When it’s done correctly, marinating imparts great flavor and promotes tenderness. Like any cooking technique, though, it has its pitfalls.
For example, you want to adhere to the recommended guidelines for timing, especially when it comes to cuts that are lean and tender to begin with. Can you marinate pork too long? Why or why not?
Can You Marinate Pork Too Long?
When meat is marinated for too long, it can turn dry, mushy, or tough, depending on which ingredients you used. Because its flesh is relatively dense, pork may be able to stay in a marinade for up to 4 days without suffering this fate. However, it’s a good idea to limit the marinating period to 48 hours, just to be on the safe side.
About Marinade
Marinades are designed to imbue the meat with flavor. Certain types of marinade can also break down the proteins in the meat, which makes it more tender.
There are three basic kinds of marinade: enzyme, dairy, and dry. Enzyme marinades rely on fruits such as pineapple and kiwi, or dairy products like buttermilk. The fruits contain an enzyme called protease. This breaks down proteins, while buttermilk and yogurt impart a nice juicy texture.
Acidic marinades are quite common. Most will use a citrus juice, such as lemon or lime. These juices relax the meat’s proteins, thereby promoting tenderness. Vinegar is another popular ingredient for acidic marinades, but some types can impart a sour taste when used in large quantities.
Dry marinades are similar to dry rubs (see What About Dry Rub?, below. They consist of spices that are rubbed on the meat for at least a few hours before cooking. The spices cause mild disruptions in the meat’s tissue, which helps it absorb the flavors.
As you’ll come to learn, you should proceed with caution when using an enzyme or acidic marinade for meat. The ingredients will do their work relatively quickly. If they’re allowed to break down the proteins for too long, the meat will be unpleasantly mushy. Acidic ingredients can also make the pork tough and dry when it’s cooked.
How Long Should You Marinate Pork?
As a rule, pork is a denser meat than chicken or seafood, so it can hold up to long marinating periods. You can usually leave pork in a marinade for 3 to 4 days without any issues. Since you should consume the meat within this time frame anyway to avoid spoilage, it’s generally easy to avoid problems when it comes to marinating pork.
That said, we would suggest marinating pork for at least 1 hour, but no more than 2 days. After the 48-hour mark, the marinade has done its work, and there’s no real benefit to leaving the pork in there any longer. This is especially true of acidic marinades, which can ruin the meat if you’re not careful.
You might be asking whether it’s worth it to marinate pork for just 1 hour. Is that really long enough to let the marinade penetrate to the center of the meat? In truth, marinades don’t penetrate that far past the surface anyway, no matter how long they’re allowed to do their work. Even a short marinating time is better than none at all.
Understanding Pork Cuts
When it comes to marinating pork, does it matter which cut you’re using? In general, larger and tougher cuts can withstand extended marinating periods. Leaner cuts like tenderloin will turn to mush if they’re allowed to marinate for too long.
If you choose to marinate a pork butt or a picnic shoulder roast, try to marinate it for at least 8 to 12 hours. When the cut is on the smaller side–say, under 8 pounds–it’s fine to cut back on the marinating time.
Is it necessary to marinate larger cuts like these? We would say no. During the long cooking process, the meat gets tender enough without the aid of lemon juice or buttermilk. The cuts are also flavorful on their own, thanks to their high fat content.
Loin roasts, pork chops, and pork tenderloin are another story. For these, a marinating period of 4 to 6 hours should be sufficient. Again, it won’t necessarily do any harm to leave them in the marinade a bit longer, but we would err on the shorter side whenever possible. This is true especially if the cuts are small or the marinade is acid-heavy.
Can You Freeze Marinated Pork?
It’s not a good idea to freeze meat after you marinate it. First and foremost, this practice means leaving the meat in the marinade for too long. This prolonged exposure to the tenderizing ingredients will render the meat mushy when you’re ready to thaw and cook it.
Moreover, the freezing and thawing process itself can affect texture. When larger ice crystals break down, they can cause damage to the cells. You might not recognize a problem most of the time, but when combined with the breakdown from the marinade, this cell damage becomes more noticeable.
Pro Tips
If you’re working with smaller cuts like pork chops, we would recommend pounding them with a meat tenderizer before marinating them. This will allow the mixture to permeate more of the surface area, giving you a great flavor boost. However, if you do this, make sure to reduce the marinating time.
Always marinate meat in the refrigerator. Don’t be tempted to leave it on the counter. While it may be true that the ingredients will do their work faster at room temperature, it’s not safe to leave meat unrefrigerated for the length of the marinating process.
Remember to discard any leftover marinade. If you want to brush some of it on the pork during grilling, set a small amount aside before adding the meat to the rest. Some claim that you can boil the used marinade for a few minutes to remove any dangerous pathogens, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
What About Dry Rub?
A dry rub is a blend of spices and herbs that you can apply to the exterior of the meat before grilling. In addition to promoting a savory kick, they also give the meat a nicely charred edge. This is one of the hallmarks of superb barbecue.
You can apply a dry rub even if the pork is already marinated. However, use caution, as it’s easy to over-salt the meat this way. If the marinade contains a great deal of soy sauce, Worcestershire, or any other high-sodium ingredient, cut back on the amount of salt that you use in the dry rub. You may even be able to eliminate the salt altogether.
Apply the dry rub at least 30 minutes before it’s time to cook the pork. It’s fine to apply it the night before if you prefer. However, if the pork has already been marinating for 3 or more days, it’s best to cook it off as quickly as possible.
The Bottom Line
Pork is a dense meat, which means it can hold up to a long marinating period. However, it is possible to leave it in the marinade too long, especially if it’s a leaner cut.
Our suggestion would be to prepare the marinade the day before you plan to grill, and let the pork sit in the mixture overnight. This should give it the time it needs to tenderize and absorb the flavors without turning to mush.
Happy grilling!
Thank you for this information as I started out marinating pork ribs for 24 hours then something came up and it is now going to be sitting for almost 48 hours. I was going to throw it out but then I read this article. So we shall see how it goes. Thank you again.
I had my son cut up our pork tenderloin. I told him thin strips cause he wanted to make terriaki n use our dehydrators. Unfortunately he cut them thicker. They’ve been in the top part of my freezer, not frozen but colder than the fridge for 7 days now. I’m bummed out yet I just smelled them and it smells fine. What do I do? Should I throw it all out or cook it all? Please get back to me cause I hate to waste it unless I could get sick from eating it cooked..