Marinades: What Actually Works

They barely penetrate

The stubborn myth is that a marinade soaks flavour deep into meat. It does not. Most marinade flavour stays within a few millimetres of the surface, however long you leave it. Oil and large flavour molecules simply cannot travel far into muscle. A marinade is a surface treatment, and that is fine, because the surface is where a lot of the eating happens.

What actually does something

• Salt: penetrates, seasons throughout, and helps retain moisture. The one ingredient that reaches the inside.
• Acid: firms and lightly 'cooks' the surface; too much or too long turns it chalky and mushy.
• Enzymes: pineapple, pear and papaya genuinely tenderise, but aggressively, so keep the time short.
• Sugar and oil: for browning and for carrying flavour and heat to the surface.

The timing trap

Longer is not better. Acidic marinades left overnight turn the surface pale, firm and unpleasant. Most benefit from two to four hours. Enzyme marinades, like a Korean pear-based one, should be even shorter. Salt is the exception; a salt-heavy marinade doubles as a brine and improves with time.

Build a good one

Salt for seasoning, a little acid for brightness, oil to carry flavour and help browning, aromatics for character, and a touch of sugar if you want colour. Marinate for a few hours, wipe off the excess so it does not steam, and keep some back to finish. That is a marinade doing everything it actually can.