Steak and Ale Meat Marinade

[Cooksie]

This is supposedly the marinade that Steak & Ale used for their Kensington Club steak and their Hawaiian Chicken. I really liked it and would use it again.

I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and marinated them for 24 hours. Next time, I'll plan ahead and give them 48 hours. I have some marinade left over and plan to marinate a steak, which will take a little longer marinating time.

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups pineapple juice
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 cup white wine
½ cup red wine vinegar
¾ cup sugar
2 t minced garlic

I used low sodium soy sauce just because that's what I always buy, but you can use regular. Some recipes for this marinade call for using sherry instead of white wine. I may try that variation one of these days as I do like the combo of sherry and chicken.

I just mixed it all together and reserved some for basting before pouring it over the raw chicken.

There are a gazillion sites that have this recipe, so I'm justing going to give credit to Steak & Ale .

 

[QSis]

WOW! Is that your photo, Cooksie??????? It's beautiful!

Did you skewer and grill that food? What a lovely CHAR!!! That in itself makes me want to try the marinade!

Lee

 

[Cooksie]

Yes, thank you, that is my pic.

I skewered it alright . It didn't go exactly as planned. I cut the chicken into long strips thinking I would thread it onto the skewers so it looked like that Christmas ribbon candy.

It started out looking good but quickly went down hill from there. The rest of it I just put on any way I could.

I only got a tiny little part to do what I intended:

If there's a secret to doing this, I sure would like to hear it.

 

[ChowderMan]

>>a secret

classically, skewed 'chunks' - 1.5 - 2 inches square.

but, for chicken methinks you did it better. grilling small chunks of chicken, it is not especially difficult to make chickenshoeleather . . . .dries out pretty quick.

pineapple juice contains natural tenderizing enzymes - it can make meat mush if left too long. see:
http://www.finecooking.com/articles/marinades-flavor-tenderize.aspx

note the note on 'fresh' - not sure if canned pineapple juice has the same effect.

 

[Cooksie]

Thanks for the info, Chowderman. After reading the article, I guess this marinade is a combo of acidic and enzymatic, which makes it even more complicated.

I used canned pineapple juice, and I didn't think the meat was mushy. I've already used the same marinade on some rib eyes too. They marinated for about 24 hours, and I didn't think they were mushy.

Lots of different opinions out there...from only a couple of hours to three days .

 

[Cooksie]

I did another variation of this again on ribeyes and marinated them for 48 hours. The ribeyes weren't very well marbled and didn't come out mushy at all, very similar to Steak & Ale's Kensington Club.


1 Cup soy sauce
1/2 Cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Cup sherry
3/4 Cup sugar
3 Cup unsweetened pineapple juice

This one is the best of the two marinades. I like the sherry instead of the white wine.

These mushrooms make a great side: http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=303556&postcount=1

 

[QSis]

Cooksie, can you taste the pineapple in the meat? I'd like to do some chicken breasts.

Lee

 

[Cooksie]

It has just a little sweetness and tang, not really a strong pineapple taste. If you do try it, be sure to use the second marinade that was posted...definitely better with sherry.