You might remember a few weeks ago, when I was prepping my meat for the freezer, I decided to be industrious and freeze a few packs with some marinade. I used a Balsamic Vinegar and Honey marinade, which I had made before and was delicious on pork. I had a bit extra and added it to one of the packs of chicken.
When I made the first pack of pork, the taste was awful - balsamic vinegar and nothing else. The vinegary taste was so potent and really awful. Thank goodness I had paired the meal with some potatoes, which made it a little more palatable.
The second time, same thing. Simply awful. I tried to add some bits of marinade I had in the fridge, but it didn't help.
I was so disheartened - what had I done wrong. The marinade had been so nice last time, and I have made it more than once with no problem.
So I did a Google search and came up with the reason: apparently you shouldn't marinade meats in vinegar based marinades for too long. It basically starts to pickle the meat.
So now I had a problem: I still had a pack of chicken in a balsamic vinegar marinade in the freezer.
So here is how I saved it and made a meal so tasty that impressed the Mr.
Step 1 was getting rid of as much of the Balsamic Vinegar as possible. I took the pack out the freezer and let it start to defrost for a short while - about 30 min. Then I rinsed it with cold water and got most of the marinade off.
Step 2 was keeping the defrosted chicken from sitting in any marinade that was still left. I used a mesh steamer cooker - put the chicken in the top and any marinade still left would drip through to the tray on the bottom.
Step 3 was getting some new flavour in. By the morning, the chicken looked pretty much defrosted and there wasn't much marinade in the bottom - which meant I got most of it off, thank goodness. I moved the chicken to a bowl and stirred in honey and bbq marinade - the honey would hopefully help counteract the vinegar, and the bbq marinade has a strong flavour.
Step 4 was cooking the meat. I still had no idea what it would taste like, because I couldn't taste the chicken until it cooked. I opened a tin of canned tomato and onion, and added 1/4 of the can to the pan. I also added a few chili flakes.
Step 5 - tasting the meat. It was delicious. Couldn't really taste the vinegar at all.
So, my lesson is learnt - and luckily I didn't ruin too many meals. I have a much better grasp on what kinds of marinades are suitable for freezing with meat. I will make the balsamic marinade again - but probably not for a while. The taste is kind of ruined for me right now.
And at least now I know - meat should only sit in balsamic vinegar for a short time before cooking.
