Marinades for Meat

Image: JustABigGeek

Although I’ve tried to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our diets, the truth is that my family are all hardened carnivores - we simply love meat. Pork, beef, ostrich, reindeer, venison… you name it and I’ll probably eat it. The same applies to poultry.

For years I knew nothing of marinades. My mother certainly never used them and they weren’t popular in Norway during the years I lived there. That has, however, changed.

Since discovering the secrets of a good marinade our meals have tasted much better. Even LM, who’s incredibly fussy about her food, will often tell me how delicious a piece of meat tasted even though it may have started it’s shelf life as a plain old pork chop. Marinades are, as far as I’m concerned, the cook’s best friend.

Ok, so they add a bit to the cost of a meal but what you get back in terms of flavour, tenderness and sheer eating pleasure is by far worth those extra pennies. A marinade can turn a good meal into a great one.

If you’ve never used a marinade before, I suggest you make your own rather than use one of the ready prepared bottled varieties. Not only is it cheaper, but the more you learn about marinading, the more you’ll be able to mess around with flavours yourself, bringing individuality to every meat or poultry dish you prepare.

A good marinade should contain some kind of acid as this breaks down the muscle tissue making the meat more tender, with the most commonly used acidic ingredients being citrus juices, vinegars and wine. Although the acid will flavour the meat, it should also contain some kind of added flavouring such as herbs, spices, garlic, onions and the likes. Lastly, but very importantly, it should contain some form of oil as this is what infuses the meat with the flavours. Olive oil is most often used. Some insist that it should be extra virgin although I’ve never found it necessary.

To help get you started, here are a few of my favourite marinades:


Simple All-Meat Marinade

For each portion of meat use:

½ small onion, finely chopped
½ tbsp Mixed Herbs
25 ml olive oil
1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar (or distilled malt vinegar if that‘s all you have)


Sweet & Spicy Pork Marinade

For each portion use:

1 ½ tbsp honey
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
25 ml olive oil
1 ½ tsp paprika
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 ½ tsp cinnamon


Norwegian Beef Marinade

For each portion use:

25 ml olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
½ tsp brown sugar
1 clove of garlic (or 1 inch garlic paste)
½ cm fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
½ a small red chilli, finely chopped


Quick Chicken Marinade

For each portion use:

1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsps olive oil

and finally, especially for Catz...

Garlic & Coriander Marinade for Pork

For each portion use:

2 ½ tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic paste
½ tbsp fresh, chopped coriander


Mix marinade ingredients in a lidded bowl, plastic container (Tupperware style) or zip-lock type bag and bung the meat in, making sure it’s all nicely covered. Use your fingers and rub it in well. Put it in the fridge and then leave it for 2 hours at least for pork and chicken, and 4 hours for beef. An extra couple of hours will improve the flavours and the larger the cut of meat, the longer it should be left. In fact, because marinades were first used as a way of preserving meat, you can actually leave it for up to a couple of days. I do think the meat tends to go a bit too mushy if left for too long though so 8-10 hours is usually my maximum.

If you’re able, turn the meat now and then to ensure even coverage. Of course, there’s no point dashing home from working during your lunch break just for this but if you're close to the fridge anyway, it's worth doing.

Fish and vegetables can also benefit from a good marinade but as this is about meat, I won’t elaborate here. A Google search should bring up a good few results though.

I’m so fond of marinades that I can’t actually remember the last time I prepared a piece of meat without one. It must have been a beef fillet steak - that’s the only meat I find perfect ‘as is’ but not one we have very often.

Sharon J

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