nightmare, but the steak could have gone either way. Could have, but didn't. When the creator finally opened the jar, the odor was apparently so bad they didn't even take a sip of the vodka at first. They gamely bit into the steak, which seemed somewhat tough, complaining that it had been "cooked" by the alcohol as its greyish-pink color attested. The flavor, it seems, was no better than the odor if dramatic gagging was any indicator. Right at the end they did take a shot of the steak-infused vodka, something that induced not only gagging but actual vomiting. Zero stars; would not recommend.

While soaking a piece of meat in vodka for a month is definitely a huge mis-steak, the TikTok video wasn't really meant as a serious cooking tip. Vodka does have its place in the kitchen, where it can be used in everything from pasta sauces to pastries to soups to a viral vodka butter recipe that was TikTok trendy circa spring 2023. Vodka can also be used as a meat marinade, too. If you use it for something breaded such as fried chicken, the alcohol's quick evaporation helps to keep the breading from getting soggy. Even if vodka is used for steak that isn't intended to be chicken fried, though, it still makes a great marinade choice. as it acts in a similar way to an acidic wine or citrus marinade to help break down the structural proteins that make for tougher beef.

@dokaryan

I left steak in vodka for a month 🥩 #steak #vodka #inajar #dokaryan #pickled #fyp #yqr @lmdistillery

♬ original sound – Ryan Doka

Nigella Lawson is one chef who likes to use vodka as a steak marinade. She mixes the booze with olive oil, herbs, and seasonings, then soaks the steak for a matter of hours instead of weeks. The vodka and meat juices are then repurposed to make a pan sauce to serve over the cooked steak. The BBQ Pit Boys, too, use vodka mixed with onions and horseradish to marinate a steak (for no more than three hours, mind you). They slice into it when it's fresh off the grill and, instead of gagging, give it two thumbs up.