It’s grilling season and with the summer sun beating down, there’s no better way to cook than firing up the grill outdoors. But simply slapping your meats onto the grill just won’t cut it. You’ll be in for chargrilled blandness if you don’t marinate your meats first. Even if just for 30 minutes, you should put all meats in marinades.

Want to become a master at marinating? Then follow these simple tips to rule the grill!

1. Don’t be shy about seasonings

Go big with flavors in your marinades. Lots of garlic and herbs are important for adding enough flavor. Adding too much salt can prevent the meat from absorbing the flavors of your other ingredients so making sure you season it up with those bigger flavors is the key to mastering marinades. Additionally, using liquids like soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce that contain salt are great for giving it that saltiness without drawing away the taste of garlic, herbs and other seasonings.

2. Score the meat

Scoring is extremely important, particularly for thicker cuts of meat. It helps the marinade penetrate deep into the fibers of the meat. You can prick the surface of your meats or use a knife to score it to accomplish this.

3. Flip it

You should always put your meat and marinade in a zipper bag. Make sure the air is squeezed out of it first. What you’ll want to do is flip it halfway through the marinating time so the meat gets thoroughly coated on both sides. This ensures you get the maximum flavor from your marinade at every angle.

4. Keep it chilled

Always keep your marinating meats in the refrigerator, otherwise you could breed bacteria that could make you and your guests quite sick. By keeping it cold, it prevents bacterial growth from occurring.

5. Keep extra marinade away

If you’re using a grill, extra marinade will cause the fire to flare up. And if you’ve decided to keep your marinated meats indoors for cooking on the stove, that extra marinade will prevent the meat from browning. What you want is to just keep a little bit of marinade on the surface of your meat for the best flavor.

6. Don’t use marinade over again

Good marinades should never be left to waste which is why you should store excess marinade separately. When you use it all on the meat, you can’t use it again. By soaking in with the meat, the marinade becomes contaminated with the juices from the uncooked meat which will make you very ill. Make your marinade in a bowl, then add your meat to a zippered bag. Pour in only the amount of marinade you need and then save the rest of it to serve with your meat or reserve for another time.

Now that your mouth is watering for meat, go grill some up with these masterful marinating tips!