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unusual ways to flavor meat

post #1 of 6
7/3/07 at 12:47pm
Thread Starter 
anyone have any new or unusual ideas for adding flavor to meat? I am hosting a dinner party for the first time since I have started making meat dishes and my friends question my innovativeness for meat dishes since I am great at preparing new and interesting vegetarian dishes but have just started branching into meat. i need something that has the "wow" factor.
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post #2 of 6
7/3/07 at 12:59pm
Oddly enough, during one of my friend and my college grilling experiments we discovered a steak marinade that uses Coca-Cola and Ranch Dressing mix. Season the steak with salt and pepper and sit until the salt pulls some of the proteins out of the steak, then put about 1/2 a bag of ranch seasoning into a resealable plastic bag. Add the steaks to the bag and shake to coat. Fill a baking dish with Coca-Cola until it comes halfway up the sides of the steak and marinade for several hours flipping once. Take them out and grill them like usual and the closest we can nail the taste to is how the steaks at Outback Steakhouse taste. They've very tasty.

If you want a more traditional wow, braises and pan sauces always raise the complexity, flavor, and plate appeal of any meat.
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post #3 of 6
7/3/07 at 2:22pm
We like to marinate our port chops in soy sauce before grilling. It's sure good!
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post #4 of 6
7/3/07 at 2:35pm
Salt pulls protein out of steak? I've never heard that before. Can you expand on that, provide some specifics? How would you know the proteins have been pulled from the steak? How do you judge the length of time or the degree to which the proteins have been extracted?

Shel
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post #5 of 6
7/3/07 at 3:33pm
Here is a recipe for a marinade and accompanying sauce that I have used, at different times with gilled flank steaks, pork tenderloin, chicken, and even portobello mushrooms. It always gets good reviews. It is a take off on anticuchos, a Peruvian dish traditionally made with beef hearts.

Ancho Beer Marinade
Weight or VolumeIngredients
2 ancho chiles
1 beer
1 tablespoon coriander, toasted
½ tablespoon cumin, toasted
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 sprigs thyme leaves
3 sprigs cilantro
1 tablespoon salt

Procedure:
Bring beer to a boil and pour over chiles. Cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Remove seeds and stems being sure to save beer. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree.

Chile Mint Vinaigrette
Weight or VolumeIngredients
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup packed mint, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons roasted red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ancho chile, ground
1 tablespoon California chile, ground
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup feta cheese
¼ cup olive oil

Procedure:
Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor. Pulse to blend and with machine running, slowly add oil.. Season with salt and pepper.
Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
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post #6 of 6
7/3/07 at 5:15pm
My mom concocted a good marinade for lamb or chicken many years ago. I haven't tried it with beef or pork, though. I have no idea of the amounts! We never measured, just eyeballed.

Two parts dark soy sauce to one part fresh lemon juice
Garlic, chopped
Dry oregano
Crumbled dry rosemary
Ground black pepper

Marinate the lamb or chicken for at least 30 minutes or up to two hours. Remove from marinade and broil or grill.
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