How To Use Sweet Baby Ray's As A Delicious Meat Marinade

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Next to serving as the condiment of choice for tasty chicken sandwiches and easy slow cooker pulled pork, Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce can also be used prior to cooking for supremely flavorful meat. Even though there are many Sweet Baby Ray's flavors to choose from, you only need the brand's original barbecue sauce to make a delicious meat marinade. However, to get the balance of flavors just right, consider using a few additional ingredients.

Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce is made with ingredients like tomato paste, distilled vinegar, molasses, and spices like garlic and celery seed. However, this popular sauce is also made with a hefty amount of high-fructose corn syrup. That being said, in order to penetrate your meat for maximum absorption and flavor, a well-made marinade is composed of specific amounts of acid, fat, and seasonings. More specifically, the ratio of an effective marinade should be three parts fat, one part acid, and one part seasonings.

To transform Sweet Baby Ray's into an ideal marinade, balance the included sugars with additional fat and acid. Better yet, use an all-in-one ingredient like bottled Italian dressing. The first handful of ingredients in most bottled Italian dressings usually consists of oil, vinegar, water, and spices. By covering your meat in equal amounts of Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce, bottled Italian dressing, and a small amount of red wine vinegar, you can easily create an ultra-flavorful marinade that has the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors.

If you want to skip the bottled Italian dressing, combine Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce with separate amounts of oil, vinegar, and spices to make a few alternative variations. For example, combine your barbecue sauce with small amounts of apple cider vinegar, vegetable or avocado oil, and extra garlic and onion powder for a more savory flavor.

When incorporating additional seasonings, feel free to get creative. Consider using a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce for a punchy umami kick. Or, for a meat marinade with extra spice, add in some of your favorite hot sauce. Last but not least, incorporate a variety of different spices such as smoked paprika, chili powder, or chili flakes.

Whichever combination of ingredients you decide to use, make sure to marinate your meat for at least two hours in the refrigerator before cooking. This ensures the sauce properly penetrates your meat and tenderizes any tough muscle fibers.

Once you've made a few different marinades with Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce, you may want to marinate your next platter of meat with more of the brand's tasty variations. As a matter of fact, Sweet Baby Ray's combined two sauces to create one stellar condiment with its buffalo barbecue sauce. For a less tangy alternative, prepare your next marinade with Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory and Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce or the brand's Honey Chipotle variety for a smokier finish.