Marinades 101: How to Build Flavor for Cooking Meat, Fish, and Vegetables

Salt, oil, flavorings, and acid: These are the building blocks of marinades we use to infuse flavor into meat, fish, or vegetables before cooking. They range from simple acidic liquids, such as wine (as seen in a beef Bourguignon) and buttermilk (hello, fried chicken), to more complex sauces like Mexican al pastor for chicken skewers, Chinese char siu for pork, and Italian salmoriglio for swordfish. Marinating food, as it turns out, is a nearly universal technique found throughout the world.

What is a marinade?

A marinade has two purposes: First, it adds flavor. Second, it lightly tenderizes food, mainly on its surface. Salt — whether sea salt or a salty liquid like soy sauce or feta brine — starts breaking down the protein network in meats and gently tenderizes them. This allows seasonings including spices and garlic to slowly penetrate into the food (though not all the way through, since marinades primarily work on the ingredient's exterior). When used in marinades, acids like citrus juice or yogurt further dissolve the muscle tissue, making for a slightly juicier cut of meat. And since most flavors tend to be fat-soluble molecules, the oil in a marinade helps transport them into the food.

For a marinade to work, it’s imperative to immerse foods completely in the liquid in an airtight container or resealable bag. (Equally important is to marinate food in the refrigerator.) Reserve some marinade on before adding meat or fish if you want to use it as a sauce without cross-contamination. You can also marinate meat or vegetables after grilling or roasting them, by adding them to the marinade for a few minutes as they rest after cooking before you cut into them.

How to make a marinade

Marinades are easier to create than you think. Once you learn the keys to a well-balanced marinade, you’ll be making your own in no time, so long as you have a combination of the principal elements: salt, oil (or fats), flavorings, and acid. As a general rule, start experimenting with a 3:1 ratio of fat to acid plus one part seasoning (including salt). Here's how to create your own bold, imaginative flavor combinations.

Oil

Spices and aromatic flavors are found in fat-soluble molecules, meaning their flavors are developed when combined with oil (or any other liquid fat) and carried into the food immersed in the marinade. Oils add dimension to marinades in their own right, too: Olive oil gives swordfish in salmoriglio a rich, buttery taste, while in a classic teriyaki, toasted sesame oil delivers a nutty, smoky flavor to chicken. Tandoori chicken also gets a slight kick with pungent mustard oil. As an added bonus, oil also helps prevent food from sticking to the cooking surface. When creating your marinade, use three parts oil to one part acid.

Acid

Acids aid by slightly diminishing the muscle tissue in meats, preserving their moisture while gaining flavor. Examples of acids include citrus juice, buttermilk, and yogurt, but also vinegars (white, apple cider, and Champagne vinegar all work wonders) and wine. There should be one part acid for every three parts oil.

Salt

Salt is a vital ingredient that helps start the denaturing process of breaking down the protein structure of meat. However, in a marinade, salt tenderizes meat mostly at the surface, even after an overnight soak. (If the proportion of salt is greater than one part, then it’s a brine.) Think soy sauce, tamari, or even Worcestershire sauce, as well as kosher salt or sea salt. The ratio of salt in combination with other flavorings in your marinade should be one part.

Seasonings

Marinades are primarily used to concentrate flavor on the surface, so think of some of your favorite combinations for inspiration. Try mixing dried savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano for an herbes de Provence profile. For a classic Jamaican jerk marinade, add Scotch bonnet chiles, allspice berries, ground black pepper, and dried thyme. Cola, Asian pear, soy sauce, and a bit of brown sugar together make a delicious marinade for meats like Korean galbi.