Marinate for Fantastic Flavor

To impart flavor into meat, many swear by marinades.  I have found that a really good dry rub will do the same as I shared a few weeks ago. 

Of course, a simple marinade will do wonders to tenderize a piece of meat or just to add another twist of flavor. You can always play around with the various ready-made marinades you will find in the grocery store.  Most take no more than 30 minutes to do the trick.

For those of us who don't mind spending a few minutes in the kitchen putting together our own marinades, there is a simple formula I found that can be used when creating using items from your own pantry:  combining an acid, oil and seasonings. 

Acids are typically vinegars or citrus juices. They can help tenderize the meat.  Oils can be any cooking oil. Seasonings, fresh or dried herbs, add an extra punch of flavor.

After you find a few marinade recipes that work well for you, start to play around with different ratios of oil to acid and include the seasonings that appeal to you and your family.

This weekend, I tried a recipe for a balsamic rosemary marinade I found in the July issue of Clean Eating magazine, which is on newsstands.  It used ingredients I have on hand all the time, so it was worth attempting. 

I marinated a flank steak for about an hour and then put the steak on the grill. After the balsamic-rosemary-marinated flank steak was cooked, my mouth watered! The meat was delicious, sweet and tangy and full of flavor. Even my kids couldn't stop eating it. This marinade-- which also works well with pork, chicken and vegetables--will be my go-to recipe for a while to come.