Lesson 4: Rubs, Brines, Marinades & Classic Combos

Marinades

By contrast to brines, marinades are used on all sorts of meats as well as vegetables. Marinades are particularly good on fish. Many new cooks are taught that marinades are tenderizing agents – this is not true. No matter how long you marinate a piece of meat, the liquid will only penetrate slightly below the surface – never deep enough to tenderize. So marinades are valued for the additional flavor they bring, although the additional flavor can mask underlying toughness.

Most marinades will contain both oil and an acid. You can eliminate or minimize either of these elements, depending on what you’re marinating. Oil marinades add fat to lean foods, while the acidic liquid somewhat precooks food by breaking down outer surface proteins.

Length of time in the marinade influences how strong the flavor will become. But if your marinade is acidic and your meat is tender, like fish or shrimp, you don’t want to marinate for a lengthy period as the fish can get almost cooked. Two hours is usually the maximum marinating period for tender foods, while heartier beef or lamb can be marinated over night. The herbed oils we made in Lesson 3 make great marinades.

Because you don’t need to dissolve a lot of salt, marinades do not need to be heated before being added to the food. It is, however, important that the marinade cover all surfaces. The best approach is to put the marinade into a zip lock bag with the food. Seal the bag after squeezing out as much air as possible. Put in the refrigerator, but remember to occasionally pick the bag up and push the meat around to redistribute the marinade, and then put the bag back resting on the opposite side.

One word of caution. If you want to use the same marinade as a sauce or flavor after the meat has been cooked, make certain you then boil the marinade to kill off any bacteria from the raw meat.

Marinades can be of any flavor you like – and you can use whole herbs or chopped. If using whole herbs, rub them a little to release the oils. Trotter has a basic herb marinade below which is very adaptable:

Yields 2 cups:

• 1 ¼ cups olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped rosemary
• ¼ cup chopped thyme
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• ½ cup chopped onion
• Pepper to taste

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