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The Best Meat Marinade {Chicken, Beef, Pork}

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 12 hours 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds meat, chicken, beef, pork, preferably in pieces, like chicken breasts, steaks, pork chops, or thin pork tenderloins
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from about 2-3 lemons
  • 1 cup soy sauce, I always use low-sodium OR 1/2 cup soy sauce and 1/2 cup pineapple juice (see note)
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, or ginger paste or 1 teaspoon dried ginger
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions 

  • Place the meat in a shallow dish or ziploc bag.
  • In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, olive oil, ginger, onion powder and pepper.
  • Pour the marinade over the meat to cover. Refrigerate for 8-12 hours (or up to two days).
  • Grill the meat, discarding excess marinade, until cooked through (exact time will depend on the cut of the meat and temperature of your grill). Let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes before serving to seal in the juices.

Notes

Marinade: I've only ever used this meat marinade for grilling, but I suspect that if you let the meat marinade, you could pour the meat AND marinade into, say, an Instant Pot and quickly pressure cook until tender. 
Saltiness: a couple of you have found this too salty even using low-sodium soy sauce. I made it again the other night using half soy sauce (still low-sodium) and half pineapple juice and it was just as yummy - so keep that in mind if you are worried about saltiness.