Fajita Marinade
This marinade is made with lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and seasonings. It's perfect for chicken, steak, or shrimp fajitas.
This marinade is made with lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and seasonings. It's perfect for chicken, steak, or shrimp fajitas.
- Carbohydrate 1.17576760457235 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.461261458517624 g
- Fiber 0.222169791625217 g
- Protein 0.340479062520236 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0644702083586999 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (21g)
- Sodium 1.08664583360027 mg
- Sugar 0.953597812947129 g
- Trans Fat 0.0252173958397262 g
- Calories 9 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large resealable plastic bag, mix together the lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and liquid smoke flavoring. Stir in cayenne and black pepper.
- Place desired meat in the marinade, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. Cook as desired.
Lime juice carries the primary structural weight in this mixture by supplying the necessary acidity to break down surface proteins on dense cuts of beef or chicken. Soy sauce acts as a secondary flavor driver, contributing free glutamates that mimic long-simmering umami without requiring extended cooking times. Using bottled lime juice provides consistent acid levels year-round, whereas fresh juice introduces enzymatic variance that can prematurely soften delicate seafood proteins if left submerged too long.
Combining these liquids inside a heavy-duty gallon-sized polyethylene bag allows the solution to completely envelop irregular cuts of meat with minimal surface area exposure to air. Squeezing out excess air before sealing ensures maximum liquid-to-meat contact, preventing pockets of oxidation from discoloring poultry or skirt steak during refrigeration.
Submerging proteins for a minimum of two hours allows the salt and liquid smoke to penetrate roughly two millimeters beneath the surface through osmotic pressure. Exceeding twelve hours of contact time, however, causes the heavy acid concentration to denature exterior proteins past the point of structural integrity, resulting in a mushy outer texture once exposed to high heat.
Freezing raw proteins directly inside this liquid solution functions effectively for up to three months when maintained at zero degrees Fahrenheit. Thawing the frozen package overnight in a refrigerator kept at 38 degrees ensures the meat absorbs additional seasoning evenly during the melting phase before hitting a cast-iron skillet.
