What Does Marinate Overnight Mean In a Recipe?

I’m with you. Why overnight? Are we to believe that daylight somehow interferes with the marinating process?

What if it’s only two o’clock in the afternoon when we arrive at the critical point in the recipe? How early can “overnight” begin? If we do leave it overnight, must we proceed with the recipe the moment the cock crows?

What if we have to go to work in the morning? How do you stop something from standing, for heaven’s sake?

Generally, “overnight” is intended to mean eight to ten hours, and in most cases even twelve probably wouldn’t hurt. But a carefully written recipe should let us set our own schedules.

Just tell us how many hours, thank you; we’re old enough to choose our own bedtimes.