Add flavor (without a ton of fat) to your meal in just minutes!
Whether you think everything’s better with sauce or just good old-fashioned salt and pepper, hold on. Have you ever considered that a marinade—a mix of herbs and spices, natural acid, and a little oil—may be a tastier and more nutritious option? Here’s how to make your own marinade magic.
Effortless Flavor
All marinades contain some form of acid—vinegar such as balsamic or rice, or a citric acid like that found in lemon, lime, or orange juice or soy sauce. Acid in conjunction with some herbs and spices plus a little oil provide the flavor for your marinade. Mix together in a shallow pan or sealable bag in endless combinations. Try:
- 1/2 cup lemon juice + 1 Tbsp sesame oil + 2 tsp grated fresh gingerroot + 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/2 cup lime juice + 1 Tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp cumin + 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar + 1 Tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp each oregano and thyme + 1 clove minced garlic
“Typically you need about 1/2 cup of marinade for every pound of meat, tofu, or veggies,” says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Soak your food in marinade for as little as 30 minutes and no longer than 24 hours before baking, broiling, or grilling.
Benefits Beyond Taste
It’s no mystery that marinades can help tougher meat cuts taste tender and delicious. Here’s how: Acid helps break down meat tissues and can make your food fall-apart luscious. If you want to tenderize tougher cuts of meat, plan on an overnight soak to ensure acids penetrate the entire cut.
But there may be more to marinades than taste. Exposing meat, poultry, and fish to smoke via grilling can lead to the formation of harmful cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCA). Researchers don’t understand exactly why, but they know that marinating these foods for at least 30 minutes before grilling may help to prevent HCAs from forming.
Marinade How-To
Here are some steps that can help when making marinades.
Avoid metal. Mix marinades and marinate foods in resealable plastic storage bags or glass or plastic containers. Metal can react with the acid in the marinade, causing off flavors.
Limit oil. Use no more than a tablespoon of oil per pound of food. An aromatic oil, such as sesame, can add lots of flavor with just a touch.
Just chill. It’s safest to marinate foods in the refrigerator prior to cooking to help guard against bacteria formation. However, if you’re short on time, marinate foods for up to 30 minutes at room temperature.
Cook to reuse. If you’re marinating meat and want to use the extra marinade for a sauce, bring it to a boil and boil for 1 minute.
Watch the salt. Using a little salt in a marinade can help tenderize meat, but take care not to use too much. Skip the salt if the cut of meat is already tender or if you’re using soy sauce. If you’re marinating vegetables, tofu, or fruit, omit the salt. Herbs like basil and thyme and spices such as ginger, allspice, cayenne pepper, and garlic pack a powerful flavor punch that can bring some zing to your foods.
