Marinated meat is one of the most common foods to eat at home all over the world. No matter what type of food you are eating, everybody who is a meat eater, eats their meat with some sort of marination, spices, etc. before consuming. I mean the practice is so common that we cannot bear the idea of consuming cooked meat without any marination at all! Yet, beyond the idea of marinated meat being delicious and flavorful, there are also many other facts about marinated meat that you might not be aware of that make the simple process of marination seems even more preferable!

What is a Marinade? 

First and foremost, it is important to first break down what a marinade is in the first place. A marinade is a seasoned liquid that you typically soak your meat in. It can often consist of acids like vinegar, wine, lemon, or lime juice that help to break down the connective tissue of the meat, allowing it to be tender overall. In addition to liquids, marinades can often have a plethora of dry spices added within the liquid as well to further enhance the flavor of meat before cooking. This is the simplest and most basic definition of a marinade.

Three Interesting Facts about Marinated Meat

Poking a Hole or Injecting Marinade Does Not Do More

One common fact about marinades that is important to consider and is often misunderstood is the idea that poking holes and injecting your meat with marinade can provide more flavor than just rubbing the meat with marinade. This is actually not true. There is nothing that proves the idea that a meat becomes more flavorful with injection of marinade into the meat. In fact, tests done on meat absorption of marinade shows that meat really does not absorb any marinade about 1-3 millimeters below the surface. For that reason, don’t worry about trying to get the marinade within the meat. Simply soaking your meat in the marinade should be enough to achieve the flavor that you want.

Over-Marinating Meat is a Thing

There is such a thing as over-marinating your meat! It is not often that we think this can be the case, but it is true. Often the best bet for marinating meat is to soak it for at least 30 minutes but to never soak it longer than overnight. This is suggested because the risk of having too long of a marination process in a bath of acid and spices can lead to the outside layer turning incredibly mushy since the marinade cannot seep into the meat that far anyways. Since they don’t reach the center of thick cuts anyways, it is often better to just marinate for a half hour to ensure that the outside of the meat is coated properly before cooking.

Refrigeration for Marinades

It is very much advised that you always marinate your meat in the refrigerator. It is suggested to never marinate your meat outdoors or at room temperature since the bacteria can quickly multiply on the raw meat once it is warm. For that reason, always keep it in the refrigerator. When doing this, just keep the food covered in glass, ceramic, plastic or stainless steel and allow it to sit in the fridge. Other reactive materials such as aluminum and cast-iron are not recommended for marination as they can cause the flavors of the food to taste off once it comes in contact with the acid.