This is the workhorse. If you only keep one marinade in your head, keep this one, because the ratio underneath it, three parts oil to one part acid, is the skeleton of nearly every marinade and vinaigrette in Western cooking. Learn the ratio and you stop needing recipes for this category.
Equipment
A Large Capacity Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl with Scale and a stainless steel whisk are all this needs. A measuring cup with a printed scale makes the ratio visible, which is genuinely useful while you are still learning it by eye. Store it in a Le Parfait Super Jar and shake it back together before each use.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Ingredient Selection
The ratio: three parts oil to one part total acid. Here that is 3/4 cup oil against 1/4 cup vinegar plus 2 tablespoons lemon, slightly acid-forward, which suits meat better than salad. Shift it toward 4:1 for delicate fish, toward 2:1 for tough cuts that need more work done on them.
Dried herbs are correct here, not a compromise. Dried herbs release into oil slowly over hours, which is exactly the timescale a marinade operates on, while fresh herbs bruise, blacken, and burn on the grill. Crush the rosemary before adding it, whole dried rosemary needles stay woody and unpleasant. The mustard is an emulsifier first and a seasoning second, it holds the oil and vinegar together so the marinade coats evenly.
Method
Build the Base
- Combine the acid and seasonings: Whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper together until the salt dissolves.
- Add the dried herbs: Crush the oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme between your palms as you add them. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Let this sit 5 minutes so the herbs begin to hydrate in the acid.
Emulsify
- Stream in the oil: Whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a slow steady stream until the mixture thickens and turns opaque.
Rest
- Let it develop: Rest at least 30 minutes before use, or refrigerate overnight. Dried herbs need that time; used immediately, this tastes noticeably thinner.
How to Marinate
Makes about 1.25 cups, enough for 3 to 4 pounds of meat or vegetables. Reserve a quarter cup before the meat goes in and it doubles as a finishing dressing.
- Chicken, any cut: 2 to 12 hours.
- Pork chops or loin: 4 to 12 hours.
- Beef, steaks or kebabs: 4 to 24 hours.
- Lamb: 4 to 24 hours.
- Shrimp and firm fish: 15 to 30 minutes only.
- Vegetables, mozzarella, mushrooms: 30 minutes to 4 hours.
Utah State University Extension gives the general frame: denser meats such as pork and steak tolerate 24 hours or longer, chicken sits between 2 and 24 hours, and seafood belongs in the 15-to-60-minute window. Refrigerate throughout, in glass or plastic rather than metal.
Serving and Application
This marinade suits nearly any cooking method, but it does contain a lot of oil, so shake the excess off before meat goes on a grill or you will get flare-ups. On a sheet pan it is the opposite problem, the oil is welcome and helps browning.
Beyond marinating, thin the reserved portion with an extra splash of vinegar and it is a salad dressing. Toss it through hot roasted vegetables straight from the oven, or over a caprese, or over cold pasta.
Popular Variations
- Balsamic version: Swap the red wine vinegar for balsamic and drop the lemon, sweeter and better on chicken and vegetables.
- Tuscan style: Double the rosemary, add crushed fennel seed, particularly good on pork.
- Creamy Italian: Two tablespoons of mayonnaise whisked in, which thickens the cling considerably on chicken breast.
Make Ahead, Storage and Food Safety
Keeps 2 weeks refrigerated in a sealed jar. The oil will solidify cold, that is normal, let it come to room temperature and shake. Because it holds raw garlic in oil, keep it refrigerated rather than on the counter, per Oregon State University Extension's guidance on herbs and vegetables in oil.
Anything that has held raw meat needs a full minute at a rolling boil before it can be used as a sauce, or reserve a clean portion up front.
History
The name is more American than Italian. What is sold as "Italian dressing" in the United States, and by extension this marinade, descends from Italian-American cooking rather than from any regional Italian tradition, and the bottled version dates to mid-twentieth-century commercial food production. The underlying technique is far older and genuinely Italian: salmoriglio, a southern Italian and Sicilian emulsion of olive oil, lemon, oregano, and garlic used on grilled fish and meat, is the direct ancestor and remains a better guide than most bottled dressings to what this should taste like.
References
- Utah State University Extension: Tips on Safe Meat Marination
- Oregon State University Extension: Herbs and Vegetables in Oil (SP 50-701)
- University of Illinois Extension: Marinating and Meat Safety
Related Guides
The same 3:1 ratio underpins every recipe in Easy To Make Salad Dressing Recipes, which is worth reading alongside this one. For the Greek treatment of nearly identical ingredients, see How To Make Greek Lemon Herb Marinade, and for the raw herb sauce that shares its DNA, How To Make Pesto Genovese.
Thank You
Thanks for cooking through this one. Once the 3:1 ratio is in your hands you will stop needing this page, which is rather the point. Questions through the contact page.
Chef Alan
Wine Drop Cookery
35 years, Six Four Diamond Awards