How To Make the Perfect Marinade in 5 Easy Steps

Greetings, dear readers!

Day 9 of the 21 day blogging challenge was a bit of a challenging topic, since I previously considered these sorts of listicles to be insipid at best, overplayed at most. But, since this particular prompt of "easy steps" arrived in my inbox, I'd give it a spin and see what came of it.

One skill I've come to appreciate from my impoverished lifestyle is making cheap but delicious meals. Food is essential to life and should always be enjoyed regardless of socioeconomic status. While my husband does most of the cooking, he leaves any marinating work to me and making a good marinade is something I take great pride in. Having learned this skill from my husband's guidance, here's how you too can make a great marinade in five easy steps.

Carne asada

1. Know what kind of dish you are making

This is the first step towards any kind of kitchen endeavor, whether it's a marinade or a meal. Decide on what you want and buy accordingly.

2. Know your ingredients

This is by far the most challenging part of any culinary endeavor, especially for novices like me. But, it doesn't have to be hopeless. A general rule of thumb is to use complementary flavors with your meats or vegetables when making a marinade to enhance the flavor of the end product. For example, in a pork or chicken marinade, use sour and sweet ingredients like citrus or vinegar, brown sugar, and some spices. Beef requires some acidity but you want to aim for a savory marinade using some citrus but more oils and spices. Vegetables can be marinated in something sour, like an oil and vinegar salad dressing. If you lack some ingredients, try and find the next similar ingredients to substitute for. When using fruits for marinades, like citrus, use all of the fruit, including the peel. This way, nothing is wasted.

My specialty, ginger-lime marinated pork chops

3. Don't skimp on the acids

This is especially true when making a marinade for a tough cut of meat like flap steaks or pork chops. The purpose of marinade is to tenderize the meat while imparting some flavor to it. Whenever I make my famous ginger-lime marinade, I use lots of limes and the peels to make sure the meat gets extra tender before cooking. The more acidic the marinate, the less you need to cook the meat. Do be mindful, though, that this works better on some meats as opposed to others. Most of the time, you don't need a battery acid-level marinade for something like beef.

4. Use fresh ingredients whenever possible

In my marinades, I try to use fresh herbs from the garden and whatever ingredients I have on hand that are not pickled, freeze-dried, or canned first. It really makes a difference in taste when fresh ingredients are utilized, and it really isn't that much more time to prepare.

5. Always let the marinade sit overnight before cooking

While some recipes I've encountered call for letting the meat marinade for anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, I would always advise letting the marinade do its work overnight. It's not overkill because you want the marinade to really penetrate whatever meat or vegetable you're working on. The results are worth the wait, and it's less cooking time for you.

What are some of your tips for a perfect marinade? Please share in the comments below.

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Sunday Night BBQ

The BBQ Queen has done her duty tonight!

Pork chops cut like ribs, and chicken

After whipping up two batches of my favorite Ginger-Lime Marinade (the batch for the pork chops was gonna have sugar. I used a 1/2 cup of light brown sugar instead of my preferred dark brown sugar cuz that was all we had available) and my usual overnight soak, they grilled up tasty and tender.

Two things:

1. I never would have guessed that the skin would be the hardest part of separating chicken quarters (the bones weren't that bad, and I was able to do the job without resorting to using a saw!)
2. It's hard as hell to cook a chicken leg all the way through. The thigh will cook fine, but the drumstick will be pink at the bone. Or, the drumstick will be fine, and the thigh will be pink in a couple spots. This is why I seldom buy raw chicken and prefer to buy it already prepared.

But in spite of the hassles with the chicken, the pork chops turned out marvelous. Juicy, flavorful, and melt-in-your-mouth tender. I take great pride in my marinades, so it pleases me to see how great it worked. The 1/2 cup of light brown sugar helped enhance the taste of the pork without making it too sweet.

Have a blessed Sunday and a safe Labor Day!

Ginger-Lime Multipurpose Marinate

The self-proclaimed Barbeque Queen of Arizona lived up to her name last night.

Since we had a pack of pork chops that needed eating, I decided to marinate the pork chops before BBQing them. The marinate that I chose was one that was originally meant for chicken (see original recipe here), but since alot of things you can do to chicken also apply to pork, I figured I'd give pork this marinade and see how it came out. This marinade worked wonderfully on the chicken. It's pretty easy and can be doubled/tripled/etc as needed depending on how much meat you're working with (I doubled the original recipe), and can be modified within reason.

Don't skimp on the lime juice because when working with pork, you want something that's pretty acidic. The acid marinate help tenderize the pork, making it more flavorful to eat.

Ginger-Lime Multipurpose Marinate

• Juice from about 4-6 limes (or about 1 cup of lime juice)
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced or shredded
• Large chunk of shredded ginger
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Zest from one of the used limes, remaining peels from the other used limes
• 1 shot of rum (optional)
• Pack of pork chops
• Large non-reactive bowl

Cut limes in half and juice into the large bowl, adding in the pulp. Set the used halves aside. Add in garlic, ginger, black pepper, soy sauce, oil, zest, and rum. Cut up the remaining used lime halves (I quarter them) and add into the bowl. Give it a swirl or stir to combine ingredients. Then add the pork chops to the bowl. Make sure the marinate covers all the chops. Cover the bowl, and let sit overnight.

My marinating chops after their overnight soak. Grey color is good, since that means the marinate penetrated the meat deeper.

To cook, place chops on heated grill and cover. Let sit for about 10-15 minutes, then turn the meat. Cover and wait a few minutes. Pork is done when the inside is slightly pink and a meat thermometer inserted into the chop reads anywhere between 145 degrees Fahrenheit and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Do NOT let the inside meat get white, as that means the meat has been vulcanized to "well done". Let sit for 3 minutes to retain juices, serve and eat.

The Queen at work

Tips:

• Freeze the ginger. It shreds easier
• I recommend using Captain Morgan 100-proof rum. It adds a slight taste and disinfects the meat. Use at least 2 shots of the rum when using this marinate with chicken, since chicken is a particularly germy meat. Tequila is also an acceptable substitute, given the amount of limes used
• If using this marinate on chicken, pour the marinate ingredients into a gallon-size freezer bag, add chicken, and refrigerate overnight. Chicken does not keep well outside of a refrigerated environment longer than a few hours
• Herbs like parsley or cilantro can be added for flavor. Use fresh if possible
• Throw some bacon fat onto the coals for added flavor
• For a sweet marinate, add 1/2 cup of brown sugar. I recommend dark brown sugar as the flavor works well with pork, and enhances the limey tartness of the marinate

Bon apetite!