It's time to get sauced, creating (or buying) the right marinade to enhance your grilling efforts. From veggies to ribs, here are some of our favorite marinating mixtures...

Spices, Marinades Help Fish
Fish is an important part of a healthy diet, and it's generally recommended that you eat fish twice a week, according to Mayo Clinic: Healthy Weight for Everybody (Mayo Clinic, 2005).

A simple way to vary your menu is with seasonings, and these are some you may wish to use with fish: Old Bay (seafood) seasoning, Cajun (blackening) spice, dill, Italian seasoning, garlic-herb blend, lemon pepper, lemon-dill seasoning, paprika and onion, teriyaki or soy sauce, smoke (place fillets on untreated cedar, apple wood or maple planks, or use similar wood chips, and grill. Seaweed or kelp also may be used).

Or you may want to use marinades with fish.
Mix the ingredients from one of the combinations in this list of marinades. Place the marinade mixture along with fillets in a covered dish or plastic bag, and refrigerate about 30 minutes, turning once:

•1 teaspoon olive oil, 2 scallions including green tops (chopped), 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon chopped ginger root
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, juice from 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1/2 cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup teriyaki or soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic

After marinating, place fish in a covered baking dish, and bake at 325 degrees, topped with one of the following combinations:

• 4 chopped scallions, lemon slices, 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf (broken into several pieces), 3 sprigs fresh parsley (chopped), 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tomato (sliced), 1/4 teaspoon basil, crushed black pepper, 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 rib celery, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 teaspoon dill, 1/2 cup chicken broth

Doc's Jack Daniel's Marinade
From Diana Rattray,
Your Guide to Southern U.S. Cuisine.

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 cup Jack Daniels Sour mash whiskey
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup Heinz ketchup
• 2 tablespoons nutmeg ground fresh
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 1/4 cup molasses or honey
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice fresh only
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons cloves ground

PREPARATION:
Mix all liquid ingredients together in a sauce pan over med-heat. Add dry ingredients and continue to stir for 1-min. Reduce heat to Simmer for 5-mins., then remove from heat. Pour over meats, poultry, or mushrooms, cover, and then refrigerate for 4-24 hours.

Use as a basting sauce or as a dipping sauce.

Wine Spectator Online

SeaBear Smokehouse

100 wines rated 90 pts plus. 
All under $20 

50 States of Cheese 

Peggy Trowbridge Cooks
up a Storm on About.com.
One of our recent searches for bigger, better marinades brought us to about.com and Peggy Trowbridges. Peggy has written news columns about cooking as well as hosted various food forums on several services over the past sixteen years. Her cookbook collection numbers over 500, covering all subjects and styles.

We found her expertise on the science, health benefits and robust flavors garnered from marinades to be one of the best reviews of the subject. See her article here.

"After 30 years of grilling all manner of foods in every kind of weather and with practically any equipment that supports a fire, I've concluded that great grilling depends mostly on marinades, sauces and rubs."
Melanie Barnard

Billed as one of America's foremost grilling master-minds, (see her Low Fat Grilling book for some health-conscious gems) Melanie Barnard has been plying her trade for years in the pages of Bon Appétit. Here, she thas compiled a saucy array of recipes, running the gamut from sweet to sour, hot to mild. Her creations assault our taste buds one moment while calmly subduing them the next.

Her advice in the book arms the reader with hot tips about which marinades go best with beef, poultry, pork, veggies and seafood. She also serves up over 2 dozen easy-to-make mopping, glazing and dipping sauces.

You'll likely find several sauces you love, tips you can use, and an entertaining read while you sit by the smoker sipping a cool one.