The Spray Bottle Hack To Grill Extra Flavorful Steaks

Marinating your steak before you grill it isn't the only way to add some extra flavor: Equipped with a spray bottle, you can add flavor while it's on the grill. This technique is sometimes called "spritzing," and while it's often recommended for when you're smoking or barbecuing meats, you can also try it with regular grilling.

The process is easy: Put a liquid in your spray bottle and spritz it onto the meat from different angles, so you cover the whole surface. Of course, there's the question of what to put into that bottle. A typical option is to spray apple cider vinegar (perhaps mixed with water). This has a few effects — it adds moisture back in that would be lost during the grilling process, but it also adds flavor, and vinegar generally helps tenderize meat, making for a softer end product. Alternatively, spritzing a marinade can add flavor, or something like apple juice can help the meat caramelize, while the acid in it tenderizes it.

But one overlooked option would be to spritz it with red wine. This works for the same reason a glass of red wine pairs with steak: The acidic properties balance out the fat in the meat, while the acidity (like with vinegar) tenderizes, and it'll generally add moisture back into the steak. (That said, some spritzing proponents question how much flavor a light spray of red wine can add — but it certainly won't harm your steak.)

Bear in mind that spritzing is more of a final extra touch to your meat to keep it moist while possibly adding some flavor and helping it form a caramelized crust (depending on what you're spritzing with: something with sugar in it usually helps). For example, while you can spray your steak with some marinade while it's on the grill, if you really want that marinade to soak in, you should put the steak in it for a few hours before cooking, rather than just spraying it on (even if the spritz will still have benefits).

The same applies with red wine — if you really want to bring red wine into your grilling, don't just spritz, but consider a marinade beforehand. You can play around with options, but you'll want a mix of fat, acid, and seasoning. The fat could just be olive oil, while the wine brings the acid; seasonings can be anything like herbs and garlic, and obviously salt and pepper. Four hours is a good length of time to let it soak, and you could repurpose the marinade into your spritz.

There's also the option of a red wine sauce after your steak is done. Keep the pan juices and use butter, wine, and broth, as well as flavorings like shallots or herbs to make a simple version of this.