Recording marinade calories??

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  • rcthale
    rcthale Posts: 141
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    The marinade calories that actually get to your mouth are probably less than a pat of butter. It's when you're using it as a salad dressing that it matters big time.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    You are way overthinking this! The amount of calories the marinade would add that would not be cooked of is like 5. Think about it. Let's say you are marinating flank steak to grill. The acids in the marinade are what is most critical to tenderize the steak. There is a little fat, maybe a tablespoon about 190 calories, spread over the entire amount. The other flavorings have little calories if it's just things like worcestershire or herbs and spices. Then you leave most of the marinade in the bowl or bag you were using. Most of the calories were in the fat. So of the original 190, you have maybe 30% left, again pread over the entire steak. You put it on the grill and the fat get's melted off or renders. So now you have about a tenth of the original calories left or 19. There are about 6 portions to the steak. That gives you 3 left from the marinade! Worth worrying about? Only if your OCD! lol

    PS: I am a professional chef.


    Unfortunately... I have a tendency to be slightly OCD lol. I haven't really been tracking it for the most part, but the reason I decided to post today was because I made a marinade today that called for a 1/2 cup of olive oil... So I thought "there is no way I am recording this." That is the main reason I was curious. Thanks for the input!

    Glad to help! :flowerforyou:

    ETA: Even if the recipe called for it, I'd probably cut that amount of oil unless what I was marinating was huge! The key thing in a marinade are the acids and the seasonings not the oil generally speaking.
  • ThePersnicketyOtter
    ThePersnicketyOtter Posts: 147 Member
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    However you do it, decide how much you think actually stays on. Add all the calories of it together as a recipe, then take a "serving" out of it. It'll probably be less than 50 calories, depending on what you put in it.
  • cordesbl
    cordesbl Posts: 6 Member
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    I don't bother tracking it a lot of the time either, just be aware of the sodium in it. (I make my own rubs usually and try to keep them low sodium which helps a lot). If I feel like I used a lot, I usually add a tsp or so of olive oil to my meal tracking if I use a marinade or wet rub, but it's mostly to "overestimate" on my calories and to help keep me accountable.

    A tasty rub garlic pepper rub I've been using on chicken is:

    2 tsp garlic powder
    1 tsp black pepper
    1 tsp paprika
    1 tsp chili powder
    1/2 tsp cumin
    1 tsp lemon pepper (this has sodium in it)
    1/2 tsp cayenne pepper * this is spicy, I cut it to 1/4 tsp or less if I'm making for others who don't like spice as much

    I generally add between 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to it. Add the olive oil one tbsp at a time, and judge the consistency of the rub. If it's too gritty then add a bit more. It should "paint" onto the meat nicely. If you have to scrape the brush across it's too thick, and if it's running off the chicken, it's too oily. This makes enough to fully coat at least 2 chicken breasts. I tend to use a spoon to pour onto the meat, and then brush it out from there (makes it go further).

    A couple of drops of lemon juice after grilling makes for a really nice complimentary flavor!

    That sounds AWESOME!! Will def have to try! Thanks!!
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    If you wanted to be precise about it, make your marinade as a recipe in the recipe tab, and measure how much it makes. After marinating, measure how much you have left. Divide that by how many portions, and that is how much is actually in your portion. For example, your marinade recipe makes 1 cup, after marinating, you have 3/4 cup remaining, and you had 4 portions of meat. Each portion absorbed 1/16 of a cup of marinade, so I would take my marinade recipe, say it makes 16 portions, and add one to my meal.

    Personally, I'd rather spend my time cooking and enjoying the dinner but if I did what you are saying, how would you account for what is rendered off in the cooking process?? Also, as Taso said, how would you account for the moisture loss from the meat?? I'd rather spend this time chasing my wife around the kitchen! (I hear you can work off a few marinade calories that way! LOL)
    Considering most of the meat I would marinade is beef, and I take my beef blue rare, I don't think all that much renders off.
  • cordesbl
    cordesbl Posts: 6 Member
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    You are way overthinking this! The amount of calories the marinade would add that would not be cooked of is like 5. Think about it. Let's say you are marinating flank steak to grill. The acids in the marinade are what is most critical to tenderize the steak. There is a little fat, maybe a tablespoon about 190 calories, spread over the entire amount. The other flavorings have little calories if it's just things like worcestershire or herbs and spices. Then you leave most of the marinade in the bowl or bag you were using. Most of the calories were in the fat. So of the original 190, you have maybe 30% left, again pread over the entire steak. You put it on the grill and the fat get's melted off or renders. So now you have about a tenth of the original calories left or 19. There are about 6 portions to the steak. That gives you 3 left from the marinade! Worth worrying about? Only if your OCD! lol

    PS: I am a professional chef.


    Unfortunately... I have a tendency to be slightly OCD lol. I haven't really been tracking it for the most part, but the reason I decided to post today was because I made a marinade today that called for a 1/2 cup of olive oil... So I thought "there is no way I am recording this." That is the main reason I was curious. Thanks for the input!

    Glad to help! :flowerforyou:

    ETA: Even if the recipe called for it, I'd probably cut that amount of oil unless what I was marinating was huge! The key thing in a marinade are the acids and the seasonings not the oil generally speaking.

    Currently marinating a pound-ish of pork tenderloin... the amount of liquid in the bag seems reasonable and is coating the whole thing so didn't even think to cut down... again the OCD tendency I have means I follow recipes to the T! Especially since I am fairly new to cooking and don't have the experience to know what spices/herbs are best and what goes well together. Hoping to improve this as I play around with different flavors!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    If you wanted to be precise about it, make your marinade as a recipe in the recipe tab, and measure how much it makes. After marinating, measure how much you have left. Divide that by how many portions, and that is how much is actually in your portion. For example, your marinade recipe makes 1 cup, after marinating, you have 3/4 cup remaining, and you had 4 portions of meat. Each portion absorbed 1/16 of a cup of marinade, so I would take my marinade recipe, say it makes 16 portions, and add one to my meal.

    Personally, I'd rather spend my time cooking and enjoying the dinner but if I did what you are saying, how would you account for what is rendered off in the cooking process?? Also, as Taso said, how would you account for the moisture loss from the meat?? I'd rather spend this time chasing my wife around the kitchen! (I hear you can work off a few marinade calories that way! LOL)
    Considering most of the meat I would marinade is beef, and I take my beef blue rare, I don't think all that much renders off.

    The relative doneness pretty much has nothing to do with what will burn or melt off the surface of meat when cooked. Oil does not penetrate but is merely a medium. The acids are what penetrate breaking down the tissue and making more tender.
  • reyopo
    reyopo Posts: 210 Member
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    I agree, calories probably negligible. But SODIUM can be a different story. I was wondering about this the other day when I ate some kebabs from a Lebanese restaurant.
  • Laddiegirl
    Laddiegirl Posts: 382 Member
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    Unless it has a lot of oil in it or I plan to baste the meat as I cook with the marinade I don't log it. If I do, then I make a "recipe" and "add to diary" rather than just logging the ingredients of the marinade and the meat.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    You are way overthinking this! The amount of calories the marinade would add that would not be cooked of is like 5. Think about it. Let's say you are marinating flank steak to grill. The acids in the marinade are what is most critical to tenderize the steak. There is a little fat, maybe a tablespoon about 190 calories, spread over the entire amount. The other flavorings have little calories if it's just things like worcestershire or herbs and spices. Then you leave most of the marinade in the bowl or bag you were using. Most of the calories were in the fat. So of the original 190, you have maybe 30% left, again pread over the entire steak. You put it on the grill and the fat get's melted off or renders. So now you have about a tenth of the original calories left or 19. There are about 6 portions to the steak. That gives you 3 left from the marinade! Worth worrying about? Only if your OCD! lol

    PS: I am a professional chef.


    Unfortunately... I have a tendency to be slightly OCD lol. I haven't really been tracking it for the most part, but the reason I decided to post today was because I made a marinade today that called for a 1/2 cup of olive oil... So I thought "there is no way I am recording this." That is the main reason I was curious. Thanks for the input!

    Glad to help! :flowerforyou:

    ETA: Even if the recipe called for it, I'd probably cut that amount of oil unless what I was marinating was huge! The key thing in a marinade are the acids and the seasonings not the oil generally speaking.

    Currently marinating a pound-ish of pork tenderloin... the amount of liquid in the bag seems reasonable and is coating the whole thing so didn't even think to cut down... again the OCD tendency I have means I follow recipes to the T! Especially since I am fairly new to cooking and don't have the experience to know what spices/herbs are best and what goes well together. Hoping to improve this as I play around with different flavors!

    One of the best ways to learn is to use a great basic cookbook like The Silver Palate New Basics. Not only are there great recipes but they get into a lot of the theory and tecnique. It's almost like taking a cooking class. Keep at it and you'll learn how to work with the elements!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    I don't really think there is any point in recording marinades, they don't penetrate that deeply into a protein as many people think
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    The relative doneness pretty much has nothing to do with what will burn or melt off the surface of meat when cooked. Oil does not penetrate but is merely a medium. The acids are what penetrate breaking down the tissue and making more tender.

    I do know that, but you were asking how much of the fat renders off .... I'd say that my steak which is on the grill for less than 4 minutes has less render out than someone else's well done steak. Most of the time, it's my chef husband who does the cooking around here, and I just ask him how much with calories is on my portion, and how much:)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    The relative doneness pretty much has nothing to do with what will burn or melt off the surface of meat when cooked. Oil does not penetrate but is merely a medium. The acids are what penetrate breaking down the tissue and making more tender.

    I do know that, but you were asking how much of the fat renders off .... I'd say that my steak which is on the grill for less than 4 minutes has less render out than someone else's well done steak. Most of the time, it's my chef husband who does the cooking around here, and I just ask him how much with calories is on my portion, and how much:)

    Correct! That is an issue of fat content of the steak and not the marinade. When I refered to rendering I meant of the fat from the marinade.
  • Peachesmcgee
    Peachesmcgee Posts: 1 Member
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    When you put the chicken, fish, or beef in the marinade write down the amount of marinade. Then when you take it out to cook the meat, write down the amount of marinade left in the bowl, then record the difference.
  • Allegi32
    Allegi32 Posts: 302 Member
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    Enter the marinade as a recipe with one serving. Weigh the marinade as prepared (before adding meat). Weigh again after the meat is removed. Calculate the percent of the marinade absorbed by the meat:

    (Weight before - weight after) / weight before

    You should get a number between 0 and 1. 1 would indicate that all of the marinade was absorbed (never gonna happen) so you will expect a number far lower than one. So, if you get 0.2, you know that the steak absorbed 20% of the marinade. If you ate the whole steak, you would add the weight of the meat and 0.2 servings of marinade.

    Happy math!

    This post is 2 years old but I'm bumping it because I need to save it. I have been looking everywhere for a precise way to calculate a marinade I love and it's not just oil-based and not a paste, etc. So this is perfect. I calculated that 60% of my marinade made it on to the meat, and then did adjusted each ingredient to be 60% of the original amount. THANK YOU!!
  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
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    @JerSchmare
  • Kernel009
    Kernel009 Posts: 1 Member
    edited April 2020
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    This is an old thread... but I was wondering this myself today due to the amount of chicken we tend to marinate and grill - it seems like we're doing it every week lately. Based on what the post from the Chef said and my results thus far though, I am going to continue to not worry about it.

    Just for some context... I typically use Marzetti Sweet Italian Dressing as a marinade and depending on the amount of chicken, it could end up 3/4 of more of a jar. I let it sit for 2 days in the fridge like this. Not all of it soaks up but I do pour it on as it's cooking so we don't really waste much at all. We're talking 5-6lbs of chicken, so 6 - 7 breasts typically - each breast cut in half to make them thinner. They typically come out nice and juicy. Fantastic I might even say. LOL, I just ate some and want more already :)

    2 tbsp of the dressing is 140 cals, and a jar is 13 servings.. That would be 1820 cals total, and if you were to try and evenly divide this by each resulting breast piece, it would be about 12 pieces for a 6 breast pack or 151.67 per piece. Of course, this isn't exact due to the size variations, absorption rate differences, etc.

    I do not factor these cals in at all, and with my normal exercise of walking and 1500 cals a day intake (sometimes more if I decide to eat into the exercise calories), I'm still maintaining about 1.7lbs a week loss, give or take. I should probably be counting these calories - and the sodium, etc. but I'm happy at this point. I suspect if I wasn't losing to my satisfaction, I'd probably start looking deeper and figure it out down to the calorie, but right now there's no need in my book.

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