John Myers
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If you marinate meat yourself, you have a free choice of spices. Pickling improves the flavor of the meat, while it can also provide health benefits.
Marinate the meat: With these basic ingredients
Just put raw meat on the grill, then salt and pepper, done? It’s possible, but it’s far from the pinnacle of grilling pleasure. You can enjoy much more flavor if you put your meat in a delicious marinade beforehand. You have even more benefits from this preparation.
- A marinade usually consists of oil, acid, and spices. Additionally, salt and sugar (or other sweetness) may play a role.
- The best oil to choose is olive oil, rapeseed oil, or sunflower oil, which you can heat up (high-oleic oil). The advantages of these oils: They contain fewer polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are negatively altered by heat. In return, they have more monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid, which is less sensitive to heat.
- The acid in the marinade serves as a natural blocker against unwanted bacteria. On the other hand, you make your meat more tender because protein structures are “loosened”. This makes it easier for oil and spices to be absorbed inside.
- Vinegar is usually the best choice for marinating meat, but you can also use citric acid or juice, especially with light poultry or pork. If the aroma suits you, you can also add a dash of wine.
- Add salt to your marinade to bring out the flavor of the meat. Additionally, you can enhance the full-bodied flavor known as “umami” with the addition of soy sauce.
- If you’re concerned about adding salt to your marinade because it basically draws water: Salt actually causes water to escape from the grilled food at first. However, the salty marinade, including spices and oil, is then partially absorbed into the meat again, making it juicy and tasty.
Spices: More taste and health
The spices largely determine the taste of your grilled or roasted food. Depending on the type of meat or taste, you can choose more sweet flavors (sweet paprika, mustard, lovage) or stronger spices (chili, curry, ginger, rosemary, oregano marjoram, thyme). However, spices also have health benefits.
- Garlic tastes great in any marinade. Plus, freshly squeezed cloves add a healthy dose of health to your food: Garlic is high in antioxidants.
- These antioxidants protect the food being grilled or roasted from the formation of so-called heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAA). These are considered problematic companions of barbecue fun, as they have a cancer-promoting effect.
- Rosemary has an equally positive effect. This spice contains more antioxidants than any other
- Mediterranean spice. The spice has been shown to reduce the formation of HAAs and thus the cancer risks that can arise from grilled food.
- Use 7 grams of rosemary per 100 grams of marinade, and you’ll achieve optimally effective concentrations of antioxidants – and lots of taste. Rosemary goes very well with beef, lamb, and pork.
