Marinating times - what is "overnight" anyway?
I find that I am increasingly confused when I find a recipe that specifies something like "marinate 4 - 6 hours or overnight." The only way that I can marinate something overnight is if I put it in the marinade the evening before cooking it (at the latest, at bedtime). Then, unless I am choosing to have my main meal for breakfast, it will continue to marinate until late afternoon the next day, when I prepare dinner: total marination time, approximately 18-20 hours. That's a far cry from the minimum 4-6 hours alternatively specified.
Has anyone encountered a more realistic convention, perhaps recommending that things be put into the marinade in the morning for late afternoon prep? I would like to suggest this to recipe writers, if there is no objection.
I know that this is not of earth-shattering importance, but it concerns me when the marinade I am using is strong, and might overwhelm the flavor of the marinadee (?) if left too long. For most things, the amount of time spent marinating above the minimum might not make much difference, but when I'm using a strong soy sauce or a lot of pepper, I can't help but wish for more specific guidelines.
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11 Comments:
i've left a flank steak marinating for 2-3 days and it was SO delicious.... i've marinated chicken for a day in wine, lemon, olive oil, garlic - it was delicious.... i guess it depends on how intense you want your flavors to be.... also, certain things can stand up to marination.... fish, no way.
when i add soy sauce to a marinate i cut it with a little water.... so it's not so intensely salty.
experiment..... see how you like the flavors in the time frame you wish to marinate in. and go from there.....
pooch at 1:44PM on 05/01/09
Ah - good idea about cutting the soy sauce - just goes to show how well you can cope when you let your brain out of the box. Thanks!
Likeswords at 1:46PM on 05/01/09
just keep trying things until you get it the way you like it.... it's a fun process.
pooch at 1:49PM on 05/01/09
If I'm marinating something for dinner i'll do the prep in the morning before i leave for work. but i have ben know to decide to go out for dinner and wind up marinating for a day or two. either way works
VerasTastyFreeze at 2:14PM on 05/01/09
4-6 hours is a minimum. Overnight is always best. Unless you have pineapple juice in the marinade then I would stay with 4-6 hours.
JerzeeTomato at 3:32PM on 05/01/09
@Jerzee - Only pineapple? Or anything similarly acidic? (Or am I even totally off about the reason why you specifically referenced it?)
mollykate678 at 3:38PM on 05/01/09
I think papaya and fresh ginger also have that same enzyme - mollykate, it breaks down meat. I think the enzymes in papaya are what commercial meat tenderizer is made from. If you leave the fruit on too long, it will break it down too much and get oddly textured/mushy.
BangieB at 4:53PM on 05/01/09
Aha - more good info on the enzyme question! Thank you all.
Likeswords at 5:12PM on 05/01/09
Fresh Pineapple contains Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme that destroys muscle tissue making it tender. It is destroyed at 160 degrees F. Papaya has Papain a similar enzyme that is only destroyed if the meat is cooked to well done (180 Degrees). when you see the temperatures that the enzymes are deactivated at, you must realize the leftovers may continue to tenderize, and all of the bad side effects can still appear later. Marinating meats too long with these enzymes can destroy the texture of the meat, ot even worse, alter the proteins in a manner that makes the meat taste like liver, or other viscera. Normally meat should not be exposed to these enzymes for more than 24 hours in a refrigerated state. This is based on experience using the pure forms in controlled doses, The steak that tastes good after sitting four hours may taste like liver 12 hours later.Freezing the marinated meat, arrests the tenderization until it is thawed.
how long you marinade a piece of meat varies with the solids content of the marinade as well. Too much salt or sugar in the marinade causes the moiisture to leave the meat, rather than have the marinade drawn into the meat. It is possible to marinade a cut of meat in a salty or sugary brine, and have it turn out dryer and with less flavor than if you hadn't marinaded it. Experimentation is the key with the recipe to find out what actually works best.
THe other method is to tumble marinade the meat. Some home units are available, Reveo brand for instance, and what you put in with the meat is tumbled under vacuum until it is fully absorbed It takes about 20 minutes, but is extremely consitant in how your recipes taste every time
Meat guy at 5:42PM on 05/01/09
I usually figure that overnight means that I make it in the afternoon/evening and use it some time the next day. If a recipe gives a minumum of 4 hours and then says that "overnight" is better, there's a lot of wiggle room there, so a precise time probably isn't necessary. And when you're talking about marinating, you're also dealing with differences in meat thickness, so there a loss of precision there, too.
dbcurrie at 7:11PM on 05/01/09
@ BangieB and @Meatguy - Thank you so much! Very intelligent people, you are. :)
mollykate678 at 9:57AM on 05/02/09