Marinating tips to pack your grilled meat with flavour

Marinades are a quick and easy way to add a boost of flavour to your grilled foods. Picture: Supplied

Marinades are a quick and easy way to add a boost of flavour to your grilled foods. Picture: Supplied

Published Mar 8, 2023

Share

Marinades are a quick and easy way to add a boost of flavour to your grilled foods.

The bright, acidic flavours of a marinade balance the charred and smoky flavours from the grill.

Using a grill mat when you marinate will keep the delicious flavour on the meat instead of falling through the grill grates.

The culinary artists at Granny Mouse Country House & Spa have some super awesome tips on how to marinate for success along with the easiest, most customisable marinade recipes you will ever find.

Tips for you to remember when making your marinade:

  • Marinades are amazing to help prepare meat for the braai by mixing up a bunch of special ingredients. This is then poured over the meat and must rest for a minimum of an hour before going on the grill.
  • Once you have added the marinade to the meat, don’t leave it out on the kitchen counter, especially in summer. Make sure you store it in the fridge.
  • When using marinades, remember meat will burn easily due to the sugar content, so when cooking make sure you grill longer over a lower heat. Try to remove the excess marinade before grilling and just before removing it from cooking add it again.
  • Once the marinade has been used, it’s best to discard it.
  • Tip: Ziplock bags are excellent for marinating meat. This way you can easily massage the marinade into the meat and keep turning it over in the fridge so both sides are well marinated.
Marinades are a quick and easy way to add a boost of flavour to your grilled foods. Picture: Pexels

Chicken marinade

Ingredients

15g onion powder

15g garlic powder

15g fresh thyme

15g whole-grain mustard

10g fresh ginger

10g fresh garlic

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Mix all ingredients well.

Toss chicken in the mixture and allow to marinade for about 2 hours.

Thereafter, it is ready to be cooked on the grill, braai, or roasted in the oven.

Marinades are a quick and easy way to add a boost of flavour to your grilled foods. Picture: Pexels Valeria Boltneva

Beef marinade

Ingredients

5g rosemary, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

15g thyme, finely chopped

15g paprika

10g onion powder

5g ground cloves

2 tots of whisky of choice (optional)

Method

Pat fillet dry, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

In the meanwhile, mix all other ingredients in a bowl.

Coat the fillet generously with marinade.

Seal meat in a hot skillet if intended on roasting in the oven.

Can be cooked directly on the heat if grilling or braaiing.

Once cooked to the desired temperature, let the meat rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Related Topics:

foodiesrecipesadvice