Dear Eric: I’d like a recipe for a marinade, primarily for beef or pork, made of normal ingredients found at home. Could you suggest something basic and easy?
Reg, Shawnigan Lake
Dear Reg: Today’s recipes are for beef and pork that’s sliced or cubed — not a large roast.
A marinade serves two prime purposes.
For tougher cuts, a marinade can tenderize the meat. To do that, the marinade must contain an acidic ingredient with the power to break down tough fibres — perhaps vinegar, wine, lemon juice, soy sauce or a prepared sauce containing acidic elements. Ingredients with natural enzymes, such as onion or ginger, also help tenderize.
The second purpose of the marinade is to add flavour. As well as the ingredients noted above, use spices and herbs.
Less tender cuts of meat should soak in the marinade for at least eight hours, or overnight. That allows the marinade to penetrate the meat and do its tenderizing work, while adding moisture to leaner cuts.
In most supermarkets, sliced beef cuts suitable for longer marinating — round, sirloin tip and flank steak — are often labelled “marinating steaks.” Pork cuts suitable for long marinating include lean chops, shoulder steaks and cubed leg meat.
Tender cuts, such as beef rib eye steaks and pork tenderloin, can be marinated but it’s for flavouring only, as these meats are already tender. If you marinate tender meat longer than a few hours, it could become un-appealingly soft in texture.
Whether used only to flavour, or to both flavour and tenderize, the marinade must surround the meat to do its job.
Some cooks like to put the meat and marinade into a sealable food-safe plastic bag. They then squeeze out the air, seal the bag, place it on a sided tray and turn the bag occasionally to distribute the marinade. The liquid does completely surround the food.
I’m not a fan of these plastic bags. I worry that a marinade that can tenderize tough meat might break down the plastic. And you can’t reuse the bag, so you throw it in the garbage, which is not environmentally friendly.
So I marinate the old-fashioned way, in a glass or enamel, shallow-sided dish. (Aluminum or other metals will react with the acid in the marinade.) I’ll occasionally turn the meat to ensure it gets evenly marinated.
I’ve come up with easy-to-make marinades for beef steaks and pork chops I hope Reg will enjoy. The marinades will also work for 750 grams (1.5 pounds) of cubed beef or pork that you could turn into kebabs and grill.
8-Flavour Marinated Beef Steaks
Eight ingredients found in most kitchens combine to marinate and flavour the beef before cooking.
Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus marinating time
Cooking time: Depends on desired doneness (see method)
Makes: 4 servings
3 Tbsp steak sauce, such as HP or A1
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme, or 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh
1 1/2 lb (about 3/4-inch thick) top or bottom round, eye of round, or top sirloin steak, cut into 4 portions
• salt to taste
• olive oil for the grill
Place all ingredients, except steak, salt and oil for the grill, in a shallow-sided dish just large enough to hold the meat in a single layer. Add the steaks, turn to coat with the marinade, and then nestle and press them into a single layer, or as close as you can get to that. Cover, refrigerate and marinate 8 hours, or overnight. Turn the meat a few times while marinating.
When ready to cook, remove the steaks from the marinade and set on a plate. Let steaks warm at room temperature 20 minutes.
Preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to medium-high. Season the steaks with salt. Oil the bars of the grill, set on the steaks, and cooked to the desired doneness. I allow 2 to 3 minutes per side for rare, to medium rare, and 3 to 4 minutes for medium.
Marinated Pork Chops with Apple, Maple and Mustard
Sweet juice and syrup, spicy mustard and some salty and tangy elements deliciously flavour the pork before it’s grilled.
Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus marinating time
Cooking time: 6 to 8 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
3 Tbsp unsweetened apple juice
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried sage leaves (see Note)
• ground black pepper, to taste
4 (8 oz.) bone-in pork chops
• salt to taste
• olive oil for the grill
Place all ingredients, except pork, salt and oil for the grill, in a shallow-sided dish just large enough to hold the pork in a single layer. Prick the chops several times with a fork, set in the marinade, and turn to coat. Nestle and press the chops into a single layer, or as close as you can get to that. Cover, refrigerate and marinate eight hours, or overnight.
Turn chops a few times while marinating.
When ready to cook, remove the chops from the marinade and set on a plate. Let chops warm at room temperature 20 minutes.
Preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to medium-high. Season the chops with salt. Lightly oil the bars of the grill, and then grill the chops 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through with a hint of pink in the middle.
Note: Dried sage leaves are available in the bottled herb aisle of most supermarkets. It’s made from crumbled sage leaves; don’t confuse it with powder-like ground sage.
Eric Akis is the author of the hardcover book Everyone Can Cook Everything. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
