Marinades are made of basic ingredients that come together to transform meats by tenderizing their gristly bits, preserving their moisture content, and infusing them with flavor from the inside out. Meat marinades are easy to make and the process is as simple as combining your favorite acids, fats, and flavoring agents for overnight soaking. Delicious and handy as they are, reusing a meat marinade is a serious food safety risk.
Marinades are almost always used to soak raw meat, which is where the danger lies. As soon as a marinade comes into contact with raw meat, it can become contaminated with bacteria harmful to human health, like salmonella and E. coli. These pesky bacteria, which cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms and fever, can linger in the marinade, rendering it unsafe to use again. Once the meat is cooked to a safe internal temperature, which varies by the type of meat, any potential bacteria is killed and it’s safe to consume. Unfortunately, the marinade is not.
What to do if you want to reuse a marinade
You should never reuse a raw meat marinade directly. However, there are some workarounds to safely repurpose it. By removing any bits of meat from the marinade and bringing it to a steady boil for five minutes at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the high temperatures will kill any lingering bacteria. However, depending on the ingredients used to assemble it, especially fatty ingredients that curdle at high temperatures, boiling a marinade can compromise its flavor, texture, and overall integrity.
Instead of reusing marinade, it’s best to set aside a fresh, unused portion for future use when first preparing it. A marinade can last in the refrigerator for up to a week, and possibly longer, depending on the ingredients used. Because vegetables are safe to consume raw, you can reuse a vegetable or plant-based protein marinade on raw meat without boiling it. We know your world-famous marinade is delicious enough to enjoy twice, but it’s essential to take proper precautions to avoid contracting foodborne illness associated with raw meat consumption.
