Techniques › Flavor and seasoning
Marinating
Beginner Flavor and seasoning
Marinating is soaking food in a seasoned liquid before cooking to flavor its surface.
Written with AI help from the sources listed, and published by Cory. Spot a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.
How do you do it?
- Combine oil, salt, an acid like citrus or yogurt, and seasonings.
- Coat the food in a zip-top bag or covered dish and keep it in the fridge, never on the counter.
- Fish needs 15 to 30 minutes; chicken 1 to 12 hours; beef and pork up to about a day.
- Pat the food dry before searing, and boil any used marinade before serving it as a sauce.
Why does it work?
Marinades mostly flavor the outer layer; they don't soak deep. Salt is what penetrates and helps meat hold moisture. Strong acid left too long breaks down the surface and turns it mushy.
What are the common mistakes?
- Too long in acid — mushy, chalky texture.
- Reusing raw marinade unboiled — it carries raw-meat bacteria.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
Learn by cooking. In Pantry to Pan, technique words in your recipes' steps link straight
to guides like this one, right when you need them.
Try it free for 14 daysMore flavor and seasoning
- Blooming spicesCooking ground spices briefly in hot fat before adding liquid. (Blooming gelatin means soaking it in cold water first.)Beginner
- Toasting nuts, seeds and spicesHeating nuts, seeds or whole spices in a dry pan until fragrant and lightly browned.Beginner
- Seasoning to tasteTasting and adding salt, acid or sweetness until it tastes right to you.Beginner
- Balancing salt, acid, fat and heatTasting a dish and adjusting salt, acid, fat and spice until it tastes complete.Intermediate
- Aromatic bases: mirepoix, sofrito, the holy trinityChopped vegetables cooked slowly in fat at the start of a dish to build its flavor base.Beginner
- Spice rubsA mix of salt, spices and often sugar pressed onto meat before cooking.Beginner