Marinade for grilling meat and more

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It was brought to my attention (thanks, Mom!) that we have never posted a marinade for grilling meat here. That is clearly an omission of major proportions which requires immediate attention. So without further ado, here’s a bit of rambling in general about marinating, and instructions for the marinade most frequently used in my house. (I’ll let Barb chime in with her own flashes of brilliance on the subject.)

Marinades for meat

When you are getting ready to grill some type of meat, there are a few components you want to include in the marinade. First, you need a fat of some variety which will help retain the moisture in the meat as it grills, and will also help the flavor components of the marinade to stick to the meat. This can be olive oil or some other type of oil.

Second, you need something acidic–this helps to begin the tenderizing process, as well as adding flavor. The acid might be vinegar, or lemon juice, (or another kind of citrus–I like both orange and lime juice), or perhaps some wine.

And finally, you need the flavor boosters–the aromatics. This might be a splash of soy sauce, or a liberal dollop of minced garlic, or herbs–dried or fresh. It might be as simple as a sprinkle of pepper, or it might be a complicated mix of many spices. It all depends what effect you’re going for.

You can make up the marinade by mixing all your ingredients and then pouring over the meat. Or, you can do as we most often do: put the meat in a gallon Ziploc bag, and toss the ingredients in with it. Then seal the bag and let it sit in the fridge until you are ready to grill.

One word to the wise: if you are marinating a structured meat like beef, you can let it sit overnight if you wish; but if you are marinating a less structured meat like salmon, an overnight marinade will deconstruct the meat to an unpleasant extent. Better to keep it at an hour or less for more delicate meats.

So here’s my no-fail marinade. I use it a lot on pork loins and chicken breasts, and usually also make another batch of it to marinate a load of vegetables for grilling (mushrooms, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, all cut into big chunks) which I do in a grilling basket. My friend Nicole claims that there’s “something not quite holy” about vegetables grilled this way, and other than the mistaken assumption that God wouldn’t want us to eat vegetables that taste so entirely heavenly, I have to agree with her.

• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1/2 c. cider vinegar
• 1-2 TBSP balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 2-3 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• (optional: add 1/2 tsp. each of your favorite dried herbs, like basil, oregano, Herbes de Provence, rosemary, etc.)

Mix well and pour over meat of your choice. Allow to marinate for an hour or more. If longer than 1 hour, put it in the fridge. Allow the meat to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before grilling.

Note: if you marinate the veggies, be sure to make up a separate batch of marinade just for them. Also, when you take the raw meat out of the marinade to put it on the grill, the marinade that is left should be discarded, not used for dipping.

If there are readers who would like to share their favorite meat marinade, here is the place to do it!

LB

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