Post by Loupy on Apr 29, 2013 16:10:01 GMT -7
Why Marinating Meat is Pointless
From: www.thetasteofhome.com
Recently CooksIllustrated.com (CI) tested many marinade forms and their effects on meats. What they found was very surprising. I love learning new cooking methods and this will definitely save me a lot of time when I am trying to flavor meats in the future.
The impact of a marinade on meat is only superficial
Marinades do not absorb past the surface of the meat. Even marinades left for long periods of time never absorbed past the surface of the meat. The biggest impact that could be measured was at the most a few millimeters. This tells me that putting marinades and meat in the fridge to soak for 12 hours is a waste of time. Now I can marinate meat 5 minutes before I cook it with no effect on taste.
Acids and enzymes do not tenderize the meat.
Many different marinades were tested and the acids and enzymes that were thought to tenderize meat only made it mushy. CI stated that the only way to tenderize meat was to break up the muscle fibers with a meat tenderizer. The long soaks in a marinade with vinegar do not help to make the meat better.
A long soak in a marinade is pointless and detrimental
Because the marinade does not penetrate past the surface, a long soak does not add flavor deeply to the meat. The fact that the surface is then damaged and mushy actually makes the meat's ability to retain moisture even worse.
Bottled dressings make poor marinades
Because bottled dressings have strong acids their effect on the surface of the meat is damaging and makes it turn mushy and dry when cooked.
See the details of the CI test at www.cooksillustrated.com
From: www.thetasteofhome.com
Recently CooksIllustrated.com (CI) tested many marinade forms and their effects on meats. What they found was very surprising. I love learning new cooking methods and this will definitely save me a lot of time when I am trying to flavor meats in the future.
The impact of a marinade on meat is only superficial
Marinades do not absorb past the surface of the meat. Even marinades left for long periods of time never absorbed past the surface of the meat. The biggest impact that could be measured was at the most a few millimeters. This tells me that putting marinades and meat in the fridge to soak for 12 hours is a waste of time. Now I can marinate meat 5 minutes before I cook it with no effect on taste.
Acids and enzymes do not tenderize the meat.
Many different marinades were tested and the acids and enzymes that were thought to tenderize meat only made it mushy. CI stated that the only way to tenderize meat was to break up the muscle fibers with a meat tenderizer. The long soaks in a marinade with vinegar do not help to make the meat better.
A long soak in a marinade is pointless and detrimental
Because the marinade does not penetrate past the surface, a long soak does not add flavor deeply to the meat. The fact that the surface is then damaged and mushy actually makes the meat's ability to retain moisture even worse.
Bottled dressings make poor marinades
Because bottled dressings have strong acids their effect on the surface of the meat is damaging and makes it turn mushy and dry when cooked.
See the details of the CI test at www.cooksillustrated.com
