How does marinating meat work

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Wes Avila to open a new Mexican restaurant in Hollywood next month. Andy Baraghani puts his bold, stylish spin on Thanksgiving classics. All Sections. About Us. B2B Publishing. Business Visionaries. FL: I'm still having trouble digesting this. I'm not sure I entirely buy it, but I'll buy that we have some common ground where I can accept that the brine, salt and soy sauce work. What is another myth that you have busted?

DW: Here's another one that people have been doing forever on faith that it works. That is, when you roast a turkey or chicken, if you baste it, it will end up moister and juicier because you've been basting it. That seemed like one of those things that, while it's homey and fun to do, maybe it doesn't work. DW: But does it work?

We took three chickens and three turkeys. One set we basted every 20 minutes, the second set we just roasted without doing anything, and the third we didn't baste, but we opened the oven door and closed it every 20 minutes.

When they were done, we measured the moisture loss in all three of them to see if any of them had stayed more moist. As it turns out — no. Moisture loss was virtually identical in all three. What happened was, it took 10 percent longer to cook the bird that we didn't baste but opened and closed the door; it took about 16 percent longer to cook the one that we basted.

Because what you're doing when you baste is you are cooling down the surface of the bird. As it turns out, that doesn't keep it moister, it just makes it take longer to cook. However, the one thing basting did do? It gave you a darker skin. If you don't mind cooking a little longer, and you know you're not going to get anything moister, you will get a better-looking skin by basting. FL: I don't have any emotional attachment to basting, so you can tell me anything you want to tell me about it and that's fine.

The next one is something that I'm very happy about. I love my grandmother and she was a great cook. But she always used to do things that I didn't think worked, and she insisted they did. One of them was, whenever she boiled corn, she put sugar in the water.

She insisted this made the corn not only cook faster, but taste sweeter. When we were working on our boiled corn recipe — yes, we actually do have a recipe for boiled corn — we decided to figure out if this was correct.

We took corn and we put it in water with blue dye; the chemicals in this dye approximate about the same structure as salt or sugar. We decided to see how long it would take the blue dye to get into the entire ear of corn. Guess how long it took? DW: The reason for this is that kernels of corn are not permeable; they're semi-impermeable. For the salt and sugar to get into the kernels. My grandma, despite her skill at cooking, was wrong about this.

FL: There is one more on this list. The myth is, "Exactly how you whisk makes no difference. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Our Christmas delivery slots are filling up fast. Order today to guarantee delivery. This website uses cookies to improve its services. By continuing to browse you agree to the use of cookies. More information. Winter Sale. Stock up and save in our Winter Sale.

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Beef Steak. Beef Roasting Joints. Other Beef Cuts. Pork Roasting Joints. Pork Ribs. Other Pork Cuts. Black Pudding. Guinea Fowl. White Fish. Scottish Salmon. Smoked Fish. Lamb Roasting Joints for Roast Lamb. Cooked Meats. Sauces and Marinades. Group 2 Excellent, 11, reviews. Group 3 Always fresh guarantee. Our Blog. What is a marinade? What is the difference between a marinade and a rub? How do marinades work? Why should you marinate meat? Flavour: Simply put, marinading your meat will add more flavour.

Texture: A good marinade can also vastly improve the texture of your meat. What do you put in a marinade? Salt: Salt helps the flavours of the marinade penetrate deeper into the meat. Fat: Fats play a very important role in how marinades work. Acid: Like salt acids also aid in breaking down the proteins found in meat which can dramatically improve the texture, and also help the marinade to more deeply flavour the meat. Enzymes: Serving the same purpose as acids, enzymes found in fruit are even more effective in breaking down the proteins found in meat while also adding in plenty of flavour.

Herbs and Spices: There are simply just too many to list and too many combinations. Sweetness: Adding a little bit of sugar into your marinade can really bring a depth and complexity to the flavours, particularly for balancing out the acidity.