21 hours ago, btbyrd said:The benefits of vacuum marination are much exaggerated... Meat is dense. It is not like a sponge, and won't "suck up" marinades appreciably faster under vacuum.
Hmmm, do you have any data supporting this?
I certainly get that needled tissue will take up marinade faster than non-, but I question whether meat is so dense that it will not absorb marinade faster under vacuum. It would seen to me that, while not significantly porous, there is clearly enough "room" for water and salt (and blood, serum and lymph) to pass through and between muscle cells, and vacuum would aid with that, even without needling.
I guess I have to run a little test.
In this connection, I've heard it's the practice of markets like Costco and Walmart to needle pretty much everything.
