A while back, someone asked about marinade recipes. I’ve been making my own marinades for ages, mainly b/c they taste so much better than the ones you can buy already prepared at the grocery store. But now that I know what’s in the ready-made ones, I am committed to making mine from scratch from now on.
This is a very easy change you can make to your menu planning, and it’s so much better for you. It’s best if you grow a few of the most basic herbs, because fresh herbs make the marinade so much better and they can get expensive.
I always keep olive oil, soy sauce*, and fresh garlic in the house, and I try to keep lemons around. It seems that most marinade recipes use those ingredients.
*A note about soy sauce. Naturally fermented soy sauce is much better for you than the conventional kind we typically buy. And if you are eating gluten-free, you need to be sure to buy the gluten-free version.
Here are a few of my favorite marinades:
Michael’s Marinade
This is my go-to marinade for all types of meat. I got this recipe from a friend’s husband.
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
3 to 4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp dried parsley (I use 1 Tbsp of fresh)
salt and pepper to taste
Mix ingredients together. Marinate your meat for at least 30 minutes or as long as 24 hours. (I try to marinate my meats overnight, but sometimes I will throw them together in the morning, and they’re just fine.) This works on any meat or vegetable. I usually put it on London Broil, pork tenderloin, or boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Pork Tenderloin Marinade
I got this recipe from another friend.
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp thyme (Try using 1 Tbsp fresh! Fresh thyme is divine.)
1 tsp ginger
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 clove crushed garlic
Combine ingredients. Marinate a pork tenderloin overnight. Bake at 425 degrees in a covered dish for 30 minutes.
Red Wine Marinated Flank Steak
This recipe is from an old Southern Living cookbook.
1 cup Italian salad dressing
2/3 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup dry red wine
1 lemon thinly sliced
1/3 cup scallions
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-1/2 pound flank steak
Combine ingredients in shallow pan. Add steak, turning once. Cover. Refrigerate 8-12 hours, turning occasionally. Broil 7-10 minutes on each side. Thin slice diagonally across the grain.
Teriyaki Sauce Marinated Salmon
I love to marinate my salmon in Teriyaki sauce. I haven’t ever made my own, but here is a recipe from Nourishing Traditions.
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp raw honey
1/2 cup naturally fermented soy sauce
1 to 2 lbs fresh, wild caught salmon
Place salmon in a baking pan. Mix remaining ingredients together with a whisk. Pour over salmon, cover, and refrigerate for several hours. Grill or broil until salmon flakes with fork.
BBQ Chicken (this recipe is from my mom)
1 cup ketchup (Annie’s makes some that’s organic and doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup)
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce (again, you may have to search a bit to find one that doesn’t have so much junk)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
2 dashes tobasco
2 cups water
1 whole chicken, cut into parts, skin in tact
Place chicken parts in a glass 13×9 pan. Boil the remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour.
Or try this version from Barefoot Contessa.
Here are some more of Ina’s marinade recipes. I’ve tried most of these, and I’ve never made anything of hers I don’t like.
Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloins
Marinated Lamb Kebabs
Asian Grilled Salmon
Tuscan Lemon Chicken
Tequila Lime Chicken
I’m going to add a MckLinky to this post in case anyone has a marinade recipe they’d like to share. You can, of course, just type it into the comments, but if you’d prefer to write a post and link in, feel free to do that too!
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This is delicious with fish, but also with chicken and especially veggies. I marinate extra large mushrooms and thickly sliced red bell peppers for grilling. This also makes a great salad dressing for pasta salad.
2-3 tbsp finely minced red onion
3 tbsp basil pesto (jarred from the super market)
4 tbsp good white wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
These look amazing! Will definitely spice up my standard olive oil with Italian seasoning that I make with *everything*. Also FYI, I loved the tomato sauce recipe – had your video going on my laptop in the kitchen while I prepared it!
These look wonderful! I can’t wait to try some of them.
Just wondering why the flank steak recipe is called ‘Red Wine Marinated Flank Steak’ but it takes white wine. Hmmmm. ?????
WHOOOPS! Fixed!
Thanks! I will be coming back to this post for sure.
YUM! That teriyaki marinade sounds great…I’m going to have to try that with Salmon.
Thanks for sharing your recipes. By the way, I’m having a giveaway on my blog and I know you like to cook, so you may be interested – please stop by!
I only have one good one, but I just made it up last night, so I linked up. It’s toward the bottom of the post, after two dinner pics. Michael’s Marinade sounds awesome!!
Like you, I make all homemade marinades around here. So much tastier – and healthier too, I’m sure.
Quick question about garlic: how long does it last (and how do you know when it is bad)?
Stephanie, garlic will start to “sprout” and then it’s getting old. You can still use it though.