To become a barbecue pro and vary the flavors during your traditional meals with friends, marinades are the essential element! Here is everything you need to know about barbecue marinades.
Essential Elements
To succeed with any marinade, three elements are essential to your recipe:
- An acidic element
Balsamic vinegar, plain yogurt, white wine, red wine, beer, mustard…
Primarily, this element helps to tenderize the meat. - A fatty element
Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil…
The fatty element helps to spread the flavors into the meat. - Herbs, spices, and aromatics
Everything depends on the chosen seasonings: maple, cumin, honey, rosemary, garlic, mint…
The combinations are endless!
And finally, the seasonings give a spicy, woody, or sweet flavor to the meat.
Marinade Dosage
There are no rules for dosing your marinades. However, there should be as much fatty element as there is an acidic element. Then, let your imagination run wild and do it according to your tastes.
Marinating Time
You should count between 1 hour and 24 hours.
- For very tender meat, let your meat marinate for 24 hours before cooking.
- For moderately infused meat, count three hours in the refrigerator.
- For fish, count between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the size.
Special Mention for Poultry
Regarding poultry, their flesh is impermeable, so a traditional marinade will not penetrate. There are two solutions:
- Prepare a brine with a liquid base (water, wine, beer) and coarse salt. Then add the desired aromatics and seasonings.
- Prepare a marinade based on plain yogurt or buttermilk (because these ingredients contain sought-after enzymes) and add the desired seasoning.
Last Tip
For a very homogeneous marinade and to avoid unnecessarily dirtying a plate, pour the prepared marinade into a freezer bag. Then, place one or two pieces of meat in it and place the bag in the refrigerator.
Follow all these tips and you will undoubtedly become a barbecue pro with your new outdoor kitchen
