Marinate

Tangy marinades can add unique and delicious flavors to turkey.

Marinating Tips

• Always marinate meats covered in the refrigerator, never at room temperature.
• Marinating meat in sealable plastic bags makes for quick and easy cleanup.
• Use a container or plastic bag that is big enough to allow the food to be positioned in a single layer and easily turned to coat both sides.
• Allow 1/4 to 1/2 cup of marinade for every 1 to 2 pounds of meat.
• Marinate 2 to 8 hours, depending on how strongly you want the flavor to come through.
• Marinating too long will cause the fibers of the meat to break down, producing an unappealing, mushy texture. Poultry should not be marinated longer than 8 hours.
• Discard leftover marinades that have been in contact with raw meat.
• Do not reuse marinades.
• Marinades do not require careful measurement. As long as you include a liquid (wine, orange juice, etc.), an oil (olive oil, canola oil, truffle oil, etc.), and some flavoring (garlic, basil, lemon, etc.), you have the basis for a marinade.
• In a few cases, marinating recipes will call for heating the ingredients just to the boiling point to bring out the most flavor. If heated, always allow the marinade to cool to room temperature.
• For recipes that call for a short marinating period, make the marinade several hours in advance so it can develop its full flavor before the food is added.