It’s beginning to look a lot like grilling season! It will be hit or miss here in Central Oregon for another couple of months, but we have busted out the Weber a couple times already. I used this red wine balsamic marinade on some tri-tip beef (pictured above) and it worked beautifully.
While I would primarily use this marinade for any cut of beef or lamb, I think it would also work well with pork chops or pork tenderloin that you intend to grill. And, I think it would be excellent with portobello mushrooms. I haven’t tried it yet, but some marinated mushrooms in a kebob with onions and peppers would make a great vegetarian meal.
Initially, I came up with this marinade to make my brother, Chef Billy’s, beef stew recipe for the cookbook I’m working on. He suggested “marinated stew meat” in his recipe, but the rest was up to me (Insert eye roll.) Do I have to do all the work?? Don’t get me started on his penmanship. Lol. I joke. It’s a labor of love, much like the castle cake he made for my fifth birthday when he was thirteen. I owe him.
It’s more important than ever to enjoy the good things in life. Time spent with family and friends, great food and wine, the return of spring, and the promise of summer. I hope you have many happy moments ahead. I’ve found it’s helpful to make them happen with intention; they don’t always appear on their own.
Red Wine & Balsamic Marinade
(makes enough for about 3 pounds of meat)
3/4 cup red wine (use a wine you might drink on a weeknight)
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 cloves of garlic, chopped or thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Optional
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme
Mix all of the ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl (glass or plastic work well).
Prepared your meat or portobello mushrooms and combine them with the marinade.
If you are using portobello mushrooms, marinate them at room temperature for 15 – 30 minutes.
Refrigerate marinated meat for at least two hours and up to 12 hours, depending on the size of the cut. Make sure it’s covered or placed in a ziplock-type bag.
Prepare as you like! Sauté, grill, or roast.
If I hear of one more family or friendship being broken up over personal beliefs, I am going to lose it. I’m really not one to lose it, but I’m getting close. Please, try to look past your fear and/or your righteousness. Everyone is doing the best they can with the information they have right now. Not all of us have the same information. This is, I believe, by design. United we stand, divided we fall. At the end of the day, it’s the people in our lives who matter, so don’t let them go.
Listen to Jim…
