On 12-Dec-2006, Nonnymus wrote:

Thank you for the reply, and I see your point. I guess that what I do
when vacuum marinating quickly with apple juice is preferable to me, in
the case of what I'm trying to do. I personally do not like meat that's
been marinated in papaya juice to cause it to become more tender, for
instance. To me, it becomes mushy and I'd prefer to chew a little harder
than to have the texture changed. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong, but I
just don't like meat that has been actually tenderized by a marinade.

In the case of the apple juice, I've found that an hour or so for
chicken or overnight for ribs gives an extremely moist meat with just a
little bit of a sweet taste that goes well with smoke. Maybe, since
apple juice is slightly acidic, a longer time would result in chemical
changes to the meat, but the shorter time just makes it juicy. I've
done no research into the changes in meat texture as a function of
acidity or papaya, so if anyone has more observations, I'd sure enjoy
reading about them.

Nonny

snip a bunch

Nonny, you have already discovered the magic in vacuum
marinading. The period of time that works for you, is the proper
time to use. I haven't yet obtained a vacuum container, but will
soon. I think there's a three piece set that I had my eye on. It'll
be good for my old foodsaver to do some work again. It only gets
used to vacuum breadcrumbs and spices in mason jars these
days. I then keep the jars in the freezer, (23 cu/ft)

I haven't vacuum marinated any birds yet. I usually brine mine
for a day or even two. Hound's brine definitely changes the texture,
but I like the results I get. From your description, I suspect that
you would not appreciate my brined birds.

Brick (Youth is wasted on young people)