When you marinate meat, do you feel like you're detonating a bomb - you're marinating "by eye", so the marinade is different every time? Or maybe the meat on the grill doesn't always cook to the desired tenderness, and sometimes it even burns?
It's time to talk about marinating meat properly and making a great marinade for chicken, pork, game or fish. We've discovered the flavours of Greek, Indian, Caucasian and other world cuisines!
Marinating: the rules to follow
Marinating meat should consist of two basic and indispensable ingredients: acid and oil. Citrus fruits (lemon, lime or orange juice), wine vinegar, yoghurt, kiwifruit or even pineapple acid are all excellent for marinades.
Why is acid and oil the best combination for pickling? The enzymes (enzymes) in the acid break down the meat to tenderise it, while the oil moistens the meat and prevents it from drying out.
All marinades are also wonderfully flavoured with spice mixes and herbs. But be careful: rubbing the spices too hard into the meat can not only multiply them but also damage the texture of the meat - avoid applying pressure.
Have game meat? The most important thing to remember is to always allow game to marinate longer than other meats. If the meat is from a young animal, marinate it for at least a few days; if it is older, marinate it for at least a week.
If you are about to cook marinated meat, drain it first. Paper towels are perfect for this. If you skip this step, the wet meat will hardly grill, and it will be difficult to get grill marks.
Incidentally, it is advisable to lift the grill lid and handle the meat as little as possible - the longer the meat is left unused, the better it cooks. This golden rule does not apply to barbecues - you can certainly turn them more often.
Marinating chicken
The marinating time for chicken depends on the size of the steak. If you are going to roast a whole chicken, leave it to marinate overnight, if you are going to roast fillets or drumsticks, half an hour to a couple of hours should be enough. The marinade will bring out all the most expressive colours and juiciness if the marinade is spread not only on the surface of the chicken but also under the skin.
Chicken is a fairly tender meat and may therefore have a less acidic marinade. Here you can improvise and use grated currants mixed with oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper instead of the usual citric or orange acid. Marinate the meat in this marinade overnight.
Do you like oriental flavours? Here's a chicken teriyaki marinade for you: half a cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup of white sugar, the same amount of water and Worcestershire sauce as well as two tablespoons of brown sugar, white wine vinegar, about two teaspoons of grated garlic and the same amount of grated ginger. Heat all the ingredients in a pan until the sugar has dissolved.
Planning to serve the chicken with a jerk sauce? This marinade is a much simpler option: crush about half a glass of mint leaves in a food processor until smooth, add ¼ glass of oil, two tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano, one seedless chilli pepper, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, the juice of half a lemon and the pulp of the whole lemon. Believe me, this marinade is the most wonderful for chicken shish kebabs.
You will certainly have a great marinade if you use natural or Greek yoghurt as a base. How to prepare? Whisk together the yoghurt, oil, a few cloves of garlic, the juice of half a lemon and salt with freshly ground black pepper until smooth. If you're not familiar with traditional Greek cuisine, you can also season the marinade with fresh parsley and add a few teaspoons of dried oregano.
Fancy Indian flavours? Use cumin spices, paprika powder and grated ginger. Those who like spiciness can also add cayenne pepper powder. For more on the use of spices, see here.
By the way, don't write off nut butter - it can be used for more than just desserts. Mash the nut butter together with the juice of an orange, the pulp of half an orange, a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar, a few cloves of garlic, a couple of teaspoons of grated ginger, a seedless chilli pepper, and a little soy sauce until smooth.
Marinate the pork
The pork marinade can be either wet or dry. We will discuss each of them.
When marinating pork wet, the five key steps to remember are as follows: start by choosing a liquid (red wine or a strong-tasting juice), then add oil, then add some strong-tasting chopped greens (onion leaves, garlic, ginger), then season with salt, pepper and your favourite dried spices. Do not use this marinade when glazing the meat, as the raw meat has undoubtedly left behind bacteria.
How do I make a wet marinade for pork? Choose kiwifruit or pineapple for marinating pork as they are rich in enzymes that tenderise the meat. Mix the following ingredients until smooth: half a pineapple, one-third of a glass of soy sauce, the same amount of honey, ¼ of a glass of cider vinegar, two crushed garlic cloves, a quarter of a teaspoon of clove powder, and a teaspoon of powdered ginger. If you use kiwi instead of pineapple, crush it separately with a fork before adding it to the marinade to avoid bitterness of the seeds.
Alternatively, the marinade can be made dry by rubbing a spice mix into the meat. This type of marinade is best suited to meaty parts of the pork (such as ribs) and is easily created by grinding your favourite spices, for example, cumin, brown sugar, chilli powder, cayenne pepper, salt, mustard and garlic powder would work well together. Once the meat has been rubbed with this mixture, let it marinate for at least half an hour.
Another spice mix of paprika, ginger, cinnamon powder, salt, ground pepper and cayenne pepper would be a more versatile option.
Are you going to marinate beef?
In fact, the flavours of beef steak are brought out to their fullest without the use of any marinades. It is recommended to put most of the effort into selecting quality beef meat, but not into preparing the marinade.
The perfect marinade for beef, if you can call it that, is salt, pepper and a single spice to give the beef a delicate flavour. Rosemary, thyme and gourmet seasoning salts would be wonderful for this.
Glaze
First of all, when glazing the meat, use a bunch of rosemary, thyme or sage instead of a regular whisk. When the herbs touch the hot meat, their oils will be released, giving the steaks an extra spicy flavour.
It is also important to note that the glaze, especially if it contains sugar, should not be applied too early as it will burn the steaks.
The pomegranate juice glaze common in the Caucasus countries will work beautifully when glazing beef or pork. How to prepare it? Fry a chopped onion in a pan, add pomegranate juice, then season the mixture with salt, pepper, honey and fresh thyme. You can also add red wine or lemon juice. Simmer until the liquid is clear.
The apricot glaze is a wonderful addition to the chicken: mix a glass of apricot jam, three tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of soy sauce, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic and a finely chopped Chalapa pepper.
For those who like a savoury taste, the meat is glazed with a homemade whisky glaze. How to prepare? In a pan, fry a tablespoon each of garlic and onion powder, add the hot sauce, a glass of pineapple juice, half a glass of your favourite whisky, two cubes of beef stock, one and a half glasses of brown sugar and up to four tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. When the mixture comes to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
A mango and ginger glaze will be perfect for the pork ham. In a saucepan, heat one and a half tablespoons of freshly grated ginger with one and a half glasses of mango jam. Then add half a teaspoon of ground cloves and ¾ cup of brown sugar. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and smooth.
A maple syrup glaze is the perfect accompaniment for the fish. Mix ¼ cup maple syrup with a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a pinch of cayenne pepper, two teaspoons of ground cardamom, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
What can and cannot be used to baste meat?
Why do I need to baste the meat? You may have noticed that grilling or pan-frying fattier meats on a grill or a plate always results in a lot of fat coming out of the meat. This is the reason why meat should be watered, because it is dry.
The most common method of basting meat is with hot water or broth. Fats are not suitable for meat watering as they only make the meat more dry. Also, do not baste the meat with any leftover marinade as it may contain raw meat bacteria.
You can also baste with a little cream diluted in water - particularly suitable for rabbit meat. For a more pronounced flavour, such as pork or beef, add a spicy spice to the meat by sprinkling with beer.
It is recommended to baste the meat after it has been pulled away from the coals, otherwise it will burst into flames.
Based on the VMG Grill Bible.
