TCN Cooking Classes: Cooking Technique

Affordable Green Houses

Marinating is another simple way to add value to lower cost items. It can also help the body digest animal proteins because the principle of marinating is to use a form of acid – vinegar, tomato, lemon juice, etc. – to break down muscle fibers. Beyond tenderizing, marinating is a way of infusing another, complimentary flavor into the meat, fish, or vegetable that you wish to improve. Marinades require acid, and perhaps a counter-flavor for the acid (something sweet, such as honey or maple syrup or something savory like mustard or miso), herbs, spices, or roots like onion, garlic, or ginger, and perhaps a little fat, depending on the type of food that you’re marinating and how you will cook it. The acid in the recipe could come from fruits or vegetables of fermented products like wine or beer or miso; and also milk products because of their lactic acid can be excellent in marinades.

Grilled meats are particularly suitable for marinating because they are cooked in the open air on thin, hot pieces of metal. Unfortunately, roasting pans and ovens are not marinade friendly for many foods; marinating a piece of lamb shoulder and cooking it in a roasting pan will have a tough and lousy result, for example. You want to marinate foods dry heat cooking (the BBQ), not moist heat.

Some Easy, Homemade Marinade Examples:

I marinate boneless turkey legs with sage, thyme, a little bit of lemon, white pepper, and salt and then roll them up and tie them with butcher twine. I let them soak in all the flavors for four hours and then deep fry them – they’re gorgeous!

I marinate boneless lamb shoulder with yogurt (outstanding ability to tenderize), lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, thyme, chili pepper, and a little bit of soy for about 12 hours or more, and then grill it.

I marinate skirt steak (very inexpensive) in miso and garlic and chili and apple cider vinegar for 12 hours and then grill them.

Largest variety of Asian Ingredients online - Free Shipping for some orders.

I marinate venison chops in red wine, juniper, thyme, rosemary, black peppercorn, and bay leaf for 24 to 48 hours and grill them –game loves marinade. Note: wild game meat is extraordinarily healthy compared to farm raised meats. If you hunt and know how to prepare game meats, you have what it takes to cut you meat protein bills to nearly $0.00!

I marinate duck legs in orange zest and juice, thyme, juniper, apple cider vinegar, Szechuan peppercorn and rock salt for 24 hours (then rinse the salt with water). I then cook the legs slowly in duck fat for four hours on top of the stove – this is duck confit and you’re gonna love it! Duck confit is another form of curing – see above – and the final product is delicious and has a very long shelf life (many months), stored in its own fat and in the fridge.