5 unconventional marinades to make your meat shine

Try something out of the ordinary next time you're preparing dinner.

There's plenty of room to be creative with ingredients you use in a meat marinade. Source: Smith Street Books

--- Stream the coffee episode of The Cook Up with Adam Liaw free on SBS On Demand or catch the series weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm and 10.00pm. ---

 

There's a non-negotiable formula to any great meat marinade — acid, fat and seasoning. But outside of that, there's plenty of room to be creative with what ingredients you use. We explore five ingredients you may not have considered but are well worth trying the next time you marinate meat.

Kiwi fruit

Using kiwi fruit in a marinade makes meat "very soft and sweet" according to Sun Im, owner of Melbourne CBD Korean restaurant Oriental Spoon Story 2. Kiwi contains the enzyme actinidin, which works well at breaking down protein and tenderising meat.

Korean marinades often involve kiwi fruit for the way it tenderises meat. Source: Getty Images

Kiwi is a much-loved marinade in Korean cuisine. The chefs at Oriental Spoon marinate several of their beef dishes — including bulgogi and galbi — in a combination of blended kiwi, soy sauce, onion, garlic, sesame oil and sugar. They marinate beef in this kiwi mixture for 14 hours, but Im says you "cannot taste the kiwi flavour at all" after cooking.

Coffee

To really up the umami on meat marinades, consider adding some ground coffee. Australian restaurant critic Anthony Huckstep uses a coffee rub for a leg of lamb during his appearance on SBS Food's The Cook Up with Adam Liaw.

Huckstep says, "You've got to think about coffee as an ingredient and not something that you drink.

"It's bitter, it's going to add depth, it's going to add nuttiness."

Huckstep combines coffee with cumin, clove, ginger and cinnamon to create a dry crust for a leg of lamb that's cooked to fall off the bone.

Maple syrup

Maple syrup, chicken and waffles are a culinary trilogy, so why wouldn't maple syrup work in a chicken marinade? 

A common contender when it comes to marinating meat in the United States (but not as much in Australia), maple is a diverse ingredient that can be paired with a range of ingredients to form a legendary marinade.

Pair maple syrup with spices and acidic flavours to make your marinade sing. Source: Smith Street Books

Combine maple syrup and chilli flakes for a well-balanced chicken marinade, or with red wine vinegar, garlic and Worcestershire sauce for a steak marinade. Think of it like honey.

Cola

If you have some leftover cola from a function, put it to good use by marinating your pork with it. Cola's high sugar and acid levels keep pork juicy while giving it a subtle sweetness.

Cola can be particularly useful mixed with some ketchup and brown sugar for a glaze for oven-roasted pork chops. Or if you're willing to invest a little more time, place some pork shoulder, cola, onion and garlic powder into a slow cooker for some pulled pork.

Gin

Gin brings a complex earthiness to meat marination, thanks to the juniper integral to its flavour profile. Plus, gin is extremely versatile, meaning it will complement a range of meats.

Some chefs recommend cooking the gin down slightly before using it in a marinade.

Because of its high alcohol content, gin has the potential to start cooking the surface of meat, which may prevent other flavours of a gin marinade from being absorbed. 

Mix gin with some lemon or lime juice and honey for a chicken marinade, or some orange juice and soy for lamb or beef.