Beef and Olive Oil: How Olive Oil Can Transform Your Meat Dishes

From quick midweek meals to slow-cooked favourites, learning how to transform meat dishes with olive oil can completely change the way you approach home cooking!

If meat features regularly in your household, this is one ingredient worth leaning into. Whether you’re cooking chicken, beef, lamb or pork, La Española’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) range offers a versatile, flavour-rich foundation for marinades, sauces, roasting and finishing. Fruity, balanced and aromatic, it’s a simple upgrade that delivers noticeable results.

Building Better Marinades with Olive Oil

Chicken remains a go-to protein in many Australian households thanks to its versatility and mild flavour, but that neutrality means it benefits greatly from a well-built marinade.

Extra virgin olive oil plays a key role here, helping herbs, citrus and aromatics cling to the meat while keeping it moist and succulent during cooking.

Beef, by contrast, is prized for its richer flavour and wide range of cuts, from quick pan-cooked steaks to slow-braised favourites, and pairing beef and olive oil allows those flavours to deepen and develop. Olive oil carries spices, garlic and herbs into the meat while supporting even browning and a juicier, more tender finish

Lamb, with its bold, distinctive taste and natural affinity for herbs, also responds beautifully to extra virgin olive oil, which enhances its character without overpowering it, allowing classic flavours like rosemary and garlic to shine.

Using Extra Virgin Olive Oil in Sauces

Olive oil also shines in sauces, where it adds richness without heaviness. Swapping refined oils or excessive butter for extra virgin olive oil can instantly lift a dish, this is really particularly noticeable in creamy or cheese-based sauces.

In pasta dishes, EVOO brings balance, allowing ingredients like cream and Parmesan to taste fuller without overwhelming the palate. Best of all, olive oil–based sauces come together quickly, making them ideal for relaxed but flavourful midweek meals.

Seasoning and Roasting Meat with EVOO

Roast dinners are a staple in many Australian homes, and extra virgin olive oil is an excellent seasoning tool for roasted meats. Rubbing meat with EVOO before cooking helps lock in moisture while creating a beautifully golden exterior.

Whether you’re roasting poultry or preparing a classic Sunday spread, olive oil ensures even seasoning and carries herbs and spices across the surface of the meat. A light coating, combined with salt, pepper and dried herbs, is often all that’s needed to transform a simple roast.

Beef and Olive Oil in Slow-Cooked Dishes

When it comes to comfort food, few combinations work as well as beef and olive oil. While olive oil may not be the first ingredient you associate with stews, it plays an important role in building flavour from the very beginning.

Using EVOO to brown beef helps develop deeper savoury notes, while finishing a stew with a drizzle of olive oil adds aroma and richness. Olive oils infused with flavours such as truffle or garlic can also add a subtle, restaurant-style touch without complicating the recipe.

Creating Restaurant-Quality Veal at Home

Extra virgin olive oil is just as effective in lighter, more refined dishes. Delicate meats like veal benefit from olive oil’s ability to enhance flavour without masking it. A quick sear followed by a finishing drizzle of high-quality EVOO creates a dish that feels elegant yet effortless.

Served as a starter, shared plate or light main, olive oil–finished veal proves that simple techniques and quality ingredients often deliver the most impressive results.