How to Make Homemade Marinades by Natalie

Do you celebrate summer by grilling anything and everything? Sometimes I go a little nuts and try to make breakfast on the grill, too.

Marinades are a MUST for grilling season, and I love to create my own! Once you figure out the ratios and which flavors blend well together, you can literally create hundreds of options.

 
 

First, you need some oil and acid. I like to use a ratio of 1:1 with acid and oil. The oil will get infused with the flavors in your marinade and help the meat (or whatever you’re grilling) get those nice crispy edges we love. It also helps it from sticking to the grill.

For oil, I like to use avocado oil because it has a high smoke point and is a healthier source of fat than canola or vegetable oils. You can also use sesame oil if you’re making an Asian-inspired marinade.

For acids, you can use any type of vinegar, citrus juices (and zest! yum!), or even plain yogurt, which is especially good in Middle Eastern or Indian-inspired marinades. Acid helps to tenderize meat and brightens the flavors. The enzymes in pineapple juice are especially effective at tenderizing.

 
 

Now for the fun part: the flavor. You can use a myriad of things to flavor your marinade, like sauces—mustards, soy sauce, chili paste, fish sauce, and Worcestershire. I love using spice blends so I don’t have to open 6 different spice jars. (Lazy? Perhaps. I prefer to think of it as efficient.) Fresh herbs are good, too.

Don’t forget aromatics like garlic, minced onion, and grated ginger. I try to find a way to put garlic in all of my marinades. Life is just better that way.

And don’t forget salt, I say hypocritically since I left it out of the photo. Oops. If your spice blends contain salt, or if you are using fish sauce, soy sauce, or Worcestershire, then go light on the salt so your meat isn’t overly salty.

A word about sugar: some brown sugar or honey will add a touch of sweetness, but be careful not to use too much. Sugar burns really easily, so if you’re grilling something for more than 10–15 minutes, you don’t want a lot of sugar in the marinade. That’s why most BBQ recipes tell you to add the BBQ sauce at the very end. Balsamic vinegar has the same tendency.

For marinating 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of meat, I use 1/4 cup of acid, 1/4 cup of oil, 2 to 4 tablespoons of other flavorings/spices, and around a teaspoon of salt, depending on what flavorings I’ve used.

Ok, now for the fun part. Here are four easy marinade options you could pull together in about 10 minutes tops.

 
 

This particular one is what I call All-Purpose Asian. It has some classic Asian flavors like ginger, garlic, soy sauce (or tamari), sesame oil, chili paste, and rice vinegar for the acid.

This one truly is all-purpose. It would be great on any type of chicken, shrimp, pork, or steaks.

Here’s what goes into the marinade:

1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons avocado oil or other heat-safe oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon Asian garlic chili paste (optional)

 
 

We really love Thai-inspired flavors in our house (my kids go bonkers for Pad Thai), so I threw together this simple marinade with fresh lime juice, fish sauce, avocado oil, garlic, ginger, and a touch of raw sugar. Oh, and Asian chili paste. I love that stuff something fierce.

See those pork chops in that photo at the top of the post? I used this marinade for those and my daughter said they were the best pork chops she’d ever eaten. (She’s quite the meat connoisseur.) Chicken and shrimp would also go well with this. Or flank steak for Thai-inspired fajitas. Yum.

Here’s what I have in my simple Thai-inspired marinade:

1/4 cup avocado oil or other heat-safe oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
2 teaspoons raw sugar
2 teaspoons Asian garlic chili paste

 
 

Here’s a more homey, French-inspired marinade with lots of fresh herbs (or herb blend), mustard, lemon, and … hey again, garlic!

One of my all-time favorite grilled chicken recipes uses a marinade like this because the flavors are relatively neutral and go well with lots of different sides.

To make this lemon-herb garlic marinade, just mix the following together:

1/4 cup avocado oil or other heat-safe oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon dried herb blend (like Herbes de Provence) or 3 tablespoons freshly chopped herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives)
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons sea salt

 
 

Ah, steak marinade. There’s often a debate that ensues about whether or not steaks even need marinade. Which camp are you in? Marinade? Or salt and pepper only?

While I do appreciate a high-quality plainly seasoned steak, I really love adding some deeper flavors with steak seasoning, Worcestershire, balsamic, and …. (wait for it) garlic. (See? It really goes with everything.)

By the way, were you also well into adulthood before figuring out how to pronounce Worcestershire? Still unsure? You’re not alone in this.

Here’s what I use in my smoky balsamic steak marinade:

1/4 cup avocado oil or other heat-safe oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon all-purpose steak seasoning
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt (depending on how salty your steak seasoning is)

 
 

OK, now for the actual marinating part. Along with a close up of my fridge. I tried to tidy up for you, but with 4 kids popping in and out (and spilling things) I’m bound to miss something. It’s real life over here.

You could marinate in a shallow dish or in a plastic zip-top bag. I prefer the bag with most of the air squeezed out because I feel like the marinade covers the meat more thoroughly.

How long? That depends on the potency of your marinade and the type of meat. Beef, pork, and chicken can hang out in a marinade for a long time. I go at least 3 hours up to 18 hours. (Sometimes 24 if I forget about it, but I haven’t had any casualties yet.) Shrimp and fish absorb those flavors and acid much more quickly and only need about 30 minutes to 2 hours tops.

 
 

Make sure you let all of the excess marinade drip off before you put it on the grill or else your meat may catch on fire because of the oil in the marinade. (Trust me, I’ve had plenty of fire-breathing chicken breasts on my grill to know this.)

Want to know a secret? If you double the amount of oil in your marinade you end up with a pretty good start to a vinaigrette. It might need a little tweaking, but how fabulous is it to check off two kitchen tasks with one recipe?

 
 

Now go forth and marinate (and vinaigrette) your heart out!