https://www.thedailymeal.com/cook/unusual-meat-marinades/slide-4
Dr. Pepper and 20 Other Unusual Meat Marinades
September 18, 2019
Dan Myers
Sometimes it pays off to get creative
"In many American kitchens, marinades are somewhat of an afterthought. We might use one if we’re trying out a new recipe, and some folks have a few trusty marinades that they keep in their back pocket, but in general only the most creative home cooks are able to come up with delicious and unique marinades on the fly. Once you know the fundamentals, though, it’s super easy, fun, and delicious to experiment with them.
Marinades generally revolve around a central, acidic ingredient and a neutral oil. From there, you can add herbs, aromatics and spices and branch off into directions such as herbaceous, sweet and umami. The acid element doesn’t need to just be lemon juice or vinegar; mustard, Worcestershire sauce, fruit juices and even more off-the-wall options like buttermilk can serve as a base. And once you start playing around with seasonings, the possibilities feel endless — especially if you’re armed with a few important marinade tips.
First: Unless it’s a whole roast, meat doesn’t need to marinade overnight; just a couple of hours (or a half hour for fish) will usually suffice. The second tip is to make sure that the meat is totally submerged in the marinade (an airtight zip-top bag stashed into a storage container works well). Third, don’t use an overwhelming amount of salt or vinegar because the goal is to marinate the meat, not pickle it. And fourth, remove as much of the marinade as possible before cooking so it doesn’t scorch.
A final important tip to remember is to never reuse a marinade. If you’re going to turn leftover marinade into a sauce, be sure to bring it to a full rolling boil to minimize the risk of foodborne illness.
Once you begin experimenting with marinades, you’ll discover that the world is your oyster. You can open the fridge, pull out a few ingredients, and turn boring old chicken breasts or pork chops into works of culinary art. There are plenty of traditional marinade recipes out there, but if you’re really looking to get your creative juices flowing, use these 21 slightly offbeat marinade bases to begin building your repertoire.
[...]
- Dr. Pepper is sweet, slightly acidic and has a surprisingly complex flavor, which makes it great for marinades, especially long-cooking beef roasts. Home cooks can boost the saltiness of a recipe with a little soy sauce.
- The sweetness and acidity of cola makes it an ideal marinade for steak, chicken or barbecue dishes. Just mix it with some steak seasoning for steaks; soy sauce and lime juice for chicken; and ketchup, Worcestershire and cider vinegar for ribs and pulled pork.
- Lemon-lime soda, when mixed with a little oil, garlic and soy sauce, is a far better chicken marinade than one might think something from the soda aisle could be.
- Like Dr. Pepper and cola, root beer also forms the foundation of a great marinade. All it needs is a dash of soy sauce to transform pork chops into something truly special.
- Cranberry juice works as a bright and sweet marinade for both chicken and pork, especially when mixed with orange zest, Worcestershire and a dash of hot sauce..."
</>