Marinades add flavor to meat, poultry, and seafood and can help tenderize tough cuts of meat. Although marinades are acidic from vinegar, lemon juice or another acid, do not rely on marinades to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. Instead, focus on proper use of marinades and effective storage and cooking of meat to control microbes that cause foodborne illness.

Safely Use Marinades

Temperatures

• Always marinate raw meat in the refrigerator.
• To use marinade as a sauce or dressing (and marinade has NOT touched raw meat), add marinade to a separate container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• To use marinade as a sauce or dressing (and marinade HAS touched raw meat), bring the marinade to a boil, which will kill harmful bacteria.

Time

• Some marinades only stay on meat for 15-30 minutes before meat is cooked. Use this short time for already-tender meats and seafood that may become tough or mushy with longer marinating times.
• Other recipes marinate meat for a few hours up to 24 hours. Longer marinating times provide more intense flavors and tenderize tough cuts of meat.

Containers

Marinate raw meat in food-safe materials, including resealable bags (food-safe plastic or silicone) or stainless steel or glass containers. 

Cleaning and Sanitizing

• Clean metal and glass containers that held raw meat and marinade with soap and water. To sanitize, fill a basin with 1 teaspoon of regular, unscented household bleach for every 4 cups of water; add the container and lid and soak for 30 seconds. Remove and let air dry.
• Do not clean and reuse food-safe plastic bags that held raw meat and marinade. Use these only one time for marinating; throw away after use.
• While silicone bags are reusable, pick one bag to use only for marinating with raw meat. Preferably, use only one bag for each type of meat (red meat, poultry, fish). Clean these bags with soap and hot water and sanitize in the same way as for meat and glass containers.