On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:06:44 -0600, Gloria P >
wrote:

wrote:
>> I want to grill a flank steak. I've done it before but I'm looking for some new
>> marinades. Anyone have a favorite? Also, how long to marinate? I know I can
>> Google this but I'd like to hear what regular folks like to do.Thanks.
>>
>
>For many years we have had flank marinated with:
>(amounts are approximate)
>
>3/4 cup soy sauce
>1/4 cup vermouth or dry sherry
>finely chopped onion
>minced or grated garlic
>a few scrapes of ginger
>1 or 2 tsp. sugar
>fresh ground black pepper
>
>Mix well and pour over flank in a zip-lock bag. Refrigerate.
>
>I have marinated anywhere from an hour to overnight (20 hrs?)
>Cooks Illustrated says marinating longer than 20 minutes makes
>the meat "mushy" but we've never experienced that.
>
>gloria p

while we're on the subject, the washington *post* had an article in
their food section on june 11:

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/10/AR2008061000614.html>

The Myth About Marinades
A Flavor Bath, In a Flash

Putting together my favorite marinade takes some time, not least
because I allow it to.

I always start with red wine: one glass for me, one for the marinade.
Then I set the two apart by adding garlic and chopped parsley to the
wine I won't be drinking. When I pick some thyme from the veranda and
rub the leaves between my hands, my kitchen fills with the smell of
the Greek islands and never-ending summer. I throw the leaves in,
along with grinds of black pepper, a crushed bay leaf and sometimes a
drop or two of Tabasco, for temperament.

I taste and adjust, adding a little sugar, some soy sauce. When I am
satisfied that the marinade is just right, I pour it over a couple of
steaks.

While the meat is marinating, I indulge in a ritual to pass the time:
I count to four. One, two, three, four. That's it. And finally I can
dedicate myself to the masculine cooking technique that involves the
burning of eyebrows, slight smoke poisoning and the charring of meat
over red-hot coals.

Marinating meat is one of those mysterious fields in the world of
cooking in which there are plenty of opinions and few facts; an area
that many people -- mostly men -- claim to master but few can explain.


....which seems kinda fishy to me. he also says he will return the
meat to the marinade during the process of cooking. he claims the
food scientist harold mcgee backs him up on this in that the marinade
doesn't greatly penetrate the meat no matter how long you marinate.

it would be very interesting to me to see what others think of the
article. it seems counterintuitive, to say the least.

your pal,
blake