Marinating chicken
 

I know I've asked something similar before....but does marinating chicken breasts overnight really make a difference in taste? I'll be grilling it on the foreman tonite. :/

TIA

Sure. Of course it depends on what you're marinating in. Some mixtures are just better at penetrating the meat than others.

My all-time favorite marinade: Jose Cuervo Margarita mix with chopped cilantro and garlic. Mmmmmm.... I've tried using the Kirkland stuff but it's just not the same. That, with black beans, fresh salsa and some rice? YUM.

Not really. The most important thing is salting ahead. Marinades really only penetrate so much, no matter how long you leave them. Most of the flavor is on the surface. And if there's no salt, they're even more pointless.
That and acidic marinades really shouldn't stay on meat for very long because the acid breaks down and "cooks" proteins leading to mushy, somewhat pasty meat.
This is why fish shouldn't be marinated with acid. You're effectively making ceviche, which is nice if you're making ceviche, not if you want to cook it.

I love to marinate with tequila (the better quality the better the taste!), garlic, lime, crushed pineapple and teriyaki sauce overnight. It helps you really taste the flavor when cooked over an open flame. Always thighs instead of breasts if making it for a barbeque, unless my friend Jeff is grilling - no one else seems to use a thermometer, and he's the only one who I trust to cook chicken breasts just right; most people completely overcook, and the thighs stay tender instead of turning dry.

I think you can get away with a lot less time on the George Foreman because the flavor doesn't get burned away by flames.

I've never been a big fan of marinating. I prefer to cook with lots of herbs, different salts, fresh ground pepper.

But if someone wants to marinate the heck out of something and grill if for me, bring it on! : )

Adding on (And this points out the importance of oil in marinades, because it bugs the heck out me how many marinades don't have any out of a need to be "healthy"; not all require oil, but a whole lot do, particularly when a lot of acid is involved):

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/05/h...nk-steaks.html

I heard the acids make the meat more tender, is this not true? Is it bad for you? When you say salting, how do you do that with chicken breast..and it makes a difference if you do it overnight vs same day?

So I used this -

Walkerswood Caribbean Foods

plus olive oil, shallots, onions, one green chili pepper and cilantro. My ex did this for leg quarters and would grill it and it was reallyyy good, but I'm assuming it's going to be different with breasts, that and I don't usually know what I'm doing. I noticed there is acid in the seasoning.

You can do low-acid marinades for long periods, but really, it's rather pointless when if you want that flavor, you can just drizzle a bit when the meat is done.
Salt is what ultimately makes the biggest difference in flavor and texture of meat.

Usually I just make my own jerk marinade, but if I were to use a commercial marinade, I would salt my meat then add the marinade. One hour is honestly plenty, but if you want to go longer, a half a day is good. If you want to marinate a whole day, sure. I'm just telling you that it's false that there's a real difference in flavor and that depending on the marinade, it's detrimental to marinate that long.

As for the other ingredients, I honestly believe people use a lot of superfluous ingredients when marinating because there is a mentality of more is better instead of considering what each ingredient adds. If I were using a commercial jerk marinade, I'd test it to see if it was spicy enough for me. If not, I'd sprinkle meat with some form of dried chile pepper or use fresh as your boyfriend did because the oils in the pepper definitely penetrate the meat. If I thought it needed acid or sugar, I'd add a bit of those.

But marinating with cilantro doesn't give you much flavor. If I want cilantro flavor, I make a wet rub. Just mash it to a paste and rub on the meat. I'd add some onion in that paste, too, if I wanted a bit of onion flavor (though they do work in marinades). Being in a marinade won't really do much unless your marinade is basically cilantro pesto. Cilantro and other delicate herbs just don't pack as much punch as herbs like thyme and rosemary in marinades.

The only thing you have to worry about with breasts is over-cooking them because unlike thighs, they are easy to overcook. That and they have less flavor. It doesn't make a difference in terms of how the marinade works.

Salt (it's on steak, but it applies to chicken and other meats):

Note that the 40 minutes is a minimum. A day or two ahead is even better.
If you use coarse sea salt normally, use that. Kosher salt is cheaper, though, and very easy to apply.

Okay cool, I figured the onions/cilantro/garlic(forgot to mention I added that) didn't add much since they are just chopped into the seasoning and oil. But I like them on the side after cooking. Good news that marinating time doesn't make a difference but salting does. Less prep time better for me. The jerk seasoning has salt in it, so I guess that's why it's still good.

Most jerk seasoning has salt, but not nearly enough to substitute for salting.
Kayb sent me some jerk rub and I still seasoned the chicken pretty much normally in addition to the rub.
Unless what you use is really salty, you'll still need to season.

But yeah, to summarize, season ahead of time and marinate for as long as you prefer. It's not necessary to marinate for a day or more to get the flavor. Even just one hour will give you good flavor.

mmm that sounds FAB. Definitely stealing this! ;)

Okay so just to make sure, you rub kosher or sea salt all over the meat and let it sit in the refrigerator for a day or two at most? Do you poke holes or slits in the meat?

I tend to skip the marinade. Proper seasoning seems to be more effective. That, or a glaze.

Oops I guess technically I used a seasoning..didnt realize there's a difference.

Seasoning = salt, pepper (it's really a flavoring, but it's kind of standard)
Flavoring = spices and herbs
You can flavor with dry rubs, wet rubs, and marinades. Technically brining, but brining is more a seasoning technique.

Marinating involves a wet mix and your product being basically submerged/immersed in the liquid for a certain period of time.

Thanks for the info everyone.

So it came out sort of rubbery, don't know if this means it was overcooked or what. The seasoning was too strong. I now remember it only tasted good with leg quarters on a real grill. With boneless meat it was way too strong and hot. I think I'll try thighs next. I generally prefer white meat in certain dishes but I prefer dark meat for flavor, especially if it's the only thing I'm eating.

Rubbery means it was over-cooked.
I do think jerk rub/marinade is better on dark meat.
Were your chicken breasts thin? That would explain why you thought the flavor was too strong and the over-cooking.
It sounds like you might have used too much of the marinade. I've made jerk chicken with boneless thighs which are fairly thin and they work very well.