Recipe: The trick to a good marinade; Mojo Marinade

I was going through an old Bon Appetit magazine on a recent flight and I came across a great series on marinades – essentially including a number of great marinade ideas that you can use to marinade meat in for 3+ hours or overnight, while reserving 2/3 of the creation as a sauce after the meat is grilled.

I thought this would be a great combination with the Mama K Flat Meat recipe.   Also, most of these marinades can be mixed in the evening and you can marinade your meat overnight (the recipe below calls for an eight hour marinade, so it may be possible to mix the marinade the night before but don’t put in your meat until the AM).  So I thought this would be great for working mamas.

I’m going to give you the formula below, and a sample marinade to follow.   I will follow up with a series of other marinade recipes over the next several weeks.  Enjoy!!

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Essentially, the article says that all good marinades are built upon the same general formula:

+ Acid (citrus juice, vinegar, or wine tenderizes and focuses the flavors)

+ Salt (Kosher salt – or soy or fish sauce – allows seasonings to penetrate)

+ Alliums (garlic, shallots, or onions are a must for a muscular marinade)

+ Sugars and & Syrups (Used judiciously, sweetness balances all the flavors)

+ Chiles (where there’s smoke there should be fire)

+ Herbs (fresh, summery herbs – like cilantro, oregano, and basil – work better than dried)

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Mojo Marinade

Makes about 2.5 cups, enough to marinade 2 lb. of pork (tenderloin, shoulder, or bone-in-chops) or fish (firm, white-fleshed fish such as sea bass; shrimp or scallops).

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup fresh oregano, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup corn or vegetable oil
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 jalapenos, sliced into rounds
• 1.5 tsp. kosher salt

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until salt is dissolved.
• Reserve 2/3 cup marinade for sauce.  Put pork or seafood in a glass, stainless-steel, or ceramic dish.  Toss with remaining marinade and cover.
• Chill for 3 – 8 hours.
• Remove pork or seafood from marinade, pat dry and grill.

source:  Bon Appetite, July 2011