Marinades for steak or chicken.

yes, Asian style marinades (Korean bulgogi, etc) are pretty good for dressing up really cheap cuts of beef. Most Korean beef dishes are usually from what Americans would consider lesser cuts of meat, flat round, short ribs, brisket, etc. You can buy Bulgogi marinade in a bottle at a Korean supermarket, so there would be a decent option.

Originally Posted by Saigon

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While I agree with buying whole chicken for flavour reasons, sometimes its just less practical. My go-to's are usually a jerk marinade, or a greek-style one with dill, oregano, garlic, lemon and olive oil, and usually for 24 hours. The jerk in particular really livens up boring chicken breasts. As for a good steak, I agree with just sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, some olive oil, and maybe a little rosemary. For lesser cuts, a Korean style is nice with chili, sesame seeds and oil, garlic, soy, ginger and coriander.
Here's my Jerk: In a food processor: 1 large red onion 2 cloves garlic 1 habanero 3-4 green onions 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme (remove leaves from stems) 2 tbsp or so of molasses 2-3 tbsp brown sugar 1-2 tsp nutmeg 1-2 tsp allspice You don't want to put this directly on a grill, as it's runny and you need to get the sugars to caramelize and thicken.... so if cooking outdoors, put on a higher shelf with foil underneath and grill w/ cover. Indoors, start in a skillet then move to 400 degree oven. I usually do the Jerk on hind quarters. I cover boneless/skinless chicken with a dry cajun rub, then dip in buffalo sauce. Not healthy, but it tastes GOOD. Another quickie, always tasty marinade is 2 parts italian dressing to 1 part orange juice.

I'll have to try some of these out. I'll look into buying whole chickens , they sound like they're worth the little extra work.

Originally Posted by Big Punisher

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I'll have to try some of these out. I'll look into buying whole chickens , they sound like they're worth the little extra work.
Most butchers or meat counters will cut apart the whole chicken if you ask. Only takes 30 seconds. Bone-in chicken pieces taste 100x better than boneless-skinless.

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

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Here's my Jerk:

In a food processor:

1 large red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 habanero
3-4 green onions
5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme (remove leaves from stems)
2 tbsp or so of molasses
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
1-2 tsp nutmeg
1-2 tsp allspice

You don't want to put this directly on a grill, as it's runny and you need to get the sugars to caramelize and thicken.... so if cooking outdoors, put on a higher shelf with foil underneath and grill w/ cover. Indoors, start in a skillet then move to 400 degree oven.

I usually do the Jerk on hind quarters. I cover boneless/skinless chicken with a dry cajun rub, then dip in buffalo sauce. Not healthy, but it tastes GOOD.

Another quickie, always tasty marinade is 2 parts italian dressing to 1 part orange juice.


This one sounds good. I usually put in a little ginger, and also lime juice and cider vinegar. It needs some acid.

I will have to try the orange juice-italian dressing one too.

Thanks Saigon... that's a good call. I will try throwing some cider vinegar into the mix next time I do the Jerk.

Originally Posted by VMan

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Most butchers or meat counters will cut apart the whole chicken if you ask. Only takes 30 seconds.

Bone-in chicken pieces taste 100x better than boneless-skinless.

I don't get people that won't eat bone in meat.

K

I love chimchurri on a steak in the summer, takes 2 seconds to make fresh in a food processor

Lately I've been using a Thai-inspired marinade for my chicken before I grill it. I can't offer exact measurements since I don't work that way, but:

A large amount of cilantro
A green onion or two
Fish sauce
Sambal oelek
Garlic
Galangal (or ginger)
Tamarind concentrate
Peanut butter

Run it all through a food processor and then taste. I usually add a little sriracha at this point for the heat and maybe a dash of salt. Add it to your chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours though preferably overnight.

Originally Posted by Fallen Angels

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First, buy some better steaks. The only seasoning i use is fresh cracked pepper and salt, i usually rub it in as i let the steak sit for a few minutes (for it to reach room temperature), right before throwing it on the grill. Thats all a good steak needs.
+1

I prefer the taste of white pepper on a steak. I don't apply anything until the steak is on the grill. Once on, put a tasteful amount of crushed white pepper and sea salt on one side. Then flip when ready and do the same to the other side. When finished cooking, put in a dish and lightly coat with a good olive oil. The steak's juices will mix with the oil and pepper/salt to create a beautiful marinade that brings out the taste of the meat.

The problem with "steak spices" and really flavorful rubs and what not, is that they tend to overpower the taste of the meat itself - which should be the reason you're eating the steak in the first place.

Get yourself as quality a cut of beef as you can afford (I prefer dry aged NY Strip) and use the recipe above. Guarantee it'll be one of the best steaks you've ever had. With steaks, less is more and simple is often the best.

I think really cheap, marinated beef and chicken (pork as well) both have their place, hence this thread. (Personal side note, it'd cost me $50 at a supermarket where I live, to buy the kind of quality steak you guys are talking about. I'd eat good steak everyday and die young if I were ballin', but yeah when you live with someone, don't have a grill to fire up, and steaks cost $50 a piece, these other alternatives are nice.)

Boneless/Skinless chicken breasts are really getting maligned here, and though they aren't the most flavorful cut of meat you can buy, I think they are convenient and can still taste ok. I do think the key is cooking them as little as possible to maintain juiciness, while still cooking through. Pounding them out thin and flash cooking them helps with this; at full-thickness, they definitely get overdone on the outside and not done on the inside.

Love some jerk chicken too. Not a big fan of Thai food but that marinade up there sounds legit.

You could do a Korean-style spicy Chicken or Pork marinade too, use super cheap pork loin roll cut into little bits, or cheap whole chickens cut into pieces. Fresh garlic and ginger, onions cut rough, green onions, gochujang chili paste, soy sauce, rice wine or mirin, little bit of honey, some sesame oil and sesame seeds, marinate for a few hours and grill.

I'm going to agree with impolyt...

Boneless Skinless definitely has its place. I don't make "wings" anymore. I make buffalo sauce and put boneless skinless in it. Less work, and girls like it better.

To keep it from drying out, I sear it in olive oil then bake at 400 for about 8-10 minutes depending on thickness.

On the steaks... nobody's saying to defile a prime aged strip steak. But skirt steaks, flank steaks, etc. are BEGGING for a marinade.

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

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Boneless Skinless definitely has its place.

The trash can?

Whole milk buttermilk or whole milk yogurt are an excellent base for marinades.

The eastern indian bbq chicken tikka is based on these.

I take russian/indian/turkish yougurt. In a pinch stonyfield or brown cow whole milk plain yougurt can work too. I let the yougurt sit outside for a few hours to get it more sour.

Add salt, ginger, garlic, chopped up serranos, hot cayenne, tiny pinches of cinnamon and nutmeg, crushed cardamoms, cloves, black pepper, crushed almonds,
roasted poppy seeds that have been pulverized, tiny it of onion powder and finely crushed golden fried onions.

I like to pierce the larger pieces of meat with a skewer to get the marinade into the meat. When you place the meat on the searing heat, the crust seals up the punctures. Overnight (in the refrigerator) is the minimum I like. Like to bring the meat up to room temp before cooking it.

I usually don't marinade steaks, unless they are hanger or skirt. For these cuts, I always put salt, pepper (or Balinese long peppers - crushed) and a substantial amount of paprika into lemon juice and olive oil. The Balinese peppers add a Christmas spice depth to the flavor and the paprika allows for a delicious and beautiful crust. I try to keep it simple because I go out of my way to buy good meats and want to appreciate that subtle difference.

For chicken, I do a very similar thing as with beef, but usually substitute cumin for the paprika. I'll also sometimes substitute the cumin with thyme or a combination of thyme and marjoram.