simple marinade of beer or red wine dramatically reduces a fried or barbecued steak's cancer-causing properties.

Beer marinade at the barbie cuts cancer risk
THERE'S now another reason why beer and a barbecue go together so well - using the beverage as a marinade makes your red meat much healthier.

New Scientist magazine reports a simple marinade of beer or red wine dramatically reduces a fried or barbecued steak's cancer-causing properties.

It's long been established that with the high temperatures of a barbie, frying or grilling morph the sugars and amino acids in meat's muscle tissue into a compound called heterocyclic amines (HA), which can cause cancer.

Isabel Ferreira from Portugal's University of Porto marinated steak in beer or red wine and found it cut the levels of two types of HA by 90 per cent compared with unmarinated steak. Beer marinade achieved this in four hours, while wine needed six hours for the same result.

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BEER MARINATED STEAK

What you need:

One large onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Half cup vegetable oil

One cup beer of choice

Half cup lemon juice from concentrate

2 tbsp. light brown sugar

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Half to 3/4 kg steak, scored with knife

What to do:
Cook onion and garlic in 1/4 cup oil in pan until tender; remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients except meat. Place meat in a shallow baking dish; pour marinade over. Cover; refrigerate 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Remove meat from marinade; barbecue or grill as desired, basting frequently with marinade. Makes 4 servings