How long to marinate?

[BoxcarBetts]

Just wondering if anyone has ever marinated their meat too long or if that's even possible? I sliced up some beef strips and was about to throw them in some marinade for a day, then realised I won't have time to smoke after work tomorrow. Any issues with marinating for 36-48 hrs?

[tailfeathers]

I think that marinading for that length of time could cause the flavor to become overpowering. Another thing to consider would be the ingredients in the marinade being used. Some marinades contain igredients that weaken the connective tissue in the meat, and marinading for that long could make your meat mushy. I don't think I would do it.

[Dano]

You can definitely marinade for too long.  I had a 4lb venison neck roast, on the bone, that I marinated with a red wine base and some other ingredients for 2 days.  After slow cooking I had a massive neck bone surrounded by venison stew as the meat completely separated from the bone and itself.  It was the best venison stew I've had to date but still had to inform my guests that the menu had changed from a roast dinner on a plate to 'grab a bowl'.  ;)

[BoxcarBetts]

Thanks guys, yeah, I guess it depends on what you're trying to accomplish with the meat. For jerky, I definitely don't want to ruin the connective tissue!  My wife's grandfather just showed me some Greek sausages he was making. He marinates them in red wine for a full week, which I can see since you're kinda trying to "mush" all the meat, spices, flavours into one consistency.  But I do recall now marinating a nice strip loin for far too long, causing the steak to be way too tender... And strong with the flavours.

[Saber 4]

I did the same thing with some beef jerky a while back and it went a little over 48 hours with no problem, I was using Kikkoman teriyaki marinade, Rodak's mustard chipotle fusion sauce and cure 1 and it turned out just fine, don't know how it would work with other meats though.

[Dano]

Hey Saber, have you ever tried using the 'cooking sauce' version instead of the bottles that say marinade?  I have three types of teryaki in my cupboard - cooking sauce - marinade - stir fry sauce.   The marinade seems a bit more bitter than the cooking sauce and the stir fry sauce is a lot sweeter than the other two.  I haven't played around with them much but wanted to see if you've combined or switched it up with these?

[Saber 4]

Hey Saber, have you ever tried using the 'cooking sauce' version instead of the bottles that say marinade?  I have three types of teryaki in my cupboard - cooking sauce - marinade - stir fry sauce.   The marinade seems a bit more bitter than the cooking sauce and the stir fry sauce is a lot sweeter than the other two.  I haven't played around with them much but wanted to see if you've combined or switched it up with these?

I can't remember if it says marinade or not but here is a picture of the bottle I usually use, sometimes I use the Soy Vey Veri Veri Teriyaki and it works great as well.

[Dano]

Perfect thanks!  I'll keep an eye out for that kind.