How to marinate meats

[Caribbean girl]

Would you marinate your chicken or turkey that you were planning to cook the next day, overnight? Here where I live, we usually marinate our meats with lime and salt, or lemon and salt. I used to have a habit of marinating my meats overnight since I figured that would help better with the flavour of the meat. I figured: The longer, the better. However, a friend recently told me that this tends to remove some of the protein from the meat, and that it would be better to marinate it just a couple hours before cooking it. I have taken her advice, since I would like to get all of the protein from the meat that I can get.

So how long do you leave your meats marinating, and what do you usually marinate your meats in?

 

[Ellyn]

I figured the longer, the better too. Some marinades have probably got nutrients of their own that comes in, for example I really enjoy marinating chicken in rosemary. Although if you're concerned about the nutrients, then perhaps a dry rub can be just as flavorful, and there's not exactly any leaching or anywhere for the protein to go, so... although I just doubt that protein can really be removed from meat because isn't that what meat is?

 

[forextraspecialstuff]

I always thought the longer the better as well in terms of the meat being more flavorful and tender. Honestly I don't see how marinating for longer could remove protein from the meat, I wonder if it breaks it down in some way and if it is dependent on what you're marinating in but removing it just doesn't seem feasible to me. I don't have a set marinade for anything and generally change it up depending on what I am making. I have an oil, vinegar,salt and pepper marinade that is easy but delicious. I have a chili oil and lime marinade that I really like. I tend to mix it up and hope it tastes good.