Why You Might Want To Marinate After Barbecuing, According To Giada De Laurentiis

When we're looking to add some Italian flair to our cooking, we can turn to Giada De Laurentiis. The Roman-born chef, entrepreneur, and Food Network star can be counted on to supply quality cooking tips for home chefs, whether on her website, television shows, or even her TikTok account. To no one's surprise, De Laurentiis knows plenty of ways to upgrade a pasta dish, but she's also a pro when it comes to dishes of the more carnivorous variety. From brightening up her burgers with pesto sauce to seasoning her prime rib with sweet marsala wine, the chef has a ton of tricks up her sleeve to make meaty meals more flavorful, including a somewhat surprising approach to marinating. 

While many folks turn to hours-long marinades to help flavor and tenderize tougher cuts of meat before cooking in Italy, the marinade comes after the meat is cooked. As explained in a blog post on De Laurentiis' site Giadzy, "With quality ingredients like unfiltered olive oils and rich vinegars than can lose flavor from being heated up too much, it's no wonder that it's typical in Italy to use these ingredients last."

Indeed, a number of herbs and spices that may be present in a marinade, including basil, cilantro, and black pepper, tend to diminish in flavor when exposed to high heats. The same holds for vinegar, which can become mellower. The temperatures may lower the concentration of acetic acid, the component that gives vinegar its signature sharp flavor. 

It's true that soaking your meat in a marinade before throwing it on the grill can help tenderize it by way of the acids and enzymes present in things like vinegar or lemon juice. These components help to break down the protein structure of meats, resulting in a softer, less chewy mouthfeel once it's done. A pre-flame marinade can also help keep cuts moist in the face of high temperatures. Salt, another important addition in most marinades, uses osmosis to pull out the moisture from meat before re-infusing it, while fats and oils in the mixture can aid in locking in those juices.

If you're utilizing a marinade primarily to infuse your protein with extra flavor, marinating your meat after it comes off the grill is a better bet. This could prove especially useful if you're working with chicken, fish, or already-tender pieces of beef or pork. As Giada De Laurentiis suggests, you can season your cuts with salt and pepper before throwing them on the flame. Once they're cooked, let them sit in the flavors of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, citrus juice, or any other marinade ingredients you wish to bring to your dish. With the saucy coating still fresh — and non-degraded from the high temperatures of barbecuing — you and your guests will get the full flavor profile with every bite.