What is a Marinade?
A marinade is a coating, usually made up of salts, sugars, acids and herbs and spices, which is used on the exterior of meat to add flavour. Marinades are sometimes oil based but can also be made from purely dry ingredients (often referred to as dry rubs).
Meat should be marinated for at least 10 - 15 minutes, but it is often recommended that meat be left to marinade over night. This being said, as marinades don't tend to penetrate far into meat, there's no real benefit to leaving meat to marinade for longer periods of time.
Can You Freeze Marinated Meat?
The short answer is yes. Whether you have brought meat that is pre-packed and marinated, or you have marinated it yourself at home, marinated meat can be frozen providing all the raw ingredients are still within their use by dates. It is not true that marinating meat extends its use by date, and thus you should always cook your marinated meat by the date on the packet.
Tips
- For quality purposes we would recommend that marinated meats are kept in the freezer no longer than 3 months.
- When you wish to use your meat it should be defrosted in a fridge and used within 24 hours.
- Never re-use any left over marinade which may have come into contact with raw meat.
- Always make sure your meat is cooked safely to a minimum core cooking temperature of 75C.
1 comment
I got a corned Beef Brisket and marinated it myself for 18hrs now. Can I freeze it to eat at a later date?