Bottled Marinade Sauces

A marinade sauce is a liquid in which you soak food, usually meat, before cooking to add flavour and make foods more tender. Marinade sauces help to start the process that typically occurs during cooking and this action is largely down to the use of base flavour and ingredients such as vinegar, lemon or lime juice or wine. 

A marinade is typically made up of complementary ingredients which pair with the dish you are making, creating a delicious flavour. For example, if you are grilling meats, then you can expect to use a smoky paprika or BBQ marinade. If you’re cooking seafood, then a light, zesty and slightly spicy marinade is typically used to bring out the flavours of the fish. When cooking vegetables, marinade sauces that are herby and zesty are most commonly used.

Although marinating foods is a cooking technique that most of us use in the kitchen, many people do wonder exactly what does marinating do, and why do we do it? Marinating helps to speed up the breakdown process allows more liquid and flavour to be absorbed into the food, which when cooking prevents it from drying out. Usually, marinating is a process that is done for two reasons - to add flavour to foods and to tenderise meats - and using the right ingredients helps to tenderise and flavour foods. 

Putting together the right marinade sauces for your dishes can be tricky if you aren’t quite sure what the best flavours and consistencies are, which is why here at Regal Foods, we’ve created some delicious bottled marinade sauces that are quick and easy to use. From fresh Lemon and Herb to spicy Peri-Peri, we have a fantastic selection to choose from!

With the right ingredients, a good marinade sauce and an easy to follow technique, it’s quick and easy to marinade meat. One of the first steps you should take is to ensure that there is plenty of salt. Salt is the foundation when it comes to marinating meat, so ensuring your food, whether it is meat, vegetables or a meat substitute, is well-seasoned means that your choice of marinade sauce is absorbed into your food and you get a well-balanced flavour. 

If you are marinating meat and want to create a deep flavour, prick some holes into the meat before adding your marinade sauce. Doing this means that the meat will absorb the sauce better and the marinade is more evenly distributed throughout the meat. Foods should be well covered in the marinade, covering all sides, and you should regularly flip the meat during the marinading process. Using a big bowl or dish to marinade meat is the best method, as it creates a larger surface area for the meat to marinade in and means that you can flip the meat or add more marinade sauce as you see fit. Be sure to cover the bowl in cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cooking.

The purpose of marinating food is to create deep flavours, so marinading food for as long as possible will ensure that there is a good flavour to your foods before cooking. The longer you leave the meat to marinate, then the better the flavour and texture, but as a minimum, you should look to marinade foods for 2 hours to allow the meat to absorb some of the flavours of the marinade sauce. For meats, look to marinade for around 6-24 hours before cooking, making sure to keep refrigerated during the process. 

If your marinade sauce is highly acidic, then leaving it to marinade for an extended period of time can make the meat tough rather than tender. Avoid leaving meat to marinate for longer than 48 hours, as the marinade sauce can cause the fibres in the meat to break down.