Your motto this summer: Marinate well to grill better! Before any good BBQ, it’s best to marinate your meat, seafood or fish. To avoid culinary missteps before placing your meat on the grill, here is everything you need to know to prepare successful and tasty marinades.

Why marinate?

In the first place, to add flavour. Things like herbs, spices, garlic and onions penetrate foods on their surface and spread even better when mixed with an oil or fat.

A marinade can tenderize meat, but only minimally, since it only penetrates the surface of the pieces of meat and rarely goes to the centre. So you shouldn’t bet on your marinade to tenderize your meat, but rather choose fish, seafood, poultry and cuts of beef and pork that are naturally tender.

The basics of a marinade

Four types of ingredients are necessary for a good marinade:

• Fat: oils, mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk  
• Acid: lemon juice, lime juice, vinegars   
• Salt             
• Herbs: fresh herbs, onions, garlic, spices, mustard and much more!   

Meats do not have to bathe in the marinade and be completely covered with liquid. You just have to coat them well. We want to enhance the protein without masking the taste, unless there is a “star marinade” like a BBQ sauce that should be highlighted. 

How long to marinate

Here are the marinating times for the most common grilled items:

• Red meats: 4 to 12 hours
• Poultry and pork: 4 to 6 hours
• Fish, shrimp, scallops: 30 to 60 minutes
• Tofu: 30 minutes to 24 hours

Mistakes to avoid

Sometimes we do too much when it comes to a marinade and this can lead to disaster once on the grill. These common errors should not be repeated:

Too much sugar: Even if the idea of bringing a sweet touch to your marinades seems interesting, you must know how to balance the quantities of sweet ingredients, at the risk of charring the meat. Choose a glaze to brush on at the end of cooking.

Too much acidity: Highly acidic ingredients, such as lemon or lime juice, in too large quantities dry out meats and fish and make them firmer and drier.

Yogurts that are too thick: Some recipes such as tandoori chicken or shish taouk should be marinated in yogurt. Choose a yogurt that is fluid and not too thick—like Greek yogurt—as it tends to form lumps during cooking.

Dry marinades

These types of marinades are made of salt and spices. They flavour meat without having to add fat and without diluting at all, because the protein loses less water on contact. Since spices directly touch the surface of the meat, better penetration of the flavour occurs. Dry marinades can be applied up to 24 hours before cooking. Simply brush the meat with a little oil to prevent it from sticking to the grill. 

Want to give it a try? Try the Dry marinade express from Christian Bégin.

What about tofu?

A few tips are necessary to successfully marinate your tofu:

Ingredients: Use the same bases as marinades for meat, but be sure to incorporate ingredients with bigger flavours such as mustard, honey, soy sauce, etc.

Marinade time: Tofu absorbs marinades less well, so let it sit for a long time. You can marinate it for a minimum of 30 minutes, but 24 hours is best.

The sauce: As the marinade rarely goes to the centre of the tofu, plan a sauce to accompany it when eating it.

Recipes for preparing tofu on the barbecue:

Barbecued Asian-style Tofu

Skewered Tofu

Grilled Broccoli and Tofu Caesar Salad