Marinades

[jaybee]

Marinades are a wonderful method of adding flavor and tenderness to meats and fish.

What wet or dry marinade recipes and techniques do you find most appealing for chicken, beef, lamb, pork, game, seafood, veggies?

[Anna N]

Not sure if this qualifies as a marinade as it is a dry rub but we love it on pork tenderloin:

fennel rub

[bushey]

I love making up new marinades for pork, beef, fish,lamb and chicken. For some reason, I've never found that marinating vegetables ahead of time is worth the advance planning -- just brushing some on while grilling or roasting seems to do the trick just as well.

My basic recipe is some type of oil (canola, olive, sesame), an acid component (flavored vinegars, lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice), herbs (fresh or dried) and sometimes wine. Then there are the "extras", like garlic, shallots, capers, pickled peppers, etc.

For lamb I like to use a full bodied red wine or port and some honey if I'm grilling a butterflied leg or thicker cuts. For shish kebab I like a thinner marinade with just oil, red wine vinegar, red wine and herbs.

For beef I prefer Asian style marinades, with just a drop of oil and some hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili paste, sherry, pinch of sugar and a pinch of baking soda.

For pork and chicken I sometimes make a marinade using canola oil, orange juice, tarragon, mustard and curry powder.

For swordfish I love olive oil, white wine vinegar, chopped garlic, capers, parsley, salt and pepper. For salmon I use a recipe from a friend that sounds weird but tastes great: brown sugar dissolved in water. Then I smear the filet with honey and top with cracked pepper. Or, you could use a spice rub.

For chicken and ribs I use a dry rub which is incredibly simple but I can't remember right now . It's smoky, hot, sweet and salty.

My mother always used Wishbone (or Ken's) Italian dressing as a marinade for London Broil and every once in a while I toss a tough piece of meat in a ziplock plastic bag with dressing and let it sit overnight and all day. Who says you can't go home again?

[vengroff]

For pork, I like a puree a fresh mango or papaya. You can add chilis, salt, pepper, and minced cilantro or any other herb you fancy. These fruits have an enzyme that breaks down and softens the meat quite rapidly. Don't leave this one overnight, or your meat will turn to mush. Note that pasteurized juice of these fruits doesn't work, since the enzymes have been destroyed.

[Suvir Saran]

I was not sure if Mango has the same enzyme. Nice to know that it does.

In India we use papaya (green papaya is best) in marinades. And yes a couple of hours with that marinade is plenty.

Pappain (sp??) is the enzyme that does the trick in papayas.

[nerissa]

I recently did something with chicken that I got from the NYtimes a while back. You marinate chicken pieces in yogurt, thyme, ginger, shallot, and lemon juice. Easy as pie. Bake.

For London Broil, I like Guinness. My boyfriend argues that this is a poor use of Guinness.

For pork and lamb, I usually make up dry rubs. We tend to use cardamom, ginger, garlic, fennel (in all forms).

For white fish: hands down: miso.

[BigMac]

Not sure if this qualifies as a marinade as it is a dry rub but we love it on pork tenderloin:

fennel rub

I was planning on making a pork tenderloin this weekend with that fennel and orange salad that was in the epicurious recipe flash - (link) would that be too much fennel?

[JAZ]

For pork, I like a puree a fresh mango or papaya.  You can add chilis, salt, pepper, and minced cilantro or any other herb you fancy.  These fruits have an enzyme that breaks down and softens the meat quite rapidly.  Don't leave this one overnight, or your meat will turn to mush.  Note that pasteurized juice of these fruits doesn't work, since the enzymes have been destroyed.

Are you sure about mango acting as a tenderizer? I hadn't heard or read that anywhere. Pineapple does too (which is the reason that manufacturers of gelatin desserts tell you not to add raw pineapple). And most commercial meat tenderizers contain the same enzyme as papaya.