All Purpose Marinade

Use marinades to infuse meat and vegetables with flavor before grilling or roasting them. You can customize your marinade any way you like, using different vinegars or citrus liquid, oils, and flavoring agents. If you want a Mediterranean-style flavor, use red wine vinegar and oregano leaf. If you’re looking for an Asian-inspired flavor, look to rice vinegar, fish sauce, ginger, and sesame oil. The basic marinade consists of an acid, an oil, salt, and whatever seasonings you like. Use this basic recipe as a starting point for your marinade.

Optional seasonings to use in your marinade: mustard, soy sauce, orange juice, pineapple juice, citrus zest, yogurt, curry powder, chipotle, maple syrup, honey, chopped fresh herbs, Worcestershire sauce, etc.

• 1/3 cup acidic liquid such as vinegar or citrus juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• salt (if not using a salty liquid such as soy sauce or fish sauce)

Mix all your ingredients together and immerse your meat or veggies in the liquid. You can also brush the liquid on veggies and let them sit awhile to absorb the flavors before cooking. Meat should be marinated for at least an hour but preferably longer. Plastic ziplock bags come in handy for marinating meat. Put the liquid and meat in a sealable bag, press out as much air as possible, seal tightly, and refrigerate for a couple hours. Or place meat and marinade in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. When ready to cook, remove the meat from the liquid and discard the liquid.