Can You Marinate Meat Before Grinding It? -

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Contents

A marinade is a spicy liquid used for soaking meat; be it ground or whole. Marinades are used to add more flavour to meat, but then chefs are often divided on when it should be done—before or after grinding.

So, can you marinate meat before grinding it? Yes, you can marinate meat before grinding, but don’t get your hopes up just yet.

Meat that hasn’t been grounded is usually very dense, making it difficult for the marinade to have the desired effect.

The best option would be to stick to the normal way of spicing meat, which simply involves rubbing dry spice on the meat.

It’s also not advisable to marinate meat after grinding either as this would greatly affect the overall texture of the meat.

Except you want a beefy mush, this is also not a good option to follow. However, if you insist on marinating your meat, below are the steps to follow;

How to marinate your meat before grinding

Before I proceed, ensure you freeze your meat in a freezer after soaking it in a marinade as it is not ideal to grind wet meat.

Ingredients

One-third cup measurement of soy sauce
One-third cup measurement of fresh lemon juice
Half cup measurement of olive oil
Quarter cup measurement of Worcestershire sauce
A quarter teaspoon of sauce (hot pepper)
1 and a half tablespoons of dried parsley (flakes)
1 and a half tablespoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of dried minced garlic (not compulsory)

Step 1

Using a normal blender, blend your olive oil, soil sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper, parsley, and basil together. You can choose to add garlic and hot pepper sauce if you so desire. Blend for at least 30 seconds at high speed.

Step 2

After blending, pour your marinade over your piece of meat. Cover it up and refrigerate it for about 8-hours, then proceed to cook the meat as you so desire.

NB: ensure you trim the meat and rid it off any bone before applying your marinade.

What can I use to grind my meat after marinating?

There are different kitchen tools you can use to grind your meat after marinating. Below are those tools;

Food processor

A food processor has different attachments you can use to grind your marinated meat. However, you’d have to make use of a knife to cut the meat into smaller pieces.

Meat grinder

This is the tool that was specially designed to grind meat, but it is now used to make different types of things. It has different attachments for different results like fine, coarse, or medium.

Blender

A blender is quite similar to a food processor with the shape of the container and also some attachments.

However, it can be used to grind meat after marinating, and you would also, you’d need to cut the meat into smaller pieces before you start the motor.

Which kind of meat can you marinate before grinding?

You can marinate any kind of meat, including fish before grinding. However, before marinating, it’s important to make sure the meat is cold. Below are the kinds of meat you can marinate before grinding and their uses.

Beef

Beef is often used to make a lot of dishes such as samosa, steak, sausage, burger, and so on. Therefore, it is important to marinate it before using it to make these dishes. The only meal you don’t have to ground after marinating is steak.

Pork

Ground pork is used to make a lot of meals and it is important to marinate to add more flavour to meals such as stuffed cabbage rolls, meatballs (pork balls), pork loaf, and so on.

Ground pork is often used as an alternative to meat, for instance, each of the dishes I mentioned requires ground meat, but most people use ground pork instead.

Lamb

Ground lamb is surprisingly tasty in meals and if you haven’t tried using it to make dinner, you are missing out.

Ground lamb also has special dishes such as spicy lamb patty, Aussie lamb bolognese, Mediterranean lamb, etc. However, you’d need to marinate before grinding.

Chicken or turkey

Chicken or turkey are often used in dishes and they are usually super tasty- ground, cooked, fried, or roasted. Ground chicken or turkey are used to make dishes such as hamburgers, cheesy chicken mince fritters, chicken nachos, pan-seared dumplings, and so on.

How long should meat be marinated before grinding?

The duration required for meat to be marinated depends on the dish. Almost all dishes require that your meat be marinated but not ground. However, some meals require that you marinate your meat for 7 hours or 24 hours at most.

Your meat can last for a day and a half in the marinade without decaying, but after 2 days it would start crumbling—the crumbling includes the meat fibre as well. This means after 24 hours you should grind your meat after marinating.

Can you grind meat after cooking?

Of course, you can grind meat after cooking. Grinding a lump of cooked meat isn’t bad, but it can be a bit hard for most people to grind.

There are a few meals that request the use of ground-cooked meat. You can use a meat grinder, food processor, or blender to grind your cooked meat.

However, you’d need to re-season the meat after grinding to add more flavour. This is because the flavour in cooked meat will diminish after grinding which means if you need to make a meal that requires ground-cooked meat, you can grind your meat after cooking. But you’d need to season it again.

FAQs

Should you grind the meat twice?

Yes, meat should be ground twice to get the right consistency. A meat grinder or any type of grinder has different attachments for fine or coarse results.

Though each attachment has been designated a particular function, you still need to grind twice. The first grind might not give the complete result you need, until the second grind.

However, this might depend on the meal you want to make. Some meals do not need completely ground meat—just slightly ground and vice versa.

Is it better to marinate in a fridge or at room temperature?

It is best to marinate in a fridge. Marinating your meat or fish in a fridge, makes it easier to grind, fry, or roast. Do not marinate your meat or fish at room temperature.

This is because germs develop on raw meat and fish easily when hot or warm. It can also make the meat be at risk in 35⁰ Fahrenheit, and 135⁰ Fahrenheit. All this can be prevented by using the fridge to marinate.

You can use a Ziploc bag or place the meat or fish on a plate and cover it with nylon, then, put it in your fridge and leave it for the hours needed.

Which equipment do you need to marinate?

You can use a Ziploc bag, plastic container, or glass bags, but not metal containers. This is because some marinated meat contains an acid like white vinegar and besides, metals react to acids. They can alter the taste and colour of the meat so, it is best to stay away from metal containers to marinate.

The best equipment you can use to marinate is a Ziploc bag. These bags are in different sizes and can carry any size of meat you want to marinate.

Can I grind and stuff sausage at once?

No, it is impossible to grind and stuff sausages at once. The author in the book titled Charcuterie stated that it is bad to stuff and grind simultaneously, so, it‘s more advisable to grind your sausage first before stuffing.

When you do this you’d stop the sausage from crumbling, but stick closely. You don’t have to rush your procedure if you need the best end product. Pick up your steps one after the other and it will all fall in place.

Can you marinate ground meat?

Yes, you can marinate ground meat. The process is similar to marinating the meat before grinding. You just have to put the ground meat on a plate and add the ingredients for marinating.

Get a Ziploc bag and put the ground meat in it, then, put the Ziploc bag filled with the ground meat in a fridge and let it stay for the required time.