Marinades: What they are and why you should be using them!
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.
When Marinating, remember these Allegro Safety Tips:
- Always marinate under refrigeration.
- Do not reuse marinades that have been exposed to raw meat.
- Any open bottles of unused marinade should be refrigerated.
There are 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.
Enzyme Marinades:
These are usually made with some sort of fruit that have the enzyme protease, which breaks down meat proteins. Our Allegro Soy Lime, and Teriyaki are all examples 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.
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 four 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!
