Jewish Life Digital Edition November 2014 | Page 56

Sauce

MARINADE VS BASTING
BBQ sauce is not a marinade
and vice versa. Simply put,
marinade must contain an
acidic component, whereas
sauce is essentially just sugary
liquid. While both are crucial,
their roles in the ultimate
braai are totally different

52 JEWISH LIFE

ISSUE 79

THE ULTIMATE BUTCHER’S BASTER

From the Kosher Butcher’s Wife herself, Sharon Lurie

Once I had tasted Sharon’s basting sauce, I could and would never settle for
pre-made marinade again! This recipe guarantees a show-stopper braai!
½ cup black coffee (1 tsp strong coffee powder in ½ cup
hot water)
½ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp syrup (preferably ginger syrup)
1 tsp freshly crushed garlic
1 tsp mustard powder
¾ cup chutney
1 tsp hot chilli sauce
Combine ingredients.
Dip your meat
into the basting
sauce or brush
with the
sauce while
cooking.

PHOTOGRAPHS: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM; SUPPLIED

Marinades contain acidic ingredients (lemon juice, citrus juice, wine, beer, vinegar) that break down proteins
and work as liquid tenderisers. Acidic marinades actually protect against carcinogens that are most often
caused by cooking over an open flame.
The secret is to marinate overnight, in the fridge, in a
zip-locked bag or glass bowl. Don’t use a foil container,
as the acid content in the marinade can cause a metallic taste. Remember to rinse your meat before cooking (the acid content can make your meat bitter). Then
leave it to sit in your basting sauce for a couple hours.
Bear in mind though that basting sauces are made up of
sugars and syrups, which burn quickly. So some braai
experts recommend not adding that BBQ sauce until
the meat is almost ready to come off the grill, and to
rather just brush it on at the end of cooking for a nice
caramelised flavour.
Most ready-to-use store bought marinades are both
marinades and basting sauces in one, so you can marinate and cook the meat in the same sauce. Vacuumpacked meats from your butcher are already marinated and don’t have to be re-marinated. You can skip
straight to the basting phase!
When cooking marinated meat, raise the grid higher
off the coals to avoid burning the marinade before the
meat is cooked.
If you’re basting with a liquid in which raw meat
has marinated, do not re-apply it during the last three
minutes of grilling as this isn’t enough time to kill the
bacteria from the raw meat residue. And never, ever dip
your cooked meat in the raw meat marinade!