Reusing marinade [duplicate]

I've always been told you can't reuse marinade, so I always throw it out. But this evening, I marinated chicken, and then I took the chicken out (this was around ten minutes ago). Can I put a piece of fish in? It hasn't been sitting around, it hasn't been out of the fridge, and I haven't let it sit at all. Or am I still in danger?

food-safety marinade

Best Answer

The reason to not reuse marinade is not because "it has been sitting around", it's because it would be cross-contamination, as Chef_Code said. It doesn't matter how long you have used it. The moment the chicken touched it, the bacteria on the chicken surface - and there are lots of them - were also in the marinade. If you now dump fish pieces in it, you'll add chicken bacteria to the fish bacteria. This is a big no-no in food safety.

The "direction" of reuse does not matter either. Your food is only proclaimed safe when you have been doing everything possible to minimize the risk. Introducing new bacteria (even though you assume they will be cooked dead afterwards) is unsafe behavior. So both chicken -> fish and fish -> chicken reuses, as well as any other possible kind of meat, is not safe.

In short, "don't reuse marinade" means exactly what it says on the label, just with all other food safety rules.

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Is it OK to use the same marinade twice?

For food safety, never reuse a leftover marinade or serve it as a sauce; it can contain harmful bacteria. If you're using the marinade to baste, stop basting with it well before the food is cooked, so any raw meat, fish or poultry juices in the marinade have time to cook away.

Is it safe to use leftover marinade?

If some of the marinade is to be used as a sauce on the cooked food, reserve a portion of the marinade before putting raw meat or poultry in it. However, if the marinade used on raw meat or poultry is to be reused, make sure to let it come to a boil first to destroy any harmful bacteria.

How many times can I use marinade?

Editor: According to FoodSafety.gov, you should only use a marinade once and then either discard it or boil it to kill the harmful bacteria and use it as a sauce.

Can you refreeze marinade?

Don't throw away expensive beef steaks and roasts, even after you've thawed them. They can be refrozen, and a homemade marinade will mask any change in flavor that occurs during refreezing. Your roasts will last for up to a year in the freezer.

What to do with your leftover meat marinade

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