Honey Bourbon Steak Tips are seared in a cast iron pan until charred on the outside but still juicy on the inside. They are both sweet and salty with the wonderful flavor of bourbon. This is one of my favorite ways to cook steak for dinner.
Type of Steak to Use
I like to use either filet mignon or ribeye for this recipe. Filet is good because it stays so tender and I love the flavor ribeye has due to its higher fat content. A less expensive choice is sirloin.
I add some mushrooms to the pan at the end and they really soak up the flavor of the steak juices.
Steak Marinade
The steak is cut into bite-sized pieces and marinated in honey, brown sugar, garlic, bourbon, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, plus some red pepper flakes for a little heat.
The sugar and honey helps the steak bites develop those caramelized brown spots on the outside, making it taste like steak candy. 🙂
You can use any bourbon that you like. My favorite bourbon to cook with is Maker’s Mark. It has a nice smooth flavor.
The sweetness of the honey and brown sugar is balanced with the saltiness of the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
Cooking steak that has already been cut into bite-sized pieces makes the cooking process quick and easy. Plus there’s no need for steak knives.
Every time I serve steak, I’m woefully reminded of how precious few steak knives I own.
What Type of Pan to Use?
A well-seasoned cast iron pan is best for getting a good sear on the steak.
Cooking the steak in a super hot cast iron pan helps the flavor really develop. A combination of vegetable oil and butter provides plenty of flavor and the oil will let you cook at a high temp without burning the butter.
Honey Bourbon Steak Tips Recipe Tips:
Brandy can be used instead of bourbon.
I like the sweetness of this recipe but some people find it too sweet. Cut the honey and sugar back a little to make it less sweet.
Serve Honey Bourbon Steak Bites with a potato side like Melting Potatoes or Parmesan Crusted Ranch Potato Wedges.
Watch the short video below to see how easy this recipe is!
Honey Bourbon Steak Tips
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup bourbon
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds steak cut into chunks Rib-eye, sirloin, or fillet
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 (6-ounce) package mushrooms cut in quarters
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together honey, brown sugar, bourbon, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Pour into a large ziptop bag. Add steak cubes and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.
- Heat vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
- Add steak. You will probably need to cook it in two batches because you don't want to crowd the pan. Cook until seared on all sides. Remove from pan. Add remaining butter to pan and cook mushrooms until browned.
Nutrition
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Originally published January 30, 2016.
I like to use a cast iron pan for this recipe.
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I’m the chef for all of the fishing trips we go on.
I make the Steaks Tip every time we go. a huge
hit. Use brandy instead of bourbon. Works fine.
I found this far too sweet. I added salt to the mushrooms and sprinkled sea salt over top of all to make it ok to eat. I normally never add salt to my food. Won’t make it again. But sounded interesting so worth the try. Guess I like my meat far more savory.
One of our favs. I serve it over jasmine rice with fresh green beans, bacon, and onions. Dont expect leftovers with this one!!
This recipe is awesome. We love bourbon, so all things cooked with are wonderful, I made bourbon fudge on top of bourbon brownies for Christmas, a huge hit even with non drinkers. We are having this with AuGrauten potatoes. Yum dinner is smelling great and I am a lucky woman as my husband is the cook.
January, 2018
I’ve been looking for a good recipe to try out my new cast iron pan. This really does need the cast iron pan to get the ideal crust on the meat pieces. I agree that it is a bit expensive because you need good beef, but for my family of 7, it worked out to less than $3.00 a person & you couldn’t eat the same out for that price. We all agreed that it was a keeper, but we felt it was too sweet. Next time I will 1/2 the sweets. I think you do need the flavors that the honey & brown sugar add, tho. The mushroom eaters in my family loved their flavor & requested that I add more next time. I added a vegetable & simple tossed salad & had barely enough left for my daughter to take for lunch the next day!
Just wanted to say that this wayyy too sweet I would cut the honey and sugar in half or more than that. You can’t taste the heat either. And good luck getting all of that off of the bottom of your cast iron skillet. I would use a different pan.
AWESOME ! I just made this for my sister for her birthday added roasted potatoes and onions it was marvelous.
How can I fix this to serve as an appetizer, and keep warm in a slow cooker or instant pot. I don’t want the meat to dry or be over cooked.
Have you grilled these? If so, how did it work?
I do cook this on the grill in a grill pan with holes in it. Turns out great!
This was wonderful, I will be making this again!!!
My boyfriend and I LOVE this recipe. I am still learning to cook but I’m trying to keep up because my mother is a “Southern Belle” and a wonderful cook (everything from scratch)!!! Definitely can’t wait to use this recipe to impress my soon to be mother in law.
So happy you love to cook this recipe! Hope you find many more recipes you enjoy. The more practice you get cooking, the more and more fun it will be! 🙂
This looks delicious! What do you serve with it? I have never had steak tips.
I’ve made this many times for our family and it is one of our favorite meals!
Yay! So happy it is one of your family’s favorite meals!
Can I marinate it over night ?I want to make it for Sunday supper!
I marinated it over nite one time and the bourbon in it was very strong!! Almost got drunk eating dinner. I do it now for 2 hours tops and its perfect
Just made this and it’s divine. Served with rice and roasted brussels sprouts.
I’ve made this multiple times and am getting better it. I find it works best if you take the stake completely out of the marinade while putting it in the skillet. I then add the sauce back in with the mushrooms. My family wasn’t fond of the burbon so now I just add some beef broth instead.
I did this too … Worked well!
This was delicious but beware of burning the sugary marinade on your cast iron skillet. I cooked two batches. The heat may have been too high but I just spent 30 minutes scraping the rock-hard caramelized sugar off my pan after soaking overnight. (I might have been OK if I hadn’t cooked in two batches. The second batch was when the sugar really cooked on. )My formerly well seasoned pan is now in the oven getting the RE-seasoning treatment. Next time will be on a very hot grill instead.
I had read that you should always reaseason your skillet after using it. No?
Depends on what you cook. If you do something like bacon or fried chicken..no. But when you do a steak or something, rinse, wipe, dry. Then I put the pan over a low flame to dry completely. When cool enough to handle, wipe a tsp of oil over the pan. I only reseason a couple of times per year.
With a beautiful dish like this, I would normally put 1/4 Up or less into the hot cast iron todeglaze the pan. Not only will the cast iron be easier but you can incorporate the resulting sauce into the fluids you already have.
Yes, exactly. I used cast iron and had reserved a bit of the marinade before putting in the meat. So I used it to deglaze the pan with a little water and salt also.
Making this tonight with broccoli 🥦 and white rice 🍚 can’t wait to see how it turns out since I didn’t have soy sauce. But sounds yummy 😋 can’t wait for dinner!!
Hi! I thought I had soy sauce but I’m all out! Is it okay to leave out of this recipe? And is it okay to make this with beef tips instead of steak?
I’m making this for our anniversary dinner tonight as a surprise so I hope to hear from you soon! 🙂
I thought we had some bourbon but just realized we’re out. Do you think I could could substitute Jack Daniels?
Absolutely!
I have no Bourbon…..Capt Morgan spiced rum?
Capt Morgan spiced rum??
That’s all I have!
The mushrooms were yummy but honestly the meat was a little too sweet for us. The dish was expensive to make and did look beautiful, but for our family not a repeat. Im sorry.