How-To: Making Your Own Marinades

Have you ever wanted to make your own marinades, but don't know how? Here are some tips on making a great marinade using things already in your kitchen.

1. Add flavor

The reason people marinade their food is to add flavor without adding a lot of extra calories, fat, or salt content. You can add simple things like salt and pepper, herbs, and different seasoning together and make a great marinade. Your options can basically go on forever.

2. Loosen Up

Another reason why people choose to marinade the meat is to tenderize and break down the meat. Marinades contain a lot of acids, which after awhile starts to loosen up and break down the fibers within the muscle of your meat. By doing this you are letting the meat become so tender it will be easy to chew.

You can use may different things to tenderize your meat with using everything from juices to beer will help loosen up the muscle fibers. Fruits and vegetables can also help tenderize different meats, foods that naturally have a lot of acid in them are lemons, pineapples, onion, and peppers, you can use any of these in your marinades recipes.

3. Got Milk?

You can use milk as a marinade for certain meats, for example buttermilk is a great marinade when you are cooking chicken with or without the skin.

4. Let It Do Its Magic

After you have made your marinade and have added whatever type of meat you are using, cover the meat with either plastic wrap or foil and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Let your marinate work on your meat for a good period of time, anywhere from 6-24 hours should be enough time. So make sure to remember that before you start cooking so you aren't eating dinner at 12 a.m. in the morning.

5. Marinades Are Healthier

Marinating your foods can actually be healthier than cooking your food any other way. Marinating helps cut down on excess fats, oils, and sauces that are generally used in other cooking methods.

By letting the meat rest you are helping to keep your meats lean and low fat. Also, marinades help block cancer causing carcinogens that can be created when grilling your foods are high temperature rates.

Make sure before you start cooking that your surface space has been cleaned and you have everything you need to make your recipes. Also keep your meat refrigerated until you are ready to use it in your dish.