Marinades

Lesson

Marinating chicken, chops, and steaks is an efficient, tasty way to add flavor, enhance tenderness, and increase the moisture of the meat. Some meats fair better than others with marinades. Fine beef cuts probably don’t need the extra moisture, and rarely need to be tenderized. But ordinary cuts of chicken, beef and pork like roasts, inexpensive steaks, briskets, and cuts like chuck, arm, flank steak, short ribs, shoulder, butt, or rump roasts do well with marinades.

A great marinade can add nice flavors and can elevate an ordinary, inexpensive cut of beef to prime beef status.

What’s in a marinade

Marinades are liquids that often consist of several of the following ingredients: acid (vinegar, tomato or citrus juices); liquid (fruit juices or colas); salt (flavored or plain); sweetener (sugar, honey, molasses, syrup); oil (olive, sesame, peanut, corn); and various herbs and spices. Minced garlic, parsley, finely chopped onions, brown sugar, oregano, thyme, rosemary, cumin, citrus pepper, ginger, and citrus zests are all great flavors for marinades.

Creating marinades is easy. Choose the liquids, acids, and spices you like and mix them together. Most marinades can be made in advance and stored in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator for several weeks.

How to marinate

Marinating is the same for chicken, chops, and steak. Put the cut of meat into a flat pan, or re-sealable plastic bag and place it in the fridge. Make sure the food is completely under the surface of the liquid. If you’re using a re-sealable plastic bag, weigh it down with a bowl of water if necessary.

Marinating can take 1 to 6 hours. If you’re using a marinade that contains acids or salts, the meat shouldn’t remain in the marinade for more than 6 to 8 hours, since those ingredients can turn some cuts into mush.

Ready to try your own? Check out our marinade recipes!