Garlic and Rosemary Marinade

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Chef's knife
• •Cutting board
• •Glass jar with lid or shallow dish
• •Microplane or fine grater for zest

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the garlic

   Place the garlic cloves on your cutting board and crush them with the flat of your knife. The cells break open and release their oils. Give them a rough chop, nothing precise. You want pieces large enough to see, small enough to cling to the meat.

   Fresh garlic should feel firm and heavy, with no green sprout at the center. If you see a sprout, remove it. It turns bitter.
2. 2

   Strip the rosemary

   Run your fingers down each rosemary stem, stripping the leaves against the grain. The leaves should release easily. If the stems are woody and the leaves resist, your rosemary is tired. Keep some leaves whole, give others a rough chop. The variety matters. Whole leaves release flavor slowly during cooking. Chopped leaves give up their oils immediately.

3. 3

   Combine with olive oil

   Pour the olive oil into a bowl or jar. Add the garlic and rosemary. Stir in the salt and pepper, then the lemon zest and juice. The acid will cloud the oil slightly. This is right. The lemon brightens everything and helps tenderize whatever you are marinating.

   Taste your olive oil before using it. It should taste alive, perhaps grassy or peppery, never flat or waxy. Bad oil ruins everything it touches.
4. 4

   Let it rest

   Allow the marinade to sit at room temperature for fifteen to thirty minutes before using. The garlic and rosemary need time to release their essential oils into the olive oil. You will see the color deepen slightly, and the fragrance will fill your kitchen.

5. 5

   Apply to your meat

   Pour the marinade over your meat in a shallow dish or resealable bag. Turn the pieces to coat them completely. Chicken and pork need at least two hours. Lamb and beef can handle four to six. Do not exceed eight hours, or the acid will begin to change the texture of the meat in ways you do not want.

   Remove meat from the refrigerator thirty minutes before cooking. Cold meat straight to a hot pan seizes. Room temperature meat browns.

Chef Tips

• •Buy your olive oil from someone who can tell you when it was pressed. Oil older than eighteen months has lost its aliveness. Fresh oil tastes green and peppery. Old oil tastes flat.
• •If you grow rosemary, harvest it in the morning after the dew has dried. The essential oils are strongest then.
• •This marinade keeps refrigerated for up to one week. The garlic will mellow and the flavors will deepen. Bring to room temperature before using.
• •Do not discard the marinade after removing the meat. Strain it and use it to baste during grilling, or drizzle it over vegetables before roasting.

Advance Preparation

• •The marinade can be made up to one week ahead and stored refrigerated in a sealed jar. The flavors deepen with time.
• •For dinner parties, prepare the marinade in the morning and apply to meat by early afternoon. The quiet work is done before your guests arrive.
• •Double or triple the batch for larger gatherings. The proportions scale without adjustment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 29g)