Meat is marinated not only for kebabs, but also for various baked dishes. The main goal is to make it softer, juicier, to fill with taste. But sometimes it is the pickling that spoils everything, and the finished dish is not happy. How to prevent this? A selection of common marinating mistakes or how to do it is not necessary.
Error one: too much salt
Without salt, the meat is tasteless, it is bland, such kebabs or boiled pork on the table just will not please. But even worse when they are salty and hard. Yes, salt draws moisture from the meat, the juice comes out, the fibers harden. Therefore, do not add too much. Very often, the meat is marinated in a small amount of salt or without it at all, and in the end they add more or a ready-made dish and fill with brackish sauces.
By the way, instead of salt or in addition to it, you can use soy sauce for the marinade. It does not stretch the juices, on the contrary, softens the fibers, impregnates, gives a piece of softness and juiciness. In addition, soy sauce is combined with almost all spices, mustard, honey, adjika, with it the meat is much tastier and more interesting.
Second mistake: acetic acid, citric acid, tomato acid
Sour foods give meats interesting notes, they have a positive effect on taste, if they are added in very small quantities. It is necessary to squeeze a lot of lemon juice or fill the meat with vinegar, as everything will deteriorate. Also badly affected by sour tomato juice, tomatoes, pasta. And they tighten the processes of cooking and frying, for this reason, these ingredients do not add and during the preparation of other dishes, enter at the very end. What to do? You can add a little lemon juice or tomato, classic vinegar is undesirable to enter, it is better to replace the apple. Another way is to cook meat without acid, and then serve sourish sauces, pickled onion in vinegar.
By the way, vinegar is often used by meat producers, so that the semi-finished kebab will not deteriorate longer or to mask the unpleasant smell. Homemade meat is not necessary.
Third mistake: vinaigrette from marinade
Pouring kefir, add mayonnaise, tomato paste, honey, mustard. This is all wrong. You should not make an incomprehensible vinaigrette of marinade with a strange taste. It is necessary to give the meat certain notes. If based on kefir, then add spices to it.
If mayonnaise is used, it will be the foundation. But you do not need to mix together. Even worse, when fatty or dairy products are added to wine, pomegranate juice, combined with mineral water.
With spices, the situation is simpler, you can mix different types of pepper, spices, ground herbs, add dried onions, garlic. But overdoing is also not worth it, after all, the meat should be a natural taste. With an abundance of spicy and fragrant spices, it will be more like sausage or a cheap semi-finished product.
Error four: wash or not wash?
Do I need to wash the meat before marinating? Sure to! If there are any doubts about the quality or the ichorus is actively released, it is advisable to soak at least half an hour in cold water.
So what is the mistake? After washing, the piece should be dried. It is carefully rubbed with napkins, paper towels, only then cut and coated, rubbed with marinades. If you leave water droplets on the surface, spices and marinades penetrate worse.
By the way, it is not enough to just pour the meat with the marinade, you need to thoroughly rub it in, and rub the pieces with your hands.
Fifth error: no fat in meat or in marinade
If the meat is initially without fat, you need to use fatty marinades. It is not good to pour wine or pomegranate juice, nothing good will come out. It is better to take mayonnaise, sour cream, add vegetable oil and other similar ingredients. Fats not only saturate the lean pieces, but also form a protective film on the surface. It will not allow juices to go outside.
By the way, if meat without fat is cooked in the oven, you can stuff it with pieces of frozen butter or lard.
Error Six: Reuse of Marinade
Sometimes the meat is taken out of the marinade, but it is not thrown away, re-loading other pieces. This is one of the saddest mistakes. Meat juices have already reacted with the spices, soaked the vegetables, the formation of bacteria began. Reuse the old marinade can not. Moreover, never get a bow out of it to the table (yes, this is also practiced).
Marinade is a secondary component that is not reused; after removing the meat, it should be discarded.
Error Seven: no need to rush
Marinating is not easy adding spices. Meat should be given time to soak, insist, so it is always soaked in advance. Pork needs to stand for three or four hours, a chicken only needs an hour or two, beef takes much longer. But in many respects the time depends on the marinade itself. If it contains mustard or honey, then the process will go much faster.
Meat fits?
One of the main mistakes in marinating is not the meat. Do not miss the first piece. If the cut from the leg of the animal and consists of a huge number of developed muscles, it can be soaked for at least a week, still nothing good will come of it. For frying on the grill or cooking in the oven, cuttings, parts from the neck, and carbonade are used.
Other common errors:
- Product from the freezer. If the meat is already frozen, then the tasty and juicy kebab or steaks from it will not work. Even worse and more dangerous if it has been in the freezer twice.
- Large pieces. Marinade is not omnipotent, it is difficult for him to penetrate into a kilogram piece. Therefore, large specimens for boiled pork need to be pierced, stuffed with garlic, vegetables, soaked for at least 12 hours.
- Films on the surface. Even the thinnest and hardly noticeable films on pieces of meat interfere with the penetration of the marinade, softening of the fibers. They must be removed.
As for the temperature of the meat, before marinating it needs to lie down for an hour on the table and warm up, this is especially true for fatty pieces. If the dish will be prepared soon, then the marinated meat in the fridge can not be removed, nothing will happen to it at room temperature in 4-5 hours.
