Sometimes food just needs a little extra something — besides just the usual salt and pepper —before going onto the grill.
Indeed, marinades and rubs can be just the thing to enhance a cut of meat.
With that in mind, here are some recipes for marinades and rubs that may help add some flavor to this Father’s Day cookout.
Marinades
Marinades are a combination of ingredients — herbs, spices and so on — in a liquid base that can add considerable flavor to any cut of meat before grilling.
Usually the base is an oil or acid, such as citrus/lemon juice, wine, vinegar, and sometimes it is even dairy. Often a sweet ingredient — brown sugar or cola — is added to help caramelize on the outside of the meat to produce a crisp coating.
To marinade, seal the meat in an airtight container or plastic freezer zipper top bag. Allow the meat to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. But, letting the meat marinate for 2 hours to 4 hours is generally recommended. To allow the spices to permeate the meat even more, you can let it marinate overnight.
So as not to spoil your Father’s Day celebration, there are a few food safety tips worth mentioning:
- If you plan to use some of the marinade as a dip or basting sauce later, set aside a portion before adding raw meat/poultry.
- Always marinate in the refrigerator.
- Do not reuse any of the marinade from the raw meat unless you boil it for several minutes to destroy any bacteria from the raw meat juices.
- Throw away any leftover marinade that contains raw meat juices.
Rubs
Rubs are a mixture of dry seasonings rubbed onto the food surface before grilling to add flavor.
Meats such as ribs, chops, and roasts are most commonly treated in this manner, but cut potatoes also do nicely.
The best rubs enhance the flavor of the meat without being overbearing. Rubs are usually a blend of strong and mild herbs and spices.
This mixture applied directly on the meat is called a “dry” rub, but when a wet substance is included, it is called a “wet” rub. A little moisture such as oil or honey helps the rub adhere to the meat.
Once coated with the rub, let the meat rest 15 minutes before placing on the grill. For any longer than that, rubbed meats must be held in the refrigerator and can be kept as long as overnight to allow the spices to better permeate the meat and increase flavor.
Marinade recipes
Lemon Juice base: Add oil and herbs to season and tenderize meat. Also add mixture to vegetables before grilling.
Soy Sauce base: Combine Soy sauce with honey, garlic and herbs. This is sometimes called teriyaki marinade and is used on meat or fish.
Tomato base: Use tomato juice or sauce as the acid, and combine with soy sauce, garlic, oil and seasonings. This will tenderize tough meat and even wild game before cooking.
Vinegar base: Add oil with herbs to make a vinaigrette marinade or simply substitute bottled oil and vinegar-based salad dressing (Italian, French, etc.) to flavor meat and vegetables to grill.
Wine Base (usually red): Combine wine with oil, spices and garlic to season and tenderize meats (less tender steaks: sirloin, flank, etc.).
Yogurt base: Yogurt can be used alone or combined with lemon juice and other seasonings (dill) to flavor and tenderize chicken before grilling or baking.
Once you have prepared the marinade you’d like, be sure to follow the directions provided above.
Now, moving on to rubs.
Rub recipes
Barbecue:
2 Tablespoons salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons chili powder
4 Tablespoons paprika
Cajun:
3 Tablespoons paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Herb: (no salt)
1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
½ teaspoon dried marjoram leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
Mediterranean: (no salt)
1 Tablespoon dill weed
1 Tablespoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Pepper-Sage: (no salt)
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 Tablespoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon onion powder
Savory Orange: (no salt, but has sugar)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon grated orange peel
1 Tablespoon dried thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Spicy Herb:
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions: Simply mix all the seasonings together in a bowl or plastic zip-top storage bag.
To apply a rub, pat the surface of the food dry with a paper towel and rub with the desired amount of seasoning mixture. Once rubbed, either cook immediately (roast, broil, grill or pan fry) or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours to increase the flavor.
Note: If after trying all these you find a particular favorite, you may want to make it in quantity and keep handy in an air-tight container. These mixes also make great gifts when neatly packaged in a decorative, tightly sealed container and labeled.
Betsy Crisp is a Professor Emeritus, UF/IFAS Extension – Family & Consumer Sciences.
Published June 14, 2017
