Brief Primer on Marinades
For a good marinade there needs to be three key components four if you include time because all marinades are time sensitive. The three necessary parts are acid, oil and flavor. Marinades are a surface or pre-treatment to add a layer of flavor to your meat, it will not penetrate very deep. I marinade most of the meats and poultry that I grill. They just taste a little better.
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Portions
Acid 10% to 20%
Flavoring 1% to 10%
Acidic
First there needs to something to break down some of the meat proteins. The most common is an acid such as citrus, wines, vinegar, including balsamic vinegar, yogurt or even buttermilk. However you can also use enzymes such as pineapple, papaya, ginger, and kiwifruit all of these have natural enzymes that will break down some of the proteins.
See the attached list for acidic foods to use in marinades and their approximate PH.
On the PH scale the lower the number the stronger the acid 1 is a very strong acid and 7 is neutral, non-acidic.
Click on this link for a PH Chart of common foods for marinades.
Oils
The second ingredient is oil. Oil is a must as it will replace what the acid has broken down, and help to keep the meat from having a dry mealy texture. It is best to use a light oil that will not solidify when cold and that does not have a strong flavor. I typically use olive oil, however it will solidify at around 40°. So if you are planing on a long marinade you will need to use another type of oil. Other good choices are grape seed oil, corn oil, or canola oil.
Flavors
The third item is flavor. Salt or something that is rich salt, like soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce should always be in you marinade. I will almost add some soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce and often I will add both. The salt is going to penetrate whatever is being marinated faster and deeper than any of the other ingredients. So always add salt whether it is in another ingredient or as an individual component. I only use Kosher salt or sea salt for cooking. I also will add some vegetables, onions, garlic, tomatoes or any other vegetables that will pair well with the rest of the meal. Fruit is almost always great in marinades and the same fruit could be included acid portion of the marinade.
Sugar or things that contain much sugar should be avoided or only added near the end of the marinade time. Sugars will not penetrate and will stop the other three components from penetrating. To put it another way sugar is only going to gum up the works. Sugar is wonderful especially for the sweet/spicy combination just do not add it until you are almost through marinating. If I am adding a sugar component, I will add it about the time that I light the grill.
Time
Time is dependent on a number of factors.
Type of meat
Thickness of the cut
Type or PH of the acidic portion of the marinade
A big pork loin roast could marinade for 24 hours and would be fantastic. While a 3/8 inch thin cut pork chop from the same pork loin, would be over marinated after about three hours. You would taste more of the flavoring and less of the meat.
Typically thick cut of beef, pork and chicken are going to marinade for a minimum of four but not usually over 24 hours. Thinner cuts will marinade for just a few hours a good rule would be 2-4.
Fish and seafood should only marinade for about an hour. The acid will start to break down the fish very quickly.
I will start posting some of the marinades that I use
Acid 10% to 20%
Flavoring 1% to 10%
Balance Oil
First there needs to something to break down some of the meat proteins. The most common is an acid such as citrus, wines, vinegar, including balsamic vinegar, yogurt or even buttermilk. However you can also use enzymes such as pineapple, papaya, ginger, and kiwifruit all of these have natural enzymes that will break down some of the proteins.
See the attached list for acidic foods to use in marinades and their approximate PH.
On the PH scale the lower the number the stronger the acid 1 is a very strong acid and 7 is neutral, non-acidic.
Click on this link for a PH Chart of common foods for marinades.
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| photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/ under: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ |
Oils
The second ingredient is oil. Oil is a must as it will replace what the acid has broken down, and help to keep the meat from having a dry mealy texture. It is best to use a light oil that will not solidify when cold and that does not have a strong flavor. I typically use olive oil, however it will solidify at around 40°. So if you are planing on a long marinade you will need to use another type of oil. Other good choices are grape seed oil, corn oil, or canola oil.
Flavors
The third item is flavor. Salt or something that is rich salt, like soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce should always be in you marinade. I will almost add some soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce and often I will add both. The salt is going to penetrate whatever is being marinated faster and deeper than any of the other ingredients. So always add salt whether it is in another ingredient or as an individual component. I only use Kosher salt or sea salt for cooking. I also will add some vegetables, onions, garlic, tomatoes or any other vegetables that will pair well with the rest of the meal. Fruit is almost always great in marinades and the same fruit could be included acid portion of the marinade.
Sugar or things that contain much sugar should be avoided or only added near the end of the marinade time. Sugars will not penetrate and will stop the other three components from penetrating. To put it another way sugar is only going to gum up the works. Sugar is wonderful especially for the sweet/spicy combination just do not add it until you are almost through marinating. If I am adding a sugar component, I will add it about the time that I light the grill.
Time
Time is dependent on a number of factors.
Type of meat
Thickness of the cut
Type or PH of the acidic portion of the marinade
A big pork loin roast could marinade for 24 hours and would be fantastic. While a 3/8 inch thin cut pork chop from the same pork loin, would be over marinated after about three hours. You would taste more of the flavoring and less of the meat.
Typically thick cut of beef, pork and chicken are going to marinade for a minimum of four but not usually over 24 hours. Thinner cuts will marinade for just a few hours a good rule would be 2-4.
Fish and seafood should only marinade for about an hour. The acid will start to break down the fish very quickly.
I will start posting some of the marinades that I use
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q99sezEB91Tk_gVPouYo02sYfmC_dAl5DLnMXBWv6sw/pub
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