Cooking Tips & Tricks
Cooking with Allegro Marinades is an excellent way to revamp your favorite meal or try out a new Allegro recipe! We've pulled together helpful tips & tricks from our top chefs to make your marinade experience the best it can be!
Marinades
A marinade is a mixture of acid, salt, and spices that is used on meat and foods to add flavor and soften textures. Marinades do not soak into the whole cut of meat or other foods; it only affects the surface of the food.
Marinating is a Science.
Marinades break down the proteins on the surface of meat to make it more tender. The result is a nice bit of tenderizing, flavor penetration.
Allegro makes two kinds of marinades and they work somewhat differently, but the results are the same: They make your food tender (fall off the bone tender) and bring out the flavor.
When Marinating remember to:
Allegro Safety Tip: Always marinate under refrigeration.
Allegro Safety Tip: Do not reuse marinades that have been exposed to raw meat.
Allegro Safety Tip: Any open bottles of unused marinade should be refrigerated.
Enzyme Marinades
These are usually made with some sort of fruit that have the enzyme protease, which breaks down meat proteins. Our Teriyaki Marinade is an example of an Enzyme type marinade.
Allegro Tip about Enzyme Marinades: Don’t leave your meat in it too long or it can turn mushy or jelly like. This is because the Enzymes have worked overtime and over tenderized your meat. We recommend 2-4 hours for smaller cuts of meat and 6 hours to overnight for larger cuts of meat. Anything over 12 hours can cause your meat to have the mushies!
Acidic Marinades
This type of marinade uses acids (like lime juice) to breakdown proteins and tenderize your meat. Again, we recommend 2- 4 hours of these marinades for smaller types of meats and no more than 12 hours on larger cuts of meat. Allegro’s acidic based marinades are: Original, Game Tame, Hot and Spicy, Hickory Smoke and Nashville Hot.
Allegro Tip about Acidic Marinades: Over or longer marinating with an acidic type of marinade can cause your meat to get tough and lose flavor.
Sauces
Why is a sauce different from a marinade? Sauces are meant to be used during the cooking process to add flavor to dishes or enjoyed when you are eating the food. Allegro makes three BBQ sauce flavors: Original, Spicy and Honey and the Gold Buckle Brisket & Fajita Sauce.
We recommended picking your favorite and letting it add flavor to your dishes. Most people put a sauce on pulled meats, sandwiches (such as chicken, ribeye steaks, pork tenderloin and hamburgers), and fajitas. But one of our customers loves using the Spicy BBQ sauce as his pizza sauce. No matter if it’s used as a condiment on a sandwich, used to baste meat during cooking/grilling or on your pizza Allegro’s line of sauces will help make food taste better!
Allegro Tip about Sauces: Use the combination of marinades and sauces for tender deliciousness. Marinate your chicken in Original and then use the Original BBQ Sauces to baste while grilling! OOMPH! Allegro Makes Life TASTE Better!
Vegetables
Not just for Meats Anymore, Veggies Deserve the Love, Too!
Better Beans—Really!
Green Beans
Dash some of our ALLEGRO Original Marinade or Brisket and Fajita Sauce in with your green beans as they cook. A great way to add unique, mouth-watering flavor!
Southern Soup Beans
Otherwise known as Great Northern, these beans are a staple of the South. Soak dried beans overnight and cook slowly (add ham pieces if that’s your thing) until they reach perfect tenderness. Most Southern cooks spice with black pepper and red pepper flakes. Keep enough water in the pot as they continue to absorb, and let them have some ALLEGRO Hot & Spicy or Nashville Hot Marinade as they simmer to make sure they get the heat you like!
Steaming or Stir Frying Veggies
Give them an ALLEGRO Boost!
Stir Fry Secret
Start with ALLEGRO Teriyaki Marinade in your wok. You won’t be sorry—great oriental taste, and so easy!
Steaming with Flavor
From greens to asparagus and beyond, empower the steam by dosing the water generously with the ALLEGRO Marinade of your choice. You won’t believe the flavor difference you can achieve in very little time!
Remember the Rice!
Mexican Rice
Use ALLEGRO Nashville Hot Marinade in the water while preparing whole grain rice. Lively taste in every grain!
Oriental Rice
Fried or steamed, ALLEGRO Teriyaki Marinade in the prep will help you achieve the perfect delish dish!
Any Rice
Serving rice or over rice? Whatever type of rice you use or whatever your method to prepare, infuse it with your favorite ALLEGRO Marinade flavor!
Serving Suggestions
FAQ: Cooking Tips from Allegro
Using marinade effectively is easy and fun. First, coat your food evenly with the marinade. Then, let it soak for the recommended time (which varies based on type of meat and vegetable). Finally, refrigerate while marinating for safe, fresh, and perfectly cooked meals.
Allegro’s Renowned Marinades can be used on vegetables to enhance the natural flavors of vegetables while adding moisture and seasoning for a perfectly balanced taste. Use them the same way you’d marinate meat.
Additional seasoning after marinating isn’t necessary, but you can add more to suit your taste before cooking if you like.
Yes, Allegro Marinades are excellent for slow cooking because they infuse rich flavors throughout the process for perfectly tender and tasty bites.
For perfectly cooked grilled chicken, we recommend marinating in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, patting the chicken dry before grilling, and cooking over medium heat to avoid burning.
A marinade with acidic components like Allegro’s Original Marinade works best to break down tough fibers and tenderize meat.
Marinating meat does not significantly extend shelf life.
Use a marinade with acids and enzymes. Marinate for several hours or overnight to break down muscle fibers thoroughly. For example, we would choose a more acidic marinade like Allegro’s Hot & Spicy Marinade for a tough cut of meat instead of a sweeter option like our Honey Garlic Marinade.
