Easy CLEAN Marinades
While bottled marinades are great when you’re in a pinch, many of them contain preservatives and added sugars that can wreck your clean diet. Which is why we love making our own easy and clean marinades when we have the time.
Tips for the homemade clean marinades:
- Look for natural or organic oils. For example: if using natural peanut butter, the only ingredient should be peanuts!
- Balance amount of oils versus vinegars or acidic ingredients. A good rule of thumb is 2-3 parts oils to 1 part vinegar or acidic liquid (such as orange juice).
- Use seasonings liberally. As a marinade, it is okay to use more seasoning than you normally would. The flavors will not be as intense after the meat is cooked.
- Hold the salt… until you’re actually cooking. Marinating with a salty mix can dry out the meat.
- We recommend using fresh herbs for more robust flavors, but dried herbs work as well.
- Marinating times vary on type and cut. The following guide is a starting place but can vary on the size of the cut. Larger cuts will require more time to soak in the flavors.
- Beef: 2-4 hours minimum
- Pork: 2-4 hours minimum
- Poultry: 2 hours minimum
- Shrimp and fish: 15-30 minutes minimum
Experiment and have fun! Creating marinades at home is a fantastic way to try new flavor combinations.
Here are a couple to get you started.
Peanut Butter Ginger Marinade
Great Asian style marinade with a kick. Works well with chicken or beef.
What you need:
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup hot water
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp local honey
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger minced
- 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
What to do:
- Combine peanut butter and hot water to thin out peanut butter.
- Add all remaining ingredients.
- Stir well until mixture is smooth.
- Add half of mixture to chicken, pork or beef. Marinate overnight, OR for at least 2 hours.
- Grill or bake meat as normally directed for type and method.
- Use remaining half to baste meat as it cooks; and as extra sauce to serve with.
Savory Herbs Marinade
What you need:
- ½ cup oil (sesame, grape, olive)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
What to do:
- Combine all ingredients.
- Stir well until mixture is smooth
- Add half of mixture to chicken, pork or beef. Marinate overnight, OR for at least 2 hours.
- Grill or bake meat as normally directed for type and method.
- Use remaining half to baste meat as it cooks; and as extra sauce to serve with.
