For The Savoriest Marinade, Reach For This Australian Spread

Although we are fairly confident that Australians are not actually adding Vegemite to their coffee, the deeply-hued paste is still synonymous with the Commonwealth country. Not to be confused with England's own similarly fashioned Marmite, Vegemite, as you might expect from its moniker, is imbued with the essence of onions, carrots, and celery, in addition to its brewer's yeast base. It is concentrated in both flavor and texture, and mixes easily with other ingredients, which makes it a great marinade supplement, or even shortcut.

The first sensations most folks will note when sampling Vegemite for the first time are its saltiness and umami qualities. Soy sauce will also likely get a referential call out or two. These are likewise all elements of a lot of common marinades. But, because of those very properties, you have to approach a Vegemite marinade with care and caution, so as not to end up with something like a double dose of sodium. Some items will also take better to Vegmite's pungency than others, too. Tofu, for example, will soak up as much of the stuff as it can hold, just like it does with almost any baste. Things like poultry will have a more subtle effect.

Vegemite itself has a winning glazed chicken drumstick recipe published on its site. It adds only honey, olive oil, and soy sauce to the paste for this particular marinade. We'd obviously advise incorporating the soy sauce very slowly, or even swapping it with a stock to avoid overloading those fermented notes. The finish should be fairly gentle in any case, as the bird's skin and relatively short marinade time of two hours will prevent the mix from penetrating too deeply. Chicken factors fairly frequently into Vegemite's own recipe recs, as this particular protein is hearty enough in texture but mild enough in flavor to stand up to the stuff while letting it sing.

Something even milder like a cod would have more of a tofu effect, taking on too much Vegemite to the point of becoming overwhelming. But it could improve your more affordable, less flavorful cuts of steak, sometimes identifiable as such by their absence of marbling. You ultimately want a Vegemite marinade to perform like any other marinade, tenderizing and adding flavor all at once. And, while you might not find Vegemite near the grocery store meat aisle, you can pick some up on Amazon.