Overnight Pork Marinade – An Easy Recipe With Simple Ingredients

If you’re looking for an easy, inexpensive, and very tasty recipe, this overnight pork marinade gets rave reviews. It’s a family favorite!

Overnight Pork Marinade Recipe

If you want to know how to make a pork marinade, look no farther. This Overnight Pork Marinade is great for pork steaks, pork chops or pork loin.  The result is tender, moist and flavorful piece of pork.

Grilling is one of my favorite summer pastimes; actually, I love to grill all year long.  Pork is my favorite grilled meat option. I often make Grilled Pork Shoulder Steak because my kids love it even more than beef steak. I highly recommend trying pork steak if you’ve never had it before.

There’s nothing worse than dry, tough, tasteless pork.  The secret to preventing this atrocity is to marinade your pork before grilling.

Easy Pork Marinade

This easy pork marinade recipe is simple with no fancy ingredients. You probably have all or most of the ingredients already in the cabinet or refrigerator! And to be quite truthful, you could leave out or swap out an ingredient or two, and it will still turn out great.

I modified this recipe from one that I borrowed from a friend’s mom. I ran out of dry mustard so I used the good, old-fashioned yellow mustard from the fridge, and I used dried parsley instead of fresh because that’s all I had. Feel free to modify if you need to!

This easy pork marinade works for pretty much any cut of pork: boneless pork chops, bone-in pork chops, pork steak, pork tenderloin, etc.

What is the purpose of a marinade?

A marinade contains ingredients that will break down the tough protein fibers in meat to make them more tender. In addition, a marinade is an easy way to impart flavor into the pork before cooking and serving. If you want an even simpler pork steak marinade, check out our One-Ingredient Pork Marinade.

Check out our easy steak marinade if you have a beef sirloin, ribeye or T-bone in your refrigerator. Enjoy balsamic dressing? Try the Balsamic Chicken and Steak Marinade from Beyer Beware.

How long should I marinate my pork?

I recommend marinating a minimum of two hours but this marinade can be left on the pork overnight.

What’s the best vessel to marinate meat in?

I have a special marinating container with a lid that makes it easy to flip the meat over without the marinating liquid spilling; however, a resealable plastic bag works great too!

What cuts of pork is this marinade good for?

I love using this marinade for pork steak, chops, ribs, or even pork tenderloins. And, you can use this exact marinade for chicken; although, I would only marinate the meat for a few hours so that it doesn’t break down the meat too much!

How long should you let meat rest?

Allow your meat to “rest” for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into it after the grilling process. For a thin-cut steak, 5 minutes should be sufficient, and for a thicker-cut steak, wait the full 10 minutes. Letting your grilled pork shoulder steak rest before cutting allows for the juices to redistribute into the meat fibers.

Cutting the meat directly off the grill allows all those juices to flow out onto the plate resulting in a dryer, less flavorful steak.

Leave the steak on plate and cover tightly with foil to prevent the temperature from dropping during the resting process.

Pork Chop Marinade Ingredients

• Vegetable Oil
• Soy Sauce
• White Wine Vinegar
• Orange Juice
• Yellow Mustard
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Dried Parsley
• Minced Garlic

How To Make Marinade for Pork

Step By Step Instructions

1. In a bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice, mustard, salt, black pepper, dried parsley and minced garlic.
2. Pour over pork in a pan.
3. Cover or seal tightly. Refrigerate overnight.
4. Shake or turn meat a couple times to be sure all sides are coated during the marinating process.
5. Grill meat to your desired temperature.
6. Once it is off the heat, let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes.

For the full pork steak marinade for grilling recipe and ingredient amounts, scroll to the bottom of this post. 

Recipe FAQs

• Substitute rice vinegar or regular white vinegar for white wine vinegar if desired.
• Dry mustard can be used instead of yellow mustard. Use 1 teaspoon dry mustard.
• Use 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley for the dried, if desired.
• Be sure to shake or flip the meat a couple times during marinating so that the marinade touches all sides.
• Let your meat come to room temperature about 20 minutes before grilling. This prevents the meat from cooking unevenly.
• Prefer a dry rub? Try our Grilled Pork Shoulder Steak.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite pantry essentials and kitchen gadgets.

Recipe Variations

• Use any type of vinegar such as apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar or white vinegar.
• Fresh lemon juice is a great substitute for the vinegar, too.
• Add fresh herbs such as parsley instead of dried herbs.
• Garlic powder and/or onion powder adds a punch of flavor.
• Looking for a hint of sweetness? Add a tablespoon of honey or brown sugar.
• Olive oil works instead of vegetable oil.
• Dijon mustard or whole grain mustard work too.
• Use this as a marinade for vegetables, especially potatoes.

Our Favorite Side Dishes when Grilling

Easy side dishes are the best when you are grilling out. We love make ahead cold salads or easy roasted (or even air fryer) vegetables that are quick to prep and just need put in the oven while the meat with this overnight pork marinade is cooking. Here are some of our top side dish picks:

• Southern Vegetable Salad
• Ranch Cauliflower Salad
• Old-Fashioned Pea Salad
• Bacon Cheddar Pea Salad
• Sesame Broccoli
• Air Fryer Zucchini
• Roasted Cauliflower

More Pork Recipes

Crock Pot Pork Roast and Gravy

Sweet and Sour Island Pork

20 Minute Pork Ramen Dinner

Sour Cream Pork Chops (Husband-approved)

Can you marinate pork for too long?

In general, marinating pork for too long can result in the meat becoming mushy due to the breakdown of proteins. However, the Overnight Pork Marinade in the blog post is designed to be left on the pork for an extended period, so marinating it overnight is ideal.

Equipment

If you are in the market for a new grill, consider a Traeger. I’ve had mine since 2011, and it is by far my favorite appliance. It will both smoke or grill your food, or you can use it as a combination. It also makes for the perfect Father’s Day gift.

Overnight Marinade for Boston Butt

You can use this marinade for Boston Butt too!

To do that, you will most likely need to double or triple the marinade ingredients. Let the pork butt marinate overnight. Then, smoke it or let it cook slowing in the crock pot with the fat side facing up.

Shred the pork for pulled pork sandwiches with barbecue sauce on the side, if desired.

It tastes great served along side baked beans and potato salad.