When marinating meat, you feel like detonating a bomb - you marinate "by eye", so the marinade is different every time? Or maybe the meat on the grill does not always cook to the desired softness, and sometimes it even burns?
It's time to talk about proper marinating of meat and how to prepare a wonderful marinade for chicken, pork, game or fish. We discovered the flavors of Greek, Indian, Caucasian and other world cuisines!
Pickling: what rules should be followed
Pickling meat should consist of two main and indispensable ingredients - acid and oil. Citrus fruits (lemon, lime or orange juice), wine vinegar, yogurt, kiwi or even pineapple acid are perfect for marinades.
Why is acid and oil the best combination for pickling? Enzymes (enzymes) contained in the acid break down the meat and thus soften it, while the oil moisturizes the meat, preventing it from drying out.
Also, all marinades are wonderfully flavored with spice mixtures and herbs. But be careful: if you rub the spices too hard into the meat, you can not only multiply them, but also damage the structure of the meat - avoid pressure.
Do you have game? The most important thing to remember is that game should always be marinated longer than other meats. If the meat is from a young animal, marinate it for at least a few days, if from an older one, marinate it for at least a week.
If you are about to cook marinated meat, first of all, dry it. Paper towels are perfect for this. If you skip this step, moist meat will hardly brown, and grill marks will be hard to come by.
By the way, it is recommended to lift the grill lid and turn the meat as often as possible - the longer the meat remains unused, the tastier it is cooked. This golden rule does not apply when grilling kebabs - you can certainly turn them more often.
Marinating chicken
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 roasting fillets or drumsticks - marinating for half an hour to several hours will be enough. All the most expressive colors and juiciness of the marinade will be revealed if the marinade is applied not only on the surface of the chicken, but also under the skin.
Chicken is soft enough meat, so its marinade can be with less acid. Here you can allow yourself to improvise and use mashed currants mixed with oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper instead of the usual citric or orange acid. Marinate the meat rubbed with this marinade overnight.
Do you like oriental flavors? For your consideration, the chicken teriyaki marinade, which will require: 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 minced garlic, and the same amount of grated ginger. Heat all the ingredients in a pan until the sugar dissolves.
Planning to serve the chicken with dzadziki sauce? This marinade will be a much simpler version: grind about half a glass of mint leaves with a blender until smooth, add ¼ cup of oil, two tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano, one hot pepper without seeds, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, the juice of half a lemon and the pulp of a whole lemon. Believe me, this marinade will be most wonderful for chicken kebabs.
Undoubtedly, you will get a great marinade if you use natural or Greek yogurt as its base. How to prepare? Blend together until smooth: yogurt, oil, a few cloves of garlic, juice of half a lemon, salt and freshly ground black pepper. If traditional Greek cuisine is out of place, also season the marinade with fresh parsley and mix in a few teaspoons of dried oregano.
Do you want Indian aromas? Use cumin spices, paprika powder and grated ginger. Those who like spiciness can also add cayenne pepper powder. We wrote about the use of spices in more detail here.
By the way, don't write off nut butter - it can be used for more than just desserts. Grind the nut butter until smooth 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, hot pepper without seeds, add a little soy sauce.
Marinate the pork
Pork marinade can be both wet and dry. We will discuss each of them.
When wet marinating pork, the most important thing to remember are these five key steps: first, choose a liquid (red wine or juice with an intense flavor), then add oil, add brightly flavored chopped greens (onion leaves, garlic, ginger), season with salt, pepper and your favorite dried spices. Do not use this marinade to glaze meat - raw meat will definitely leave bacteria in it.
How to prepare a wet marinade for pork? When marinating pork, choose kiwis or pineapples - they have a lot of meat-tenderizing enzymes. Mix the following ingredients until smooth: half a pineapple, a third of a glass of soy sauce, the same amount of honey, ¼ glass of cider vinegar, two chopped cloves of garlic, a quarter of a teaspoon of clove powder and a teaspoon of ginger powder. If you use kiwi instead of pineapple, mash it separately with a fork before adding it to the marinade - this way the bitterness of the seeds will not remain.
Marinade can also be dry - when a mixture of spices is rubbed into the meat. This marinade works best on meaty cuts of pork (such as ribs) and is easily created by grinding your favorite spices together, such as cumin, brown sugar, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, mustard and garlic powder. After rubbing the meat with this mixture, let it marinate for at least half an hour.
Another spice mix consisting of paprika, ginger, cinnamon powder, salt, ground pepper, cayenne pepper would be a more versatile option.
Getting ready to marinate beef?
In fact, the taste characteristics of beef steak are best revealed without using any marinades. It is recommended to put the most effort in choosing quality beef, but not in the preparation of the marinade.
A great beef marinade, if you can call it that, is salt, pepper, and some single spice to give the beef a subtle aftertaste. Rosemary, thyme, gourmet seasoning salts would be wonderful for this.
Plastering
First of all, when glazing meat, use a sprig of rosemary, thyme or sage instead of a regular whisk. When the herbs touch the hot meat, their oils will be released, giving your steaks extra spiciness.
It is also important to note that the glaze, especially if it contains sugar, should not be applied too early - this will burn the steaks.
A pomegranate juice glaze common in the Caucasus countries will work wonderfully when glazing beef or pork. How to prepare it? Fry the chopped onion in a pan, add the pomegranate juice, then season the mixture with salt, pepper, honey and fresh thyme. You can additionally add red wine or lemon juice. Heat until the liquid thickens.
Apricot glaze is wonderful for chicken: mix a glass of apricot jam, three spoons of olive oil, two spoons of soy sauce, a spoon of Dijon mustard, a spoon of finely chopped garlic and one finely chopped Chalapa pepper.
For those who like a savory taste, the meat is glazed with a homemade whiskey glaze. How to prepare? Fry a tablespoon each of garlic and onion powder in a pan, stir in hot sauce, pour a glass of pineapple juice, half a glass of your favorite whiskey, throw in two cubes of beef stock, one and a half glasses of brown sugar and even four tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. When the mass boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. boil it.
A mango and ginger glaze is perfect for pork ham. Heat one and a half tablespoons of freshly grated ginger with one and a half glasses of mango jam in a pot. Then add half a teaspoon of ground cloves, add ¾ cup of brown sugar. Heat until the sugar dissolves and you get a thick, smooth mass.
A maple syrup glaze is the best way to flavor fish. Mix ¼ cup of maple syrup with a teaspoon of smoked paprika, a pinch of cayenne pepper, two teaspoons of ground cardamom, add salt and freshly ground black pepper.
What can and cannot be used to water meat?
Why should meat be watered? You have probably noticed that when cooking fattier meat on the grill or on a plate, a lot of fat always comes out of it. It is for this reason - the drying of the meat - that it should be watered.
Most often, hot water or broth is used for watering the meat. Fats are not suitable for basting meat, as they only dry out the meat even more. Also, do not water the meat with the remaining marinade - it may contain bacteria from raw meat.
You can also water with cream diluted with a little water - it is especially suitable for rabbits. In order to add a spicy spice to meat, such as pork or beef, with a stronger taste, water it with beer.
It is recommended to water the meat after removing it from the coals, otherwise an open flame will arise.
Based on VMG's Grill Bible.
