Food Advice for Your Labor Day Picnic
Written By: Alexandra Perez-Urbina on Mon, Aug 25th 2008
Oh, no! It's here... the last official, unofficial "weekend of summer:" Labor Day Weekend. It's the end of BBQ party season, and people prepare to feast and enjoy their pools and backyards for the last time before winter rears it's cold, gray head. For this reason, what better way to end the season than with good food? All summer long we've been grilling and marinating meat, but what exactly is a marinade, what's in it, and how does it work? Do all marinades tenderize and which one works best?
According to Webster's, a marinade is "a brine or pickle containing wine and spices, for enriching the flavor of meat and fish." A marinade can add flavor or tenderize, or do both. There are many kinds of marinades concocted with different intentions. Marinades can be made up of acids, enzymes, or dairy. It is important to note that not all marinades tenderize, and that letting the food sit in the mixture for a long time can have some negative effects. Take, for example, shrimp - what happens when you leave it in an acidic marinade too long? It cooks and gets really tough, almost rubbery.
Acids denature protein. In mildly acidic marinades, the acids loosen up protein, making your steak nice and juicy (this also happens when you heat your steak). If you leave the steak in an acidic marinade for too long, or in a highly acidic marinade for a short time, your steak will magically turn to leather, as the proteins tighten up and squeeze all of the water out. With acidic marinades, you have to take into consideration what you're trying to tenderize and adjust its strength accordingly for best results. For the most part, acidic marinades are used for flavoring, since acids bring out a food's flavor.
Enzymatic marinades are popular in the world of tenderizers, but one must be extremely careful as they work well - really, really well; so well, in fact, that they can turn your meat to mush fast! Kiwi, pineapple, and papaya all contain enzymes known as "proteases." Papain, a papaya enzyme, is popular in many commercial tenderizers.
As far as tenderizers go, dairy products are probably the best tenderizers money can buy: they work well, they aren't an eccentric ingredient, and can be found year-round. In Indian cuisine, tough meats, such as goat meat, are tenderized with yogurt. Two other popular dairy tenderizers are milk and buttermilk. It is unclear how dairy works as a tenderizer; however, the enzymes that break down proteins seem to somehow be activated by calcium.
In deciding how long to marinate meats, consider the meat's texture. Fish is a bit more porous, or open-fleshed, than chicken; therefore, fish does not need to marinate as long (usually, a few minutes of soaking will suffice), while chicken, lamb, or steak could soak for a few hours. Remember to always be mindful of what you're doing with the marinade and what kind of meat you're working with, and you'll be on your way to a delicious meal!
