Best Marinade?
Now that its grilling time, what is everybody's favorite marinade for: beef, chicken or pork?
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15 Comments:
If I'm in the mood for Italian:
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar OR White Wine OR Lemon Juice
Garlic
Oregano (fresh if possible)
Basil (fresh if possible)
S&P
For an Asian Marinade:
Terriyaki
Honey
Sesame Oil
(Then sprinkle sesame seeds on finished meat.)
If I'm going Hispanic...
Olive Oil
Lime Juice
Chopped Cilantro
Garlic
Cumin
Chili Powder
Cayenne (if you like heat)
Finely minced Jalapeno OR Finely diced Poblano
S&P
chiff0nade at 7:41AM on 05/27/08
This is a great one for chicken on the grill
Olive oil
cider vinegar
lemon juice
grainy mustard
brown sugar
chopped garlic
joanpieroni2 at 8:17AM on 05/27/08
This one uses prepared ingredients, so isn't for everyone, but Catalina dressing, dijon mustard, worchestershire, black pepper and a bit of cayenne make a nice marinade for chicken.
Maureen at 8:40AM on 05/27/08
Yogurt-based marinades are great, particularly for chicken and lamb.
Here's a link to a good one but if you google search there are many variations online with different spice and/or herb blends.
foodvox at 9:12AM on 05/27/08
My standard marinade is balsamic vinegar, poupon mustard, extra virgin oo, garlic. It's a great spring board for other additions as well.
bessfour at 9:22AM on 05/27/08
margarita chicken - pre-mixed margarita mix (I use Jose Cuervo) some cayenne, salt and pepper, a little olive oil, some garlic. marinate overnite for stronger flavors.
makes excellent chicken salad with leftovers too :)
Southern_bella at 10:33AM on 05/27/08
Dale's seasoning
Asado at 11:23AM on 05/27/08
I have two favourite marinades (each has endless variations):
*"Asian" - soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, sesame seeds. Sometimes, I add shaoxing wine (although the latter, sometimes, can be a beginning of the whole another marinade - for instance, add brown sugar, soy sauce and ginger, and voila!). Another variation of this one (mostly, for chicken dishes) is white wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and some cornstarch.
*"Regular" - the base is white wine (usually, Sauvignon Blanc, never "cooking" wine), garlic, some salt & freshly cracked black pepper. The rest will vary, depending on what I am making - I add freshly torn basil leaves if I make chicken with caramelised onions, sun-dried tomatoes and basil; for Middle-Eastern kebobs or steaks, I rub the meat with a mixture of paprika, cumin, allspice, tumeric and coriander before pouring in the marinade; and so on.
I can honestly tell you that I very rarely cook a piece of meat or seafood without marinating or brining it first.
brooke29 at 12:08PM on 05/27/08
Savory Asian -- tamari soy sauce, lime juice, garlic and sesame oil -- I'm so in love with this fast and easy flavor profile that I have a hard time using anything else.
Turkish -- Garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, red (aleppo) pepper, black pepper and salt, with enough lemon juice and olive oil to make either a paste for rubbing, or more liquid to make a marinade for soaking. And actually the so-called Turkish flavor profile is very similar to Mexican, with a good chile powder swapped for the aleppo pepper. This is fantastic on lamb, but great with chicken as well.
Julie at 12:22PM on 05/27/08
My favorite ever chicken marinade uses quite a few ingredients but it blows me away with its deliciousness every time. It's for chicken legs.
Moroccan marinade
2 tsp. toasted coriander (I just use ground, but if you have the means, toast the whole spices and then grind)
2 tsp. toasted cumin (^ditto^)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, mint, parsley, or your preferred mix between the 3
1/2 tsp. ground ginger (better to use a tablespoon of fresh, grated ginger, but I just don't like the stuff)
2 tbs. chopped garlic
2 tsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice, or a mix of lemon and lime
3 tbs. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tbs. sugar
2 tsp. bottled hot pepper sauce (more or less to taste; I like Cholula)
Put everything into a food processor or blender and blend till smooth.
renzata at 12:37PM on 05/27/08
I agree with foodvox if you feel like trying something different, try yogurt.
Here's one of Jamies' that I like with lamb:
• heaped tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 level tablespoon ground chilli
• 1 level tablespoon ground cumin
• 4 level tablespoons sumac, if you can find any, or finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• a small bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
• 1 lemon
• a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
• extra virgin olive oil
• 4 heaped tablespoons natural yoghurt
A really interesting rub for chicken I tried last week from the 'Poetry Club BBQ' on Licence to grill has these ingredients (a nice warm flavour that I hadn't tried):
* 2 tbsp ground French roast coffee (30ml)
* 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (10ml)
* 1 x clove garlic, minced
* 2 tsp of cinnamon (10ml)
* 1 tsp of olive oil (5ml)
* 2 tbsp brown sugar (30ml)
* Salt to taste
hungrychristel at 1:27PM on 05/27/08
Mmmmmm....beef.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Salt and pepper the steak, show it a picture of a fire and serve it.
I like it that way too, but the following is how I usually do it.
I let it soak in soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce on a plate on the counter, flipping often while the grill is heating up, then I liberally season it with ground black pepper and Colman's dry mustard and throw it on the grill.
ajeys at 3:17PM on 05/27/08
for tofu made Asian-style... I marinate in a mixture of tamari, grated ginger, grated garlic and lemon juice... It's just awesome.
On a separate but kind of related note.... try adding fresh lime juice to the soy sauce when having sushi... it's unbelievable.
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 5:34PM on 05/27/08
I go for something pasty and salty:
Garlic cloves, lemon/orange zest, fresh thyme/parsley, jalapeno, salt, pepper, sugar, and oil. All in the blender or mini-chopper.
coolname at 10:37AM on 05/28/08
Steak Marinade
Fabulously easy marinade with big flavor taste!
Ingredients
1/4 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. olive oil
1 tsp. Lemon and Pepper Seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Next, prick the steak with a fork on both sides of the meat. I also prick the sides of the steak too. Put steak in a Tupperware Marinade pan or you can use a large zip lock storage bag. Pour marinade sauce over the steak. Next, close the top onto the bottom pan or zip up the storage bag. Marinate 2-3 hours (or overnight) turning over occasionally to evenly marinate the meat. Broil or grill the meat. Enough marinade for a 1-2 lb. steak.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 6:44PM on 05/29/08