Do you have any favorite store-bought or very easy marinades for beef or chicken?

[Lisa0825]

I usually have some beef or chicken in the freezer and would like something really easy for a marinade for those times when I don't feel like making a lot of effort but also don't want to give in and go for something less healthy. I am looking for suggestions for something either from a bottle, or with just 2-3 ingredients... something I can use to marinate some meat for an hour and then stick in the oven or foreman grill. I just tried Lawrey's Teriyaki because it was on sale, and it was kind of meh.

Any favorites?

[Hotler]

1. Try this....

For beef: Red wine, soy sauce, garlic, worchestershire, some oil. Marinate over night then grill.
For chicken: olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and/or oregano. marinate and or rub under the skin.

[Lisa0825]

2. Thanks! About 1:1 on the liquids?

I just bought a big pack of chicken thighs to try some new things on

[pinto]

5. In general, I use the Zip-lock bag, overnight marinade approach.

Squish all the ingredients together in the bag, add the meat/chicken/fish, seal and throw in the fridge. Ready to go the next day.

A marinade I like to use for chicken thighs - grilled or broiled - is sweet and spicy. Molasses, some red salsa or just ketchup, some store bought ground garlic & ginger and enough hot sauce / hot oil to give it a kick. I go for a pretty thick consistency and finger taste the mix before I seal up to marinade.

I keep some of the marinade on hand to baste, if needed, while cooking.

Staples I stock for simple marinades - olive oil, peanut oil, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, hot oil, honey, molasses, brown sugar, ground garlic, ground ginger, ground horseradish, lemon juice, lime juice, red salsas, fruit salsas (great for fish). And the usual dried spices.

Plenty to mix 'n match for a dish.

[Hotler]

22. I just kinda wing it, but I would say about....

1-cup red wine, 1/4c each soy sauce worchestershire and oil. I might lean mor to less soy and more worchestersire. For the chicken try the juice of one lemon to every 1/2c olive oil.

[Warpy]

3. If you're really lazy, just use good bottled Italian dressing

or brown mustard. Take the chicken out and grill or bake with the dressing or mustard still clinging to it. Both are yummy, but I find the former could stand some salsa with it. The latter stands on its own.

[ge26252se]

16. agreed

[elleng]

4. Gave daughter this today, for brisket.

Family loved it, in the past.
May or may not be what you have in mind, but it works:

1 bottle chili sauce
1/2 cup apple juice
3 Tbs brown sugar
3 Tbs vinegar

Marinate as long as possible; I did overnight; daughter did 4 hours, and said it was 'delish.'
(for brisket, covered with chopped celery and sliced onions before baking, covered, @375 for 1-2 hours.)

[randr]

6. Favorite easy marinade

Low sodium soy, minced ginger, garlic powder. Place chicken or beef in zip lock. Add enough soy to cover, mince a tablespoon of ginger, sprinkle with teaspoon of garlic powder, and swish around. Place in refrig for at least an hour or over night. The longer the more tender the meat becomes due to the ginger. Brush remaining marinade on as needed while grilling.
Makes beef brisket succulent and chicken will brown up beautifully.

[The empressof all]

7. Cavenders Greek Spice Blend

I use the no salt kind. It's available at my local grocers so I hope you can find it where you are. This is a dry rub for meats so there is no "wet" part of the marinade unless you mix the spices with vinegar and oil or yogurt. I usually use it dry.

I sprinkle this very liberally on chicken and fish and let sit for an hour in the fridge before grilling or pan frying.

It's also terrific added to plain yogurt for marinating chicken or lamb and then making kebobs.

My husband use to hate Salmon but now with the "Greek Spice" he asks for it at least once a week and now even makes it himself.

[EFerrari]

8. Wow. I have to try this.

Rosie loves salmon and wants it often, I don't really know how to make it spicy enough to be interesting.

ETA great question, Lisa!

[The empressof all]

10. I sprinkle it heavily on the fish

Then I cook it in a very lightly oiled pan skin side down. One flip only.

The rub gives it a very lightly browned slightly crispy crust.

This is the only spice blend that I have ever found that is worth using.

The one with the salt in it is rather salty tasting which is fine but I use this with a very heavy hand so I always go for the no salt one in the blue container. When you use it think of it as a Rub- so be very generous....It's delicious. I serve with lemon wedges for both the chicken and the fish...

Here's the website...You can get it on line

http://www.cavendersseasoning.com/

[EFerrari]

12. One of my best dishes is blackened catfish.

Came late to it but the cajun palette fascinates and pleases everyone here. But, we need more and different ways to spice fish. I bet this is on the same carousel at Safeway where I found the Old Bay. Thanks for the tips.

[cbayer]

9. I marinated cornish game hens very simply the other day, and they came out great

OJ, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, honey and some crystallized ginger.

After marinating, I roasted them in the marinade and basted during roasting.

They were perfect.

[Denninmi]

11. I just tried this in the past 3-4 weeks. It's fantastic.

I part Annie Chun's gochujang

http://www.anniechun.com/our-food/gochujang-sauce

3 parts Hoisin sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee brand)

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Kum-Kee-Hoisin-Sauce/dp/B0001DMTPU

1 part toasted sesame oil:

http://usa.lkk.com/en/Products/ConsumerProduct/Cooking%20and%20Dipping%20Sauce/sesame-oil-pure

Plus a little dash (1/2 to 1 teaspoon per cup of marinade) of dried ginger OR about 3 times as much fresh, finely grated ginger.

I am SO in love with this marinade. It is awesome.

For those who like things hotter, you could definitely up the gochujang to be a larger proportion of the total. If I did much more than this in my house, no one but me would eat it.

[Lisa0825]

13. Thanks for all the great suggestions!!!

I know it is best to marinate longer, but even just an hour or two will give some flavor, and is way better than having something really plain. I like to marinate when I plan ahead, but I also want to be able to use something I can do quickly when needed too.

I looked for Cavender's at my local Kroger but didn't find it. I will check them out online. I have some individually frozen fish filets I think that would be very good on!

I am making my shopping list for this weekend to pick up some of the marinade staple items you all have suggested. I am usually the type to shop by the recipe, rather than having stuff on hand. It's a bad habit because then I tend to buy on impulse. LOL

Thanks again for all the tips! I look forward to doing a lot of experimenting in the next month or so!

[The empressof all]

20. Ask your store to order it

Most of my local grocers will order most anything I ask for. It takes a while and they sometimes won't call you when they get it in but it's worth a try.

[GoCubsGo]

15. Ken's Steakhouse marinades are decent.

The teriyaki is probably better than that by Lawrey's. As was already mentioned a couple of times, plain ol' Italian/Caesar dressing also makes a great marinade.

[eShirl]

17. I buy a huge roast on sale, cut up & seal in ziploc bags w/ Kikoman teriyaki marinade, freeze

(enough for 1 meal for the two of us in each bag)
It marinates while it thaws.

I stir-fry it at medium high and add thick-chopped veggies for the last minute or two. (usually onion, green pepper and mushrooms)

[HopeHoops]

18. Ken's - any variety. I usually make my own, but that brand is good.

Being a vegetarian, the "steak house" part of it is troubling, but it's the best I've found for a "shit I've got to do this quickly" situation. Oh, and the lemon one is great for tofu or tempeh.

[HappyMe]

19. I have used

Kraft Basil Parmesan Vinaigrette on both chicken & beef.

[The empressof all]

21. Yoshida's Gourmet Sauce

This is a "slightly less" sweet version of teriyaki sauce. It's good on most any meat. One of my daughters favorite meals when she was a kid was pineapple chicken. I'd take the Yoshidas and dump it into a ziplock bag with a can of pineapple rings juice and all. I'd add the chicken parts or boneless breast and leave in the fridge overnight. Next evening I'd just roast the parts with the pineapple and a little of the juices. If I was using boneless chunks I'd do them on top of the stove.

It was never one of my favorites but if you like pineapple the sweet salty combo here was pretty decent.

I know I use to get it at Costco

[Hotler]

23. Lisa, this is the marinade I was thinking of...

when I posted the marinade for beef. My mom used to do this one. I was way off.
1/2c soy sauce
2-cloves minced garlic
1/3c vegetable oil
1/3c sherry
Big dash of hot peper sauce Tobasco etc.
salt & pepper
marinate over night and grill
My mom did this with a 3" thick sirloin steak. Grilled it and sliced it thin diagonal across the grain and serve. Baste with marinade while grilling. This was to die for. It was awsome.
This recipe goes back to the 1960's. You could use a flank steak also.