Can You Marinate Chicken And Pork Together? Tips For Shortening The Marinating Time But Keep Quality Same
You want to throw a party tonight with a bunch of delicious BBQ dishes but you don’t have much time left to prepare.
You are thinking of making use of your time by marinating all the meats together.
However, is it okay to go with that decision?
Are there any health concerns when marinating pork with chicken, or beef with chicken?
Are there any tips for shortening the marinating time but the quality is the same?
In this article, we will answer these questions when it comes to marinating pork and chicken.
Is It Ok to Marinate Different Meats Together?
It depends on 3 things: the types of meat that you want to mix and the marinade that you want to use, and how much time you want to let the meat sit in the marinade.
Based on the marinating time, chicken and red meat such as pork, beef, or lamb can be marinated for 2 hours to 4 hours or even overnight.
That’s why they can be marinated together.
Instead, fish and other kinds of seafood such as shrimps, octopus or scallops only need 10 to 15 minutes to let the marinade absorb into the meat.
If you let them sit in the sauce longer, the meat might end up to be slimy or the flavor might be too bold.
That’s why you should not marinate them together with red meat.
Can You Mix Chicken And Pork Together?
Chicken and pork are both lean meats.
Their mild and bland flavor make them go best with seasoning things like herbs, spices and sauce.
However, they have different marinating time which is listed as below:
| Type of Meat | Cut of Meat | Est. Marinating Time |
| Pork | Chops | 2 to 4 hours |
| Pork | Brisket | 24 hours |
| Pork | Whole roast | 4 to 6 hours (or overnight) |
| Chicken | Boneless meat (breast, thigh) | 2 hours or overnight |
| Chicken | Whole roast | 4 to 6 hours |
There are no researches mentioning the health effects caused by eating chicken and pork marinated together.
Meaning they can be marinated together.
You just need to keep in mind that both of them take different amounts of time, different types and different amounts of seasoning to have the perfect flavor.
Thus, you might consider seasoned them separated for better results.
How to Marinate Meat And Chicken Together?
There are not many secrets to make your chicken and pork tender, juicy and well-marinated.
We have listed them below for your better reference:
Thawing Properly
Thawing meat before marinating will increase the ability to absorb seasons into the meat as well as reducing the marinating time.
That’s why you need to thaw chicken and pork in the refrigerator overnight at 40 degrees F before proceeding with the seasons.
You can also place the meat in a bowl under the running water until the meat it thawed.
Resizing/Slicing
Based on the time required for marinating, make sure the chicken and pork pieces have the right size so you won’t end up having a too-mild piece and too-salty piece of meat.
For example, boneless chicken and pork chops have similar approximated marinated time, so you might want to cut them into pieces with similar size.
Seasoning
Choosing the right seasons to pair with both chicken and pork is the utmost step.
There are 4 main types of marinade serving different purposes to choose from:
- Acidic Marinades (such as wine, lime, tomato juices, etc), the acid liquids loosen the meat bonds and makes the meat more tender
- Enzyme Marinades (such as kiwi, pineapple juice) make the meat tender if let it sit for a short time, and make it tougher and chewy if let it sit for too long.
- Dairy Marinades: calcium in the dairy activate enzymes in the meat and make it more tender
- Wet vs Dry Marinating: cover the meat with the seasoning liquid or rub it with dried herbs and spices like salt.
Also, remember to marinate in the refrigerator since marinating at room temperature can allow harmful bacteria to grow in an alarm level.
Choosing Container
Don’t go with a metal container since the acid in the seasons can react chemically with the container and cause some bad effects to the meat, which leads to the meat to change flavor or quality.
Use plastic zip lock bags or glass containers are recommended.
Conclusion
Both chicken and pork are an excellent source of protein.
And marinating is a great way to experiment with new flavors and new recipes of these two types of meat.
We hope these tips above will help you to celebrate a successful party night!