Freezer Meater Marinade

I think having a freezer is one of best purchases I have made.  Especially since it only cost me $160, and it came with "$160 worth of coupons" which was the special (a very long while back) at my local cub foods.  For the record, many of those coupons were actually very useful as well, making the freezer purchase an even better deal.  The key benefit of having an additional freezer is being able to store additional frozen foods, such that you can stock up when there's a deal and living off the storage when there is not.  Freezers extend the "life" of your indefinitely, but not necessarily the flavor.  In other words it won't hurt you to eat it, but it could lack the zip and flavor it once had.  In fact freezing meat, for whatever duration, is a flavor "killer" and it customarily avoided in high-profile restaurants.  In season 7 of Top Chef, Chef Spike was eliminated from the competition for his using frozen scallops in the challenge.

So with freezing meat, especially for longer durations, comes a lack of flavor.   Recently, I had "found" some steak in the freezer that was in there longer than um.... it should have been .... more than a few months.  Obviously, wasting meat is far from frugal and bit unethical in my mind too.  Not wanting to scratch it, but knowing the flavor could significantly less savory - I went for my best option.  Using a marinade.

Marinades can be used on basically any kind of meat although the tougher more gamy meats are where they can be most useful.  In this case, "over frozen" steak.  Marinades may sound complicated and threatening... but really are nothing special, and can basically be made from any number of ingredients.  You can also buy them in a jar, but that's not any fun.  

Here's my basic formula for creating a marinade.

1) Oil (1/2 cup or less)
Oil (any) creates a vehicle for your flavors and tenderizers allowing it to really gel (it literally emulsifies) with the meat.  I tend to use olive oil most often, because it's right there in the cooking cabinet, but bear in mind olive oil has strong flavors, so sometimes a more neutrally flavored oil like vegetable is better, especially in the case of more delicate meats (think chicken or fish).  

2) Tenderizer (1/2 cup or less)
There are so many tenderizers.  Vinegar, citrus juices, tomato juices, soda, any kind of alcohol.  Basically anything highly acidic to bring the "zip" back in.  I commonly use vinegar, but largely because it's just so easy to store and very cheap. Be careful with it because it one of the more powerful tenderizers and a little will go a long ways. 
 
3) Sauces (1 Tbs to 1/4 cup each)
You know them already, but soy, bbq, ketchup, dijon, mustard, honey, ranch, tobasco... the list goes on and on.  Don't go over board, one to three sauces in the mix.  Depending on how much sauce you add... you may want to back off on the oil.

4) Seasonings (1tsp of each)
ANY and ALL 
 
Whisk all these ingredients together and poor over meat.  Store in sealed container for 1 to 24 hours. 

So this is what I slammed together for my "over frozen" steak.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2-3 tsp a "kabob grill" mixed seasoning I had in the cupboard. 
cumin - always cumin
seasoning salt

So the "recipe" is pretty hodge podge and basically accounts for me using up some unknown seasoning I had in the cupboard.  I don't really share it because I truly hope that you copy it verbatim, but because it was good, it took very little effort on my part and it saved a pound of meat (at least a $5 value).

Final product

I hope this takes the mystery out of marinade and encourages you to experiment with your own (if you aren't already), but here are some ideas to get you started: 

Guinness Marinade
Jerk Chicken (this is a complex, but very rewarding recipe)