Herbal Marinades

My mom gave me a 4-page laminated quick reference guide to Herbs and Spices for Christmas a few years back. Here is a link to order one for yourself if interested. It's copyrighted by BarCharts, Inc. and includes such topics as
• definitions
• tips & tricks
• drying & storing herbs
• salt facts
• common herbs - flavors, forms, uses
• herb butters
• herb/spice oils & vinegars
• common spices - flavors, forms, uses
• herb/spice blends
• presentation
• preparation
• growing your own
• herbal marinades.
I had never really looked at it too much, but since I was recently asked the question about different spices for meats I thought I would glance it over. I found it's very helpful and wanted to include their thoughts on creating herbal marinades here.

Mix up your marinade in a ziploc bag or covered glass container and place meat into it and refrigerate. Try to give it a good shake, stir or turn once an hour.

If you would like to achieve reasonable effects you should try to marinate at least: Beef: 4-6 hours, Chicken: 1-2 hours, Pork: 3-4 hours, Seafood: 1-2 hours. No more than 8 hours maximum.

You can use the leftover marinades to baste your meat as long as the marinade gets cooked thoroughly--at least five minutes under the heat. Or you can add the marinade to make a sauce after cooking the meat, but again, make sure it is cooked through. Allow it to reach a boil and simmer for at least five minutes.

Beef
TERIYAKI
2 TBsp. oil (olive or vegetable)
2 TBsp. sugar
1 TBsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup beef stock
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground ginger

HERB & WINE
1/2 cup red wine
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

HEARTY STEW
1/2 cup vinegar or beer
1/4 tsp. cracked pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme


Pork
SAVORY (pictured above)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. cloves, ground
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. pepper

LIGHT
1/2 cup oil, vegetable
2 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 clove garlic, minced

BARBECUE
1 cup tomato sauce
1 small onion, chopped
3 TBsp. vinegar
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. cumin, ground
1/4 tsp. mustard, powdered
1/4 cup brown sugar

Chicken
ORIENTAL
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 TBsp. sherry
2 TBsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. ginger, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

POLYNESIAN
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 TBsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup honey

MEDITERRANEAN
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 bay leaf, broken
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Vegetables
1/2 cup oil (olive or vegetable)
3 TBsp. vinegar or wine
2 TBsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. sugar (white or brown)

White Fish
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. dill weed
1/4 tsp. black pepper
dash salt

Salmon
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup creme sherry
1 TBsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, chopped