Learn How to Marinate in Time for the Weekend

Everyone loves to have their favorite foods cooked to perfection on the grill. And learning how to marinate is an important step in achieving this perfection. Marinating is a cooking method - or at the very least an important prelude to many cooking methods - that needs to be understood in itself. It is much more than simply soaking your favorite meat in your favorite salad dressing before slapping it on the grill. Or at least it should be! There are sometricks to getting it right and lucky for you, they are simple and you will learn them right here!

Marinate with a Mission.

There are three main reasons why you should learn how to marinate. The first is the most obvious (I think) and that is to impart flavor. Simply put, you marinate something to make it taste better. And since most marinating occurs by placing a meat in a liquid, it stands to reason that you also marinate to add moisture to meat and to retain moisture during cooking. The third reason is that marinating has a slight tenderizing effect on meat. When you match a creative, well-balanced marinade with the correct cut of meat and then apply an appropriate cooking method (such as grilling), the procedure is simple and the results can be dramatic.

Proceed with Caution (but not too much!).

In learning how to marinate, one of the things to determine is what meat you plan to use. A common mistake is to overestimate the meat tenderizing results that can be achieved with marinating. Yes, marinating will provide SOME tenderizing - but only some. You still cannot take shoe leather, marinate it and cut it with a butter knife. It's not going to happen - and expecting that will only produce those disappointing results I mentioned before. Like anything else you cook, it is always best to start with good ingredients and to consider the end result you desire. In addition, muscle tissue will absorb marinade better than fat tissue so using an overly fatty piece of meat will result in very little marinating actually getting into your product.

There is a Method to the Madness (and to the Marinade).

Making your own marinade is easy and ingredient options are virtually limitless. In most marinades, the essential ingredient is an acid, which acts as a slight tenderizer, but the type of acid you choose is completely open to your creativity and the type of dish you are making. Wine, lemon juice, tomato juice, balsamic vinegar, orange juice pineapple juice and margarita mix are all fairly common acids that work great in marinades. Adding oil is also an option, but keep in mind that the oil itself will not be drawn into the muscle tissue. Oil in this case is used solely for flavoring so if you use oil, choose a flavored oil. Fresh herbs and spices can also add flavor to marinades and you've got lots of choices here, too. When using herbs, remember that whole herbs release their flavor slowly so they work best for long marinades. If you are going with a quicker marinade, grind up the herbs before use to impart their flavor more quickly. Then you just make it up! Yes, you read that correctly. There is no recipe here because there are hundreds of recipes for marinades and I don't know what you like or what you're making. The key to cooking success is to learn the basic cooking methods, the techniques of achieving the end result you desire, and then let your taste, imagination and your unique situation be the guide for making up your very own marinade recipe, which might be different each and every time you marinate.

The only Reaction should be a Good One.

Always place the product you are marinating (with the marinade) in an air-tight container to keep the moisture in. Remember - one of the reasons we are going through this process is to add moisture so you don't want to lose it at the same time! How long you let the juices soak in to the meat depends on how much time you have and the cut of meat you are using. The thicker the meat, the longer you will have to marinate to impart the flavor into the protein. Remember to use an acid-resistant container such as stainless steel. Don't use copper or pewter as this can react with the acid, making those who eat the food sick. Finally, always store the container in the refrigerator for the entire duration - until you cook the meat. Remember to always discard the marinade after you have finished marinating and never re-use the marinade during the cooking process because it has had raw meat soaking in it for a length of time. In these ways, you are ensuring food safety.

So - what will you make this weekend? Relax. You know how to marinate and you've got a whole summer of delicious experimentation ahead of you!

This article on How to Marinate is based on the "Cooking Coarse" video series, created by Chef Todd Mohr and based on his cooking-without-recipes philosophy. Chef Todd is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur and educator in addition to being the host of \"Cooking Coarse\". For more details on Cooking by Method and how you can cook better everyday at home, visit Chef Todd's website I Hate Cooking Recipes where you can view over 160 free cooking videos and subscribe to the Free monthly e-zine "Burn Your Recipes."