An exceptional way to get creative and earn customers, marinating holds a special place in the hearts of professional chefs. Ensure that your meat marinade recipes moisten and tenderize your meats while properly emphasizing their natural flavors. Meat brining techniques perform even better than marinades on turkey and other meats that toughen easily. These pointers will prove especially useful when the meats are then cooked with high quality professional grills, barbeques, and other restaurant equipment.

Marvelous Meat Marinade

Your creativity and better-than-average knowledge of the marinating process are your greatest assets when inventing marinades. The ideal marinade tenderizes the meat while retaining its texture. It should also lend extra flavor that complements and draws out the taste of the meat itself. Citrus juices and wine contain acid that breaks down the meat’s protein and essentially begins the cooking process. An added benefit of these marinade bases is that the acid possesses bacteria-destroying properties. For simplicity’s sake and a distinct flavor, include just a few particularly fascinating ingredients in your marinades rather than using extremely complex recipes. For example, experiment with varieties of honey from a range of flowers until you find one that goes best with the meat you are marinating. An unusual combination of just two or three spices paired with the perfect amount of oil results in flavorful, moist dishes. In many cases, marinating the meat for 24 hours or more creates beautiful culinary masterpieces. Remember, though, to keep the marinating pieces relatively small in order to reap the most benefits.

Meat Brining Techniques

A quicker method of moistening and seasoning meat, brining has become quite popular in commercial kitchens. Brining produces excellent turkey dishes and works well with similar meats that tend to become dry or tough easily. This technique provides additional moisture by taking advantage of osmosis. Brines generally work best with one to two cups of kosher salt (depending on the brand) per gallon of liquid. The salt dehydrates the meat and denatures its proteins, which results in the formation of extra space in the meat’s interior. Once the extra space is created, the liquid is pulled back into the meat in larger amounts. A great advantage of brining is that instead of soaking for hours or days, your meats only need to soak for approximately one and a half to two hours, depending on the type of meat you use. For brining to achieve optimum results, you must submerge the meat thoroughly in the mixture and rinse it carefully and completely afterwards. Although the rinsing helps you to avoid a salty flavor, take care to restrict the amount of salt that you use in cooking since extra salt will have been absorbed into the meat.

Whether you prefer marinating or brining your meats, either process will only yield outstanding, professional results if you cook the meat properly. Always take into account the kind of meat that you serve when deciding both how to soak it and what cooking method to use. For meats that taste best when broiled, a professional grade mesquite broiler offers the perfect way to accomplish a smoky flavor. With certain types of meat, and especially if your customers tend to be particularly health-conscious, grilling can increase your business. The right cooking style and your own carefully concocted marinades and brines will always make your customers hungry for more.

Filed under: General • Recipes • How-To • Sales Boosting • Food Quality

Tags: meat brining, meat marinade, meat marinade recipes, mesquite broiler, restaurant equipment