Article Trunk



Things You Should Know For A Good Ribeye Steak Marinade

11.01.2009 · Posted in Home and Garden Articles

A lot of people believe that marinating a piece of meat that starts out tough will help make it tender. Unfortunately, this is not true a lot of the time. Many marinades are great at improving the flavor of your steak; they will generally not work so well at tenderizing. Let us look at how the various marinades are made, and how they work.nnMarinades come in three basic types – acidic, enzymatic, and dairy. Acidic marinades that are too strong can make your food tough, while enzymatic marinades at an overly high strength will turn many steaks to mush. Dairy marinades can improve the tenderness of meat, but they are not necessarily suited to certain kinds of cooking.nnAcidic marinades rely on wine, vinegar, and citrus juices to denature the proteins in a steak. This unwinds them. Once they encounter another unwound protein, they will bind together – the same process that happens with long, slow cooking. Water starts out trapped in these proteins, and the steak is pretty tender. However, too much acid will tighten those protein bonds, squeezing out liquid and toughening the meat.nnThis is why mildly acidic marinades are preferable to highly acidic ones. They add a lot of great flavor, and should be relatively weak for best results. Tighter meats, such as flank steak, can survive higher acid marinades, but are not generally preferred for grilling.nnEnzyme marinades actually have the ability to break down animal tissue, including muscle fiber and connective tissue. Many fruits contain enzymes that can break down protein, but papaya and pineapple are probably the most common. Overuse them, and they will create a mushy, unappealing piece of meat. The same thing happens if you use them too long. This kind of activity is present in commercial meat tenderizers, too.nnThe last category of easy steak marinades is based on mildly acidic dairy products, like yogurt or buttermilk. These are commonly used in India for goat and lamb, as well as for southern fried chicken.nnSteaks in this kind of marinade can be interesting, but you may need to adjust your cooking methods, since this is a little unusual. Curry flavors in your marinade may turn up a good result on the grill, however.nnA marinade does not have to be complicated if you know what it is likely to do. Knowing your ingredients will help you routinely end up with a great product. Take a while to look at all the different options out there when it comes to marinades, and you will get the one that will work best for your steak, no matter what kind you choose.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.