Cooking is an art! Yes, yes, do not be surprised. The artist creates masterpieces on canvas, and the culinary artist - on the table. A real cook should always have his own special tricks and secrets of preparing tasty and wholesome food. In this article we will talk about one of these tricks.
This technique is widely known, but it is used extremely rarely, which is a pity. After all, it makes food more tender, softer, gives a wonderful taste and smell. What kind of reception, you ask? The answer is simple - pickling products. Surprised? And marinades, by the way, have been used for a very long time. This is a simple and effective way of not only storing products, but also giving them certain taste. People have long wondered how to pickle chicken, duck and other poultry, meat.
So what do we know about marinades? The basis of any marinade, as a rule, is acid (acetic, citric) and table salt. It also includes vegetable oil, all kinds of spices and spices. There are actually many recipes, you can even create your own unique marinade yourself, but you need to remember one thing - acid and salt must be present necessarily - this is the basis.
Marinades, if used skillfully, greatly improve the taste of cooked meat or fish. Add a pleasant, sometimes unusual taste. In the preparation of marinades, it is not necessary to adhere to the "classic" recipes. You yourself can add a twist, come up with how to pickle chicken, duck or meat using your own technology. You can and should experiment, try. To achieve the desired taste and eventually get your signature marinade.
Much can be used as additives and bases - sour-milk products, alcohol (wine, cognac, vodka, beer), mineral waters, juice of berries and vegetables, oil (vegetable, olive, ghee), the list goes on for a long time. The main thing is that all components combine and fill the product with aroma and taste. This, by the way, is the most difficult. But if there is a desire, then there will be a result.
Where to use pickling products? The very first thing that comes to mind is harvesting for the winter (cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes). But you can use it in cooking, for example, pickle meat, and then cook it on coals (everyone’s favorite barbecue), pickle the duck and bake it in the oven. It turns out very tasty, isn't it?
The thing is that acid and salt penetrate into the fibers of the meat and soften them, after cooking the meat becomes soft and juicy. Here the main thing is the time delay, it should be remembered and precisely observed. Ingredients are also important, grape or apple vinegar is best suited, less often citric acid (but lemon juice is better).
How to pickle fish. Fish and seafood should not be pickled for more than half an hour, as their meat is tender and can begin to fall apart during cooking. It is also better to use lemon juice for fish, rather than vinegar. Vinegar is rougher and better suited to beef or poultry.
How to pickle chicken. Chicken marinate for about an hour, as a rule, this is enough if it is chopped. If you decide to pickle it whole, then it may take more time.
How to pickle meat. Beef or lamb marinate from four hours or more. It all depends on the thickness of the piece of meat - the thicker the piece the more time it will take to marinate it.
By the way, here is a small recipe for marinade for small game. The game, as you know, has a specific smell that not everyone likes, and after pickling it disappears. You need to boil five liters of water. Put the roots, all one at a time: carrots, parsley root, celery, a whole head of onion. Add twelve peas of black pepper, a teaspoon of red pepper, pieces of six flowers of cloves, bay leaf and salt to taste. Cook until the roots are welded. Then remove from heat, remove the bay leaf and gently, stirring all the time, pour a glass of grape vinegar, add five to six crushed cloves of garlic. Cool. In the cooled marinade, put the game for ten to twelve hours.
If you are interested in how to pickle chicken, meat, duck, fish, we want to assure you: this is nothing complicated. Just strictly follow the recipe and tips.