Marinating Tips for Success | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

FAQs

What are the 4 key elements to a good marinade? ›

To craft a good marinade, the key ingredients you'll need are salt, acid, oil, and a touch of sugar. Salt is crucial as it helps to tenderize the meat or vegetables by breaking down their fibers, allowing them to absorb the marinade's flavors more deeply.

A general rule of marinade-to-meat ratio is one-half cup of marinade per pound of meat. Times vary depending on the type, cut and size of the meat. Denser meats such as pork and steak can marinate for 24 hours or even longer. A lighter meat like chicken can marinate between 2 hours and 24 hours.

You can marinate chicken anywhere from 2 hours up to 24 hours, though marinating chicken for even 15 to 30 minutes can impart flavor and moisture into smaller pieces of meat. Generally, bone-in cuts of chicken, such as wings, drumsticks and breasts, will require a longer marinade time than their boneless counterparts.

A typical marinade is made up of three essential components: an acid (such as vinegar, wine, or citrus), an oil (such as olive oil or sesame oil), and a flavouring agent (such as herbs and spices). These elements work together to transform the taste and texture of your dish in different ways.

Plenty of herbs and spices

The higher the concentration of salt in the marinade, the more herbs and spices you need for the meat to absorb their taste. One of Otto's favorite herb mix marinades is an abundance of garlic, herbs, and spices: at least 3-4 cloves of garlic and at least one big tablespoon of chopped herbs.

You simply need to follow this simple formula: an acidic ingredient to tenderize the meat (think vinegar, juice, yogurt, or mustard), fresh herbs and spices for added flavour, and a fatty ingredient, such as oil or butter.

Most marinade recipes will call for acid in the form of citrus juice (commonly lemon), vinegar or wine. Fats are usually added to marinades in the form of oils, although coconut milk or yogurt may also be used. They help distribute the seasonings evenly over whatever you are marinating.

Marinades should be thin in consistency so they can penetrate the meat to reach the desired flavor. The marinade penetrates about 1/4 inch into the surface of the meat. It won't reach the meat's interior, but the surface will be flavorful.

Soaking your meat in marinades helps add flavor while making your meat tender. However, depending on how thin you have cut your pieces of meat, the marinade may fail to penetrate all that deep. In such cases, poking holes in your meat will help all the ingredients fully absorb and not remain on the surface.

Can you over marinade meat? ›

Information. Most recipes for marinating meat and poultry recommend six hours up to 24 hours. It is safe to keep the food in the marinade longer, but after two days it is possible that the marinade can start to break down the fibers of the meat, causing it to become mushy.

Poultry marinated in citrus, like lemon or lime juices, or vinegars can turn mushy and stringy if left to soak for too long.

ANSWER: In general, you can substitute either one as the acid part of the marinade. The rule -of-thumb ratio for marinades is 3-to-1, three parts oil and 1 part acid.

A good marinade must contain three types of ingredients: an acid element, a fatty element and aromatics. – The acid element is used to tenderize the meat. Lemon juice, lime juice, Dijon mustard, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, wine or balsamic vinegar are examples of acidic elements.

The rule -of-thumb ratio for marinades is 3-to-1, three parts oil and 1 part acid. For example, you would mix 1 cup oil (olive, canola, or vegetable) and ⅓ cup acid such as a vinegar, lemon or lime juice or other citrus, or wine.

A good marinade has four key elements: fat, acid, sugar and seasoning. Fat is a crucial component of any marinade. Fat is essential because it moistens the meat during cooking and holds onto any seasoning you add to the marinade. This recipe uses olive oil, but you can also use canola, sesame or coconut oil.