Simple Guide to Marinating Meat, Chicken, Fish, and Vegetables

Meat
Photo by Sam Field on Unsplash

Unsure how to marinate different kinds of food? Well, you are in luck. We decided to prepare a simple and helpful guide that will answer all your questions about the process of marinating food and make you a pro in no time.

Why Should You Marinate Food?

A lot of people wonder why bother marinating food. Well, the answer is simple: to infuse it with flavor. By marinating food, you can turn bland food into flavor bombs and make it much more delicious. Additionally, marinating meat and fish will tenderize the meat.

How to Make a Marinade?

Making marinade is a lot simpler than it seems. Simply combine one part of acid like lemon juice or vinegar with three parts of oil, usually olive oil, and add seasoning like spices, herbs, or condiments. The beauty of marinade is that you can try out all sorts of combinations so you can never get bored with the flavor.

How to Marinate?

The easiest way to marinate something is to pour marinade into a Ziploc bag, add meat, chicken, fish, or veggies inside, and zip it up. Make sure to store the marinating food in the fridge.

How Long Should You Marinate?

To achieve the best effect, you should be careful about the length of the marinating process. End it prematurely, and you don’t get enough flavors infused. Leave it for too long, and the food will break down too much. The recommendation is to marinate fish for only 15 minutes to half an hour. Chicken should be marinated for about two hours, while beef welcomes marinating for 24 hours or even more. Soft veggies should be marinated for just 10 minutes, while hard veggies can withstand a couple of hours.