How To Marinate Meat: Don't

 

 It’s basically the process of soaking raw meat in a liquid solution with the intention of adding flavour and texture.

 

People love a good marinade, but the problem is that most flavour molecules are too large to penetrate meat or vegetables by more than about 1mm. So they only really flavour the surface of what you’re cooking.

 

Marinating a massive slab of meat is going to make zero difference to the flavour of 90% of that meat. Truthfully, marinades do little to spruce up most meats. They essentially will coat the outside surface of the meat without penetrating it. I wouldn’t say they’re pointless. For thinner cuts of meat, they might be useful. It’s not like they’re going to penetrate any more because it’s a thin cut, but the meat is thinner so you’re more likely to get a mouthful of flavour from those exterior layers.

 

Establishing a balance in your marinade is also crucial and pretty difficult. We all hear that “marinades tenderise meat” but that isn’t strictly true. If it’s too acidic or you leave the meat to soak for too long, the exterior layers can become soft and mushy. So, unless you’re super careful about your marinade you can quite easily ruin the meat. Not the outcome any of us want, unless you're into mushy meat...

 

Marinades can be useful on occasion. Experiment with thin cuts of meat but be careful about the duration and the balance of the marinade. For medium to thicker cuts, leave marinating alone. Just save yourself the time and effort.

We recommend glazing during cooking with either a BBQ sauce or hot sauce to add the ultimate flavour – choose a sauce with a high sugar content to create a crispy, caramelised coating. Pair this with pre-seasoning your food with a dry rub prior to cooking, for extra flavour – just be careful not to burn it!

 

 Here's what others think: Los Angeles Times, The Splendid Table.