May 25, 2012
Whether
you just douse your meat in a tasty marinade and let it sit for an
hour, or soak it in salty-sweet brine over night, these are great
ways to add extra flavour to what you're planning to throw on the
grill.
Mediterranean Marinade
Makes
enough for a couple of racks of lamb, four chicken breasts, or
eight chicken thighs
Don’t
let the anchovy scare you. It adds a wonderful depth of flavor, and
the end product doesn’t taste fishy at all.
1/2 cup
| 125 mL extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL olive paste or 6 kalamata olives,
pitted
and chopped
1
anchovy fillet
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL Mediterranean Dried Herb Rub (see page xx)
2 Tbsp
| 25 mL lemon juice
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL balsamic vinegar
Combine
all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz them together
until they’re blended but not totally puréed.
Asian Poultry Brine
Makes
enough for 2 cut-up chickens or a dozen thighs
The
high salt content makes this more of a brine than a marinade, and
my barbecue team has used it very successfully in competition. It
gives the poultry a nice saltiness and a rich, complex Asian
flavor. I marinate duck overnight in this; for milder-tasting
chicken, a couple of hours is all you need. Pat the excess moisture
from the meat after you’ve taken it out of the marinade and then
use a barbecue rub doctored with Asian flavors, like powdered
ginger and five-spice powder. Barbecue or grill as you like, and
finish the meat with your favorite barbecue sauce.
11/2
cups | 375 mL water
1 cup |
250 mL soy sauce
1/2 cup
| 125 mL sherry or vermouth
1/2 cup
| 125 mL apple or pineapple juice
1/4 cup
| 50 mL brown sugar
1/4 cup
| 50 mL coarse salt
2
cloves garlic, pressed or crushed
1
shallot, minced
1
medium onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp
| 25 mL grated fresh ginger
1 tsp |
5 mL sesame oil
pinch
ground cloves
pinch
five-spice powder
Combine
all the ingredients well, stirring thoroughly to dissolve the salt
and sugar.
Marinade for Pork
Makes
enough marinade for up to 2 lb | 1 kg pork chops or whole
tenderloins
Pork
tastes great no matter how you prepare it, but this sweet, aromatic
marinade nicely offsets its richness and gives it an exotic
edge.
1/4 cup
| 50 mL soy sauce
2 Tbsp
| 25 mL dry sherry
2 Tbsp
| 25 mL honey
2 Tbsp
| 25 mL brown sugar
1 tsp |
5 mL salt
1/2 tsp
| 2 mL crushed anise seed
1/2 tsp
| 2 mL ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp
| 1/2 mL ground cloves
1 Tbsp
| 15 mL grated fresh ginger
Combine
all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat them gently until the
sugar is dissolved. Cool the mixture before marinating the meat for
at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge if you want a stronger
flavor.