MARINADES
In this section of the book I have given lots of ideas on how to flavour fish and meats before or during cooking and a selection of butters, salsas, sauces and relishes to serve up on the side.
For a very simple barbecue recipe, all you have to do is choose which type of fish or meat you wish to cook, decide on how you want to flavour it, if at all, look at the cooking chart (see here) to see how long you will need to cook it and then choose something to serve with it. However, don’t be tempted to try something from each section otherwise the flavours will get too complicated.
Simply grilled meats and fish will often taste just as nice with one of the savoury butters or a spoonful of one of the salsas, for example, so try to mix and match things quite carefully.
The most popular method of flavouring food for barbecuing is the marinade. Marinades are mostly oil-based mixtures used to flavour and tenderize fish and meats prior to cooking and to help keep them moist during cooking. It is very important to remember not to overdo the oil in a marinade as this is what causes a barbecue to flare up, resulting in that well-known blackened barbecue look.
All these marinades are sufficient for 900 g (2 lb) of meat or fish.
Make shallow cuts over the surface of the fish or meat before marinating if you wish. It will help the flavours to penetrate right into the food.
Pour the marinade into a shallow, non-metallic dish, large enough to carry the food in one layer, and remember to give it a turn every now and then while it is marinating.
Marinate red meats, poultry and game for 2 hours at room temperature or 24–48 hours in the fridge.
Marinate fish, seafood and vegetables somewhere cool for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours in the fridge.
Bring chilled foods back to room temperature before cooking.
Scrape most of the excess marinade off the food before cooking to prevent the barbecue from flaring up.
Never be tempted to re-use any leftover marinade on a fresh batch of meat or chicken as the risk of food poisoning is very high.
Tomato and Chilli Marinade
Go on, give your meat a spicy treat. This goes particularly well with chicken, pork, lamb or beef.
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato purée
2 tablespoons minced red chilli from a jar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons caster sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
Fennel and Lemon Marinade
This is ideal for delicately flavoured white fish and seafood. Fennel herb is not always easy to come by, so just substitute another herb with a slightly aniseed flavour such as tarragon or basil if need be.
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh fennel herb, tarragon or basil
finely grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
Indian Yoghurt Marinade
If you like it cool and spicy, this is a wonderful marinade for chicken, lamb and firm white fish such as cod or monkfish.
8 tablespoons natural yoghurt
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2.5 cm (1 in) fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
juice of ½ lemon
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
Moroccan Spiced Marinade
This is great for chicken, lamb and steaks. If you like it hot, hot, hot, add an extra teaspoon of harissa paste.
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 2 small lemons
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon harissa paste or minced red chilli from a jar
1 small onion, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
Chinese Marinade
This one is so simple and the ingredients are easy to get. It’s especially good with pork and chicken.
2.5 cm (1 in) piece fresh root ginger, peeled
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dry sherry
pinch of caster sugar
4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
2 tablespoons clear honey
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
Finely grate the ginger, collect it up into a ball and squeeze out the juice into a bowl.
Stir in the other ingredients and use as required.
Greek Garlic, Lemon and Oregano Marinade
This is wonderful with lamb, chicken and stronger-flavoured fish such as swordfish and would also work well with vegetables or cubes of haloumi and black olives on soaked bamboo skewers. You could use 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme in place of the oregano if you wish.
2 garlic cloves, crushed
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon clear honey
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
Thai Spiced Marinade
Now here’s a trendy marinade that really gets the tastebuds buzzing. It goes really well with any meat or firm white fish.
200 ml (7 fl oz) canned coconut milk
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
2 kaffir lime leaves, very finely shredded or finely grated zest of 1 lime
1 stalk lemongrass, outer leaves discarded and core very finely chopped
4 cm (1½ in) fresh root ginger, peeled and very finely grated
2 red or green finger chillies, seeded and very finely chopped
2 spring onions, trimmed and very thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside for 2 hours to allow the flavours to infuse before using as required.
Mexican Marinade
This is best on steaks and other cuts of beef.
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons tequila
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
Moscow Vodka Marinade
This is really good on nice firm-fleshed fish such as salmon, monkfish and tuna. Remember not to marinade the fish for longer than an hour or two.
5 tablespoons vodka
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice and grated rind of 1 lime
4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 shallot, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Mix all the ingredients together, then pour over the fish and marinate for 1 hour.
Soy-orange Marinade
This is perfect for pork and sausages.
juice and grated rind of 1 large orange
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon hot chilli sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
Ooh-la-la Red Wine Marinade
A simple French-style red wine marinade is marvellous on meat and chicken.
150 ml (5 fl oz) red wine
4 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
Mix all the ingredients together and use as required.
