Marinate

Marinate

Flavor and tenderize meat or fish before cooking

The technique

Mix an acidic ingredient, liquid, aromatics, and optionally oil in a dish or bag. Completely submerge the meat or fish, cover, and leave in the refrigerator, turning halfway through for even flavor distribution.

When

Before cooking on the grill, in the oven, or in a skillet, when you want to both deeply flavor and soften somewhat firm fibers. Red meats tolerate long marinades; fish and seafood require much less time.

The pitfalls

1. Too much acid for too long literally cooks the flesh and makes it mushy.
2. Marinating at room temperature promotes bacterial growth.
3. Reusing raw marinade as a sauce without boiling it first.
4. Meat that is too lean absorbs acidity too quickly and loses its texture.

The cue

Count on 30 minutes to 2 hours for fish, and several hours to overnight for thick red meat. Beyond 24 hours with a strong acid, the texture becomes mealy rather than tender. Taste a small piece if you are unsure of the resting time.