Review: Brooklyn's Best Marinade

This delicious marinade was like Tony Soprano meets Martin Yan. Today we’re sampling Brooklyn’s Best 1-Minute Marinade. I have been doing a lot of cooking lately; depending on who you talk to. It’s can be a good or a bad thing. My cooking is fine; it’s the heat level that I have to watch. I have to really hold back when I cook since I’m the only Chile-head in the house. The kids won’t eat anything I’ve spiced up; even the dog won’t eat off my plate!

Initial Impression: On first Impressions I’m not really sure what to think about Brooklyn’s Best marinade! There is nothing about the packaging, the label, or the appearance of the sauce that screams out its nature. I think if I saw this on the shelf at the store I would be confused; and I would probably choose something that made me more confident of what I was getting.

Ingredients: NATURALLY BREWED SOY SAUCE (WATER, WHEAT, SOYBEANS, SALT), SESAME OIL, GARLIC GRANULES, POWDERED GINGER, ONION POWDER, BLACK PEPPER, CAYENNE PEPPER, XANTHAN GUM, CITRIC ACID

Hey, this looks pretty good as marinades go; all natural and no funky chemically engineered foodstuffs. The list of ingredients looks very much like what you would find in an Asian dressing or Chinese chicken salad. I guess we’ll see as we progress.

Appearance: So I thought I was confused before, but now I am completely perplexed. What does two fat, bald, wiseguy looking Goombas in matching suits with power ties, have to do with an oriental style marinade. Are these guys Capos in the Brooklyn Chinese mafia? Don’t get me wrong; I like the label, it’s colorful and whimsical, I’m just not sure how it relates to what’s in the bottle. The marinade itself is brown with little black pepper flecks. It looks tasty and is quite viscous. It should stick to your meat quite nicely.

Aroma: Helllooo Chinatown! As I suspected this stuff is full of Asian influences. The first thing to hit your olfactory sense is the toasty scent of sesame oil. The layers of ginger, garlic, and onion seem to wash together in the mellowed soy sauce. This familiar fragrance is really making my mouth water!

Taste: First taste as always is right out of the jar. Yikes! I think one of those cicciobomba on the label just tried to whack my taste buds. This stuff is way to powerful out of the jar. Don’t bother subjecting yourself to that particularly bad experience. The salty taste alone is enough to make your blood pressure cuff explode. Once my tongue desensitized itself I could taste some of those flavors we smelled a minute ago. I guess that’s why it only takes a minute to marinate with Brooklyn’s best!

The Food Test: It just so happens some chicken thighs were left out to thaw for dinner tonight. Since I still love my Reveo tumble marinating machine, I thought this would be another great opportunity to play with it. The whole deal went into the marinator for 10 minutes then onto a sheet pan and in the oven to bake. MMMmmmm, Mmmm! This is some of the best chicken I’ve had in a long time. The flavors have melded perfectly with the chicken and the saltiness has completely dissipated. You can taste the layers of sesame, ginger, garlic and soy; each hitting a different part of your tongue. Partner this with the crispy chicken skin and juicy meat and you have heaven in your mouth!

Conclusion: Brooklyn’s Best 1-Minute Marinade will certainly impart flavor to any meat in one minute. For a little more intensity I would marinate longer and maybe even brush some on during the cooking. While this is not hot or spicy it does have plenty to offer in the flavor department. I found that a generous squirt of sriracha can add some desired heat to this delicious potion. If you like an oriental style marinade this would make a nice addition to your pantry.

Packaging 7/10 – A bit Confusing
Aroma 9/10 – Savory & Delicious
Appearance 8/10 – Smooth & Viscous
Taste 10/10 – Complex & Flavorful
Heat 0/10 – Mild Flavor N/A

Overall 8.5/10