Is it safe to reuse marinade for meat and fish?

Ian Landau

Q. After I marinate meat, fish, or poultry, is it OK to use the marinade during cooking or as a sauce?

A. A marinade that has been in contact with raw animal proteins may contain harmful bacteria, so never reuse it without following these recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Bring the marinade to a rolling boil in a pan, then boil it for 1 minute, while stirring constantly. Then it can be used as a sauce. But to be totally safe, make extra marinade and set part aside before dunking your meat in the rest.

Acids, oils, herbs, and spices in your favorite marinades lend delicious flavors to meat, fish, and poultry. Beyond tasty, marinades make meat more tender because they typically contain acids from vinegar, citrus, tomato juice, beer, or wine that unwind tightly-coiled animal protein fibers.

And note: Heavily charred meat, fish, and poultry can expose you to potentially cancer-causing compounds such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs), but some evidence suggests that using a marinade can reduce the risk.

Read our special report on ground beef and get six safety tips for your next cookout.

To marinate safely follow these steps:

  1. Refrigerate it. Don’t marinate at room temperature. Put marinating meat or fish in a covered container and put it in the refrigerator.

  2. Time it. Don’t go too long; over-marinated animal proteins may become too mushy—or too tough. Marinate in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 24 hours for dense meats, 2 to 24 hours for poultry and just 15 to 60 minutes for seafood.

  3. Wash up. Don’t reuse containers or utensils that have touched raw meat before washing them carefully first.

A version of this article also appeared in the September 2015 issue of Consumer Reports on Health.



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