We're halfway through Grill Month here at the Kitchn--tired of grilling yet?
We didn't think so!
If what you are getting tired of is your same old vinegar-oil-salt marinade, here's a new idea: tropical fruits!
Fruits like papaya, fresh fig, pineapple, and kiwi make excellent marinades for meat either combined with other ingredients or on their own as a puree. Besides infusing interesting flavors, many tropical fruits also contain enzymes that tenderize meat! Click through for more information and recipes...
In On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee warns that the enzymes in these fruits work very slowly, so we run the risk of over-marinating the surface and ending up with a mushy mouthfeel.
A good solution is to prick the meat with the tines of a fork or skewer before adding it to the marinade. This way there's a ready-made path for the marinade to get to the inside of the meat, and the meat won't need to marinate as long to become fully infused.
Here are a few recipes we gathered from around the web:
Papaya Soy Marinade
Gingered Pineapple Marinade
Spicy Pineapple Marinade
Fig and Balsamic Marinade
Basic Kiwi Marinade
Kiwi Marinade for Korean Barbecued Beef
Any other favorite tropical fruit marinades out there?!
Related Grilling Tip: Do You Need to Soak Kabob Skewers?
(Image: Flickr member martiniko licensed under Creative Commons)
If Tamarind counts in the tropical fruit category, then I have a delicious-looking recipe to share that I found recently. I plan on trying it tonight, using it to grill some tofu and broccoli! Tamarind is very sour so I suspect this might be a handy tenderizer for meat-eaters too. See this URL for the recipe:
http://veganyumyum.com/2008/07/tamarind-seitan-kabobs/
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Oh! That sounds wonderful! I love tamarind and am always looking for more ways to incorporate it into my cooking. Thanks!
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Update: I tried it tonight and it was faaaaantastic! I replaced agave with wildflower honey and it came out just perfect. I think you'll like it!
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