Expert: Whitestag - 2/23/2006

Question
Hello there, how are you going? I live in Australia and I was wondering: what is your best ever marinade or spice mix for fish, poultry, and meat? I would really appreciate your answer, as I have to cook this week because my sister is in hospital and my Mum is sick. Thank you very much for your time, from Christina

Answer
I'm pretty minimalist in how I cook, so I'm not sure that I can help you with so general a question.  I sometimes use prepared spice mixes, but what I can buy in stores in the US isn't necessarily what you'll have available in Australia.  I know this to be the case from my travels in Canada -- everything changes slightly when you cross international borders (and sometimes they change when you move from one part of a country to another).

As a general rule:

A little bit of salt and pepper will enhance the flavor of almost anything.  Roasted or broiled meat does well if you rub it with a cut garlic clove prior to cooking.  If you're feeling industrious, cut the garlic clove into slivers, make small incisions in the meat, and insert the garlic slivers.  Good beef doesn't need any additional spices.  Lamb is good with mint or rosemary.

You can give poultry the same garlic treatment.  If you're roasting the whole bird, rub the inside with garlic and put a couple onion slices into the cavity.  You can also rub with a slice of fresh lemon.  Thyme and rosemary go well with most poultry.

Fish often benefits from having a few thin slices of onion sprinkled across it.  You should also brush fish with some oil or butter, whatever you prefer.  I usually use extra virgin olive oil or butter.

Hope this helps.