With a growing number of consumers seeking out minimally processed, local foods, there's been a resurgence in neighborhood butcher shops.
Commercial marinades
With a growing number of consumers seeking out minimally processed, local foods, there’s been a resurgence in neighborhood butcher shops, as well as full-service butcher counters in supermarkets. These butchers are often procuring whole animals – cow, fowl, lamb and swine – and offer every part of the animal for purchase.
To make these meats more “cook ready,” butchers will wrap and pack them with a topically applied marinade to enhance texture and add flavor. These can be commercially produced, much like the products sold in the supermarket, or they can be a signature recipe mixed up by the butcher or staff culinary specialist.
Because they are applied topically and the protein will likely be cooked within 24 hours of purchase, the ingredients can be more powerful and flavorful. In fact, many commercially produced marinades do their job in half an hour. Keeping the protein soaked too much longer can cause it to break down.
There is some science behind what makes a quality marinade. For starters, liquid marinades contain one or more acidulants, which includes cooking wine, vinegar and/or fruit juices. These assist with tenderizing the food by softening the surface muscle tissue of tough cuts of meat. They also impart desirable characterizing flavors.
Many topical marinades contain some oil in order to lubricate the protein. This locks in moisture and protects the marinated meat during cooking. Any oil can be used, and the percentage varies, depending on the intended application. For example, leaner meats benefit from a fairly high concentration of oil. Thus, a marinade intended for chicken breast may be formulated to contain more oil than one intended for chicken wings, since the latter is a concentrated source of fat due to the large volume of skin surface area.
On the other hand, the consumer purchasing leaner cuts of meat may be doing so to minimize fat intake. If this is the case, certain hydrocolloids, in particular some gums, can be used to mimic lubricity.
Most topical marinades are blends of visually appealing and intensely flavored herbs and seasonings, even grated fruit peel and vegetable pieces. This is an easy way to add value by offering the latest flavor craze.
When applying a topical marinade, a good rule of thumb is “the whiter, the lighter.” In other words, white meats, such as chicken and pork, should have milder flavor treatments than darker meats, such as beef. For example, pork and poultry marinades would rely on white-wine vinegar, whereas a deep-red burgundy complements beef. Chicken and other poultry go well with a variety of citrus fruit juices, such as cranberry, orange and pineapple. Thicker and heavier fruit pastes and purées, such as those from tomatoes, prunes and raisins, complement bases for beef marinades.
Soy sauce is often used in topical marinades, even when the marinade is not characterized as Asian. Used at levels of 1 to 5 percent, the amino acids in soy sauce can boost the flavor of other ingredients without contributing any identifiable soy sauce flavor.
Dijon-style mustards work well with marinades designed for chicken and pork. Its characterizing flavor melds well with citrus fruits. Grated citrus peel is rich in aromatic oil and can be used quite liberally in marinades. And garlic – whole, minced or pressed – can improve many savory marinades.
Honey, molasses, brown sugar, granulated sugar and syrup-like products add sweetness to marinades while adding solids that contribute to viscosity. They also provide a controllable substrate for browning through the Maillard reaction. Soy sauce also assists with the Maillard reaction, which occurs primarily on the surface of the cooked food. The reaction takes place when amino acids – either in the marinade or from the food being cooked – interact with the reducing sugars in the marinade under the controlled high temperatures of cooking. This results in a desirable brown color and flavor that improves the food’s overall savory profile.
There’s a trend toward using denatured distilled beers, spirits and wines in marinades. Denatured indicates they are the real liquor, but have been rendered non-drinkable through the addition of ingredients such as garlic, onion or salt. By using denatured liquors, rather than simply flavors of liquors, the marinade typically has a more true liquor flavor.
Reduced liquors are another option and provide an economical advantage because less is used. For example, a 10-fold natural reduction provides 10 times more flavor than the non-reduced denatured product. Because the reductions contain less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume, the alcohol does not need to be declared on ingredient labels.
With so many ingredient and application options, marinades are a meat purveyor’s secret to deliciousness. Marinades perform texture and flavor magic at both the packer and butcher level.
