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TIMING

Prep: 5 minutes (plus cooling time)

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MARINATING TIME

Marinating small seafood and thin fish: 30 minutes

Marinating thick fish and boneless poultry: 1 hour

Marinating bone-in poultry, chops, and steaks: 2 to 3 hours

Marinating roasts: 3 to 8 hours (depending on size)

GOOD WITH

Seafood: shrimp, scallops, salmon, tuna, any white-fleshed fish

Poultry: chicken, turkey, game hen

Meat: pork, veal

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GETTING CREATIVE

• Try substituting tarragon or dill for the basil.

• The total amount of juice in the marinade is about 1/3 cup. The balance of citrus juices can be altered to fit what you have on hand or to change the flavor profile of the marinade; more lemon or lime juice will make the marinade stronger and more piquant; increasing the proportion of orange juice will make the marinade sweeter and milder.

CITRUS ZEST

The skin of oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit is composed of two layers. The outer colorful epidermis (called the zest) is filled with thousands of aromatic oil glands that each hold a small amount of citrus oil. The thicker white, spongy under-layer contains bitter phenols that need to be removed before the skin is palatable. There are many methods of leaching the phenols from the skin, but the easiest way is to separate the zest from the underlayer with a vegetable peeler, a fine grater, or a specialized kitchen gadget called a zester that peels the epidermis from the fruit in thread-thin strips. However you do it, make sure not to dig too deep. If any of the underlayer is attached to the zest, the results will be bitter rather than aromatic. When a recipe calls for both citrus juice and zest, remove the zest first. It is virtually impossible to grate the zest from a squeezed lemon.

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INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP)

¼ teaspoon saffron threads

¼ cup vodka

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings

Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Juice and finely grated zest of ½ lime

Juice and finely grated zest of ½ orange

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the saffron and vodka and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, until tender; let cool.

3. Combine the saffron mixture, cooled onion, citrus juices and zests, basil, and salt in a gallon-size zipper-lock bag; seal and shake.

4. Put the bag in a bowl just large enough to hold it snugly. Open the bag and add the meat. Seal the zipper, leaving about an inch open; push on the bag to release any trapped air through the opening, and close the zipper completely. Massage the liquid gently into the meat and refrigerate for the suggested time.

Photo: Saffron-Citrus Marinade

Fire Beer Marinade

The yeasty, bittersweet, slightly acidic character of beer makes it a natural base for a marinade. We have inundated it with mild, sweet ancho chile (dried poblano); a spicy, smoky chipotle chile (smoked jalapeño); and the hottest chile of all, a habanero. Starting with a whole ancho pepper and toasting it on the spot, rather than starting with ground ancho chile, makes a huge difference in flavor. Because the chipotle is already smoked, it doesn’t benefit from toasting.

TIMING

Prep: 5 minutes (plus cooling time)

GRILL TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

• Long-handled tongs

GETTING CREATIVE

• Vary the amount of the chiles for different effects: Use more chipotle for intense smoke, more habanero for more heat, or all ancho for mild sweetness.

• Vary the beer depending on what you are cooking (see the “Beer Primer” below).

TIP

• If you don’t have molasses, brown sugar will give similar results.

BEER PRIMER

There are two major categories of beer, lagers and ales, which account for most of the beer you will encounter, except for the dozens of idiosyncratic boutique beers that don’t fit into either category. You can choose the beer you want to drink by your personal taste, but you should choose