Can I freeze this marinade ?

[Darlinghurst]

Hi all. Last night I made the Halal cart-style chicken and rice from Serious Eats. It was great and it'll be part of our regular rotation forever !

The marinade is lemon juice, fresh oregano, olive oil, ground coriander and garlic. I have a huge bunch of lovely fresh oregano, and I'm thinking about making up a big batch of the marinade mix, and freezing it in single-batch portions. I wouldn't add the chicken until after I thaw the marinade out.

Do you think this marinade would freeze well ?

[Bada Bing]

You might preserve the oregano essence better (and it's your crucial, seasonal fresh ingredient) by freezing the oregano alone and then adding it to the marinade on a per-use basis. That said, the marinade would be pretty good frozen whole, I bet.

[Exy00]

Why would freezing the oregano separately, rather than puréed into the finished marinade, preserve it better? It sounds like more work for the exact same result. Or, likely, an inferior result, since something dry is more likely to suffer from freezer burn than a liquid marinade that'll just freeze into solid ice.

[Bada Bing]

I'm speculating and could be wrong. Actually, I have heard of people preserving herbs in ice cubes.

I thinking an acidic lemon juice and competing oils in a marinade might detract from the freshness of the oregano. I'm mindful of something I do with large amounts of Italian parsley from my garden: I wash and dry a big pile of picked leaves, then roll the pile into a very tight log, kind of like rolling sushi. Then I freeze the log and periodically chop off what I need from the end. The effect of fresh parsley remains pretty strong this way, with texture and aromatics.

[Exy00]

As long as it's sealed well, you should be fine; I see that it's puréed, so you don't have to worry about any texture changes. Doing that shouldn't make any significant difference in its flavor.

[BananaBirkLarsen]

I freeze similar marinades and sauces all the time with no discernible difference from fresh. The oregano will probably wilt, similar to what would happen if you left the marinade in the fridge for a few days, but the taste should be great.

[greygarious]

It is certainly safe to do that, but I suspect the flavors will lose some of their punch over weeks or months, especially the lemon.

[egit]

I agree with this. Fresh lemon and lime juice both lose a lot of potency shortly after they're squeezed. I think your marinade will be fine, but I suspect it will lose a lot of tartness when it thaws. Also, heating lemon juice causes it to lose a lot of zip as well, so depending on how you thaw the marinade, you may be denaturing the acid.

Which may be fine. But it will probably be less tart.

[ipsedixit]

Yes.

[wyogal]

Not sure. Why not dry or freeze the oregano? It is an herb that dries well.
.... I just googled "freezing marinades" and it looks possible. Freeze it in recipe-sized portions.

[beggsy]

Absolutely. I think it would freeze very well. Enjoy!