Tips to marinade steak and other meats

You like savory grilled meat?

Got some tidbits of wisdom I gathered from Rachel Ray’s article (see link below) on marinades for steak. I love her easy recipes and she has some great tips I’d like to share.

Why I like to marinade meat

In my family we always marinade anything that goes on the grill: chicken, pork or steak.
Sometimes we marinade a week ahead and freeze the meat (in preparation for a party) until it’s time to grill.
In our experience it makes for the best tasting whatever-you’re-grilling piece of meat.
But, as I was reading this article, I learned a few new things…

A steak is not a steak, therefore, not all steaks are alike.

That goes for chicken or pork too, because you may already know that chicken breast requires less time to cook than dark meat. Same goes for steak, because the more tender the piece (and more expensive), less seasoning may be required.

First time I heard an Argentine complain about meat having “too much” seasoning, I didn’t understand. How can you not like more flavor? Well, you may know that Argentina is the “Steak Country” of the world, so apparently this guy knew what he was talking about. All he wanted was just a bit of salt on his steak, to make the flavor of the meat come out. Well okay then, this explains it 🙂

But cheaper cuts need some help to get more flavor by using a marinade, which in turn may help make the meat more tender. And boom, that’s the main reason our grilled satay’s are super tender, no matter which cut we use!

How to use a marinade

First we make our marinade with fresh ingredients, like onion, garlic, herbs or freshly ground spices
Then we “massage” it into the meat
Let it sit for at least an hour or overnight, in the fridge
Take out half an hour before grilling to bring to ‘room temp’
Fire up the grill and get grilling!

Divided opinions on marinades

Just FYI, some chefs don’t believe that soaking meat too long with add more flavor because it only goes skin deep. We are not professionals, but to get flavor to go further than skin deep, we poke the meat.

They also don’t believe that more time to marinade will not tenderize the meat, but rather make it tough. Again, not in our experience, but that may depend on what you’re using to marinade. We don’t make ours too acidic, just a pinch of tamarind, lime juice or vinegar.

Want to test our theory? Try this family recipe for beef or chicken satay.

Marinade or Rub?

Don’t have a lot of time to add flavor to meat? Use a dry rub! Especially if you like a savory crust on your meat, something you won’t get from a marinade, which is more about adding flavor.

I use both techniques, because I will forever choose flavor of spices and herbs, over salt-only. Blame that on the Javanese side of my family, who can infuse finger-licking flavor in the most plain of ingredients, be it vegetables, tofu or meat.

Here’s a rub recipe for Jamaican jerk chicken, loaded with flavor

We’re heading towards the end of summer, but you can enjoy this flavoring technique yearlong. Instead of using the outdoor grill, you can use a grilling pan on your stove, or roast your meat in the oven.

Either way, enjoy!

Resources used:

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