Marinade Recipes For the Best Summer Barbeque

After the long winter are you at a loss for a few easy recipes? Clean up the barbeque and prepare the burgers and ribs for grilling.

Simple and delicious marinade recipes are here. Easy marinades for steak, ribs or fish and marinated grilled vegetables and fruit.

Meat Marinade

This marinade is versatile and can be used for pork tenderloin, baby back ribs and even London Broil.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 2 TBLS. brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup Ketchup

DIRECTIONS:

Blend together all ingredients together. Pour the marinade into a plastic zip style bag. Add the meat and seal the bag. Shake the bag gently to coat the meat with the marinade. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

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Red Wine Pairings

Zinfandels from California have a peppery and rich berry flavors that are terrific with spicy barbecue pork ribs, burgers or just about anything with spicy marinade recipes.

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Fish Marinade

This is a savory marinade you can use on fish fillets such as tilapia, orange roughy, and flounder. You can also use this on shrimp or scallops as well. It is a simple marinade but it works well with fish on the grill.

INGREDIENTS:

• Juice from 2 Lemons
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 TBLS. olive oil
• 2 TBLS. dry white wine

You can increase any of these ingredients to your taste, and/or to increase the amount of the marinade depending of the amount of fish you will be grilling.

DIRECTIONS:

Put all ingredients in a chopper or blender and pulse for a few seconds just until all the ingredients are blended.

Pour the marinade over the fish and refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes at most (the acidity from the lemons will "cook" the fish if it marinates too long).

Depending on the thickness of the fish, grill about 5-8 minutes on each side or just until the fish is opaque.

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White Wine Pairings

Crisp, intensely aromatic white wines with high acidity work very well with grilled flavors. Sauvignon Blanc or Fumé Blanc from California will be delicious with the grilled fish and vegetables.

For a light and crisp white wine try a Vinho Verde from Portugal. The citrus flavors pair well with the citrus flavors from the marinade.

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Vegetable Marinade

Grilled summer vegetables are delicious. Few foods are as low in calories and as enjoyable than fresh vegetables.

Choose from your favorites, or use them all. Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Eggplant, Red Onions, Red, Yellow and Orange Bell Peppers, Portobello Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Asparagus, and the list goes on.

Rinse/wash them and then cut them in a thick slice. Toss them in this easy marinade recipe for a delicious side for your proteins. Or prepare them for a cold salad as a vegetarian dish.

You can even make sandwiches with the leftovers (if there are any).

Tip: Slice the vegetables a little more than 1/4 inch thick. Slice the onions in 1/4 inch thick circles trying to keep the circles together. If you use bell peppers, cut them about 1 inch in thickness.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 TBLS. Olive oil
• 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Fresh herbs of your choice (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Wisk the ingredients together to blend. Pour over sliced vegetables and stir well (using your hands if necessary).

Lay them out on a grill pan with holes (it will keep the vegetables from falling through the grill onto the coals) and place it on the grill. Grill about 8-10 minutes or until tender.

Fruit Marinade

Dessert is everyone's favorite. Fresh summer fruit is delicious, but grilling them takes it to another level. Why not complete your meal and grill dessert.

This is one of my favorite marinade recipes. Adding ice cream on the side just makes this dessert a little more special. I hope you enjoy it.

Use Pineapple Slices (either fresh or canned) or summer stone fruits such as peaches, nectarines or plums cut in half. Add vanilla ice cream if you want to splurge.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 TBLS. honey
• 3 TBLS. melted butter (or butter alternative such as Smart Balance)
• Dash of hot pepper sauce (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• brown sugar for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Blend these ingredients together (except the brown sugar) and then pour into a plastic bag. Add the fruit slices or halves and marinate an hour or two.

Grill for 2 or 3 minutes on each side, or until well heated. Place on a plate and sprinkle with brown sugar if desired.