Fire Up The Taste of Grilled Foods with Zesty Marinades

Marinades are a great way to infuse grilled steak, chicken, seafood, and vegetables with mouthwatering flavor. They help keep meats moist while cooking and can provide a simple way to boost the taste of foods without adding salt.

When preparing a marinade, use some oil so that herbs and spices easily cling to meats. Most marinades have an acidic base, like vinegar, wine or citrus juice, which helps tenderize tougher cuts of beef and pork.

To give grilled foods an added kick of flavor without much effort, try using zesty shake-on seasonings that are already blended and bottled. These seasonings help take the guesswork out of knowing which herbs and spices to add to a marinade.

A few simple tips to make the most of marinades:

• It usually takes a marinade about 30 minutes to flavor foods; however, the longer you marinate meats the stronger their flavor will become.
• Because it is so delicate, fish should only be marinated for 20-30 minutes.
• Use a glass dish or plastic bag to marinate foods; acids in the marinade will pull the metallic flavor from metal bowls.
• Always marinate meat and seafood in the refrigerator.
• Marinades should be used only once, then discarded.

Following is a quick and easy salt free marinade that gets its robust taste from new McCormick® Grill Mates® Salt Free Steak Seasoning, a bold blend of spices and herbs that enhances the flavor of grilled foods without adding salt.

Red Wine and Spice-Marinated Steak

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons McCormick® Grill Mates® Salt Free Steak Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Mustard
• 11/2 pounds steak, such as sirloin, or New York strip, trimmed of excess fat

Directions:

1. Combine red wine, olive oil, steak seasoning, brown sugar, and mustard in a large self-closing plastic bag or glass bowl. Add steak. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high. Grill steak 6-7 minutes per side, or until desired doneness.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional Information: Per One Serving: About 227 Calories, Fat 13g, Protein 24g, Carbohydrates 2g, Cholesterol 66mg, Sodium 58mg, Fiber 0g

Giving grilled foods an added kick of flavor is easy with a zesty marinade.

Courtesy of NAPSnet.