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I've been curious about the action of spices during brining / marinating. I.e.: Does the flavor really permeate the meat? Or could we just added the spices d

I've been curious about the action of spices during brining / marinating. I.e.: Does the flavor really permeate the meat? Or could we just added the spices during / after cooking? And if the spices do permeate the meat, what's the mechanism? And how deeply do they penetrate?

Swizec 3y ago
> Does the flavor really permeate the meat? Or could we just added the spices during / after cooking? You can taste the difference. We’ve done blind tests in terms of rushing the process and people always notice the difference. “Did you do something different today? The meat tastes bland/different/funny”. But the difference is biggest between 0min and 20min. More than 20min doesn’t seem to make a big impact in flavor, it does make the meat juicier and softer tho.
shepherdjerred 3y ago
> But if you flavor your brine with delicious things like fruit juices, stock, herbs, spices, sugar, and more, then surely your meat will be more delicious than if you just soaked it in a plain old salt-water solution. Sorry, but nope! Flavor molecules, unlike salt, are for the most part too big to penetrate the cell membranes of a piece of meat; your brine may taste flavorful, but your roast will not. https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-dry-brine https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-dry-brine I'd _highly_ recommend the book The Food Lab, and site Serious Eats. They both go into the science of cook and answer lots of questions like this.
- lowdest 3y ago
  There's some nuance here. If you soak your meat in lime juice for several hours, the acid is going to penetrate deep into the meat. It doesn't do nothing.
el_benhameen 3y ago
I don’t think it penetrates, no. But the yogurt preparation leaves a very flavorful crust as you don’t completely remove it before grilling. You definitely get the full effect of the spices that way.

Swizec 3y ago

> Does the flavor really permeate the meat? Or could we just added the spices during / after cooking? You can taste the difference. We’ve done blind tests in terms of rushing the process and people always notice the difference. “Did you do something different today? The meat tastes bland/different/funny”. But the difference is biggest between 0min and 20min. More than 20min doesn’t seem to make a big impact in flavor, it does make the meat juicier and softer tho.

shepherdjerred 3y ago

> But if you flavor your brine with delicious things like fruit juices, stock, herbs, spices, sugar, and more, then surely your meat will be more delicious than if you just soaked it in a plain old salt-water solution. Sorry, but nope! Flavor molecules, unlike salt, are for the most part too big to penetrate the cell membranes of a piece of meat; your brine may taste flavorful, but your roast will not. https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-dry-brine https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-dry-brine I'd _highly_ recommend the book The Food Lab, and site Serious Eats. They both go into the science of cook and answer lots of questions like this.

lowdest 3y ago
There's some nuance here. If you soak your meat in lime juice for several hours, the acid is going to penetrate deep into the meat. It doesn't do nothing.

el_benhameen 3y ago

I don’t think it penetrates, no. But the yogurt preparation leaves a very flavorful crust as you don’t completely remove it before grilling. You definitely get the full effect of the spices that way.