5 Easy Pork Marinade Recipes
Total Time
5 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Rating
5 out of 5 stars
(5)
Ingredients
About 1 cup (each)
- Moo Shu Marinade:
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon each: freshly-cracked black pepper, garlic powder
- BBQ Marinade:
- 1 batch Homemade BBQ Sauce
- Pineapple Ginger Marinade:
- 2/3 cup pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1/2 teaspoon each: freshly-cracked black pepper, garlic powder
- optional: pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- Carnitas Marinade:
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon each: chili powder, salt
- 1/2 teaspoon each: dried oregano, freshly-cracked black pepper, garlic powder
- Maple Dijon Marinade:
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup coarse-grain dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- optional: 1-2 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh rosemary
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Preparation
Chef’s notes
You're welcome to use however much marinade you would like per pound of pork, but in general, I recommend 1/2 cup marinade per 1 pound of pork.
Fridge marinade time:
I recommend marinating your pork packs in the refrigerator for anywhere from 30 minutes up to 1 day (24 hours).
Freezer marinade time:
I recommend marinating your pork packs in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Always thaw pork properly:
As tempting as it may be to try and 'quick-thaw' frozen pork, food safety guidelines recommend that you always thaw pork slowly in the refrigerator. Ideally, you can plan ahead and pop your frozen pork pack in the fridge and let it rest for 24 hours or so, or until it has completely thawed. But to speed the process up, you can place the pork pack in a bowl of cold water, then refrigerate until the pork pack has completely thawed.
Don't try to cook partially-frozen pork:
Probably goes without saying, but if you jump the gun, the pork will cook unevenly. So thaw completely.
Basting with marinades:
There are a variety of opinions in the food safety world about how safe/unsafe it is to baste your pork with its marinade. Some say it's ok to use the marinade as a baste in the beginning stages of cooking, but many strongly disagree. To err on the side of caution, if you would like to use the marinade as a baste while cooking, I recommend using extra marinade that you have reserved ahead of time. (Basically, marinade that hasn't touched the raw pork.)