Getting the marinade into the chicken?


 
T

Tom L

TVWBB Fan
I have made the Cornell Chicken recipe from Cook's Country that is also posted on here and it has turned out delicious but I have one problem with the recipe.

I have made the recipe with 4 lb. birds and 8 lb. birds but in both cases, the marinade flavor only really penetrates about 1/2" into the meat.

They warn against soaking the bird too long or the meat will get mushy but has anyone tried a longer marinade time and did it help get the flavor deeper into the chicken?

As a side note, the 8lb. chickens need about 1.5 hours on the grill but they do turn out nice. I would advise against it though since they really don't have much more surface area (skin) and that is really the best part of the meal. Also the 8lb. chicken have enormous breast pieces that most people find unwieldy on the plate with other sides.
 
I thought about injection but hadn't seen anyone mention it in the recipes. I guess that will be my next project.
 
Tom, sounds like you need to brine rather than marinade. Brining penetrates into the meat more. There is a section on this site that describes the brining procedure. If not, the web has plenty of insight. Marinade does exactly what you described above.Marinading does not penetrate all the way into the meat. I've done turkeys with excellent results.
 
I guess I misspoke. It soaks in a vinegar brine for 2 hours then gets a dry rub before going on the grill.
 
Tom I've made some great Cornell chicken but I do use a Food Saver. I split the chickens and marinade with some of the air removed. Have to be careful not to suck out the marinade. I refridgerate about 4 hours. I have considered doing a full turkey breast and thought about injecting for that. I don't see why you could not inject but I would be inclined to begin cooking it right after.
IMG_00012_zps30a8e5b7.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_00102_zpsf661bf54.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_0015_zps333067dc.jpg
[/IMG]
I can't recall exactly but this chicken was over 6lb
 
How do you get it to seal without sucking out the liquid? Mine model pulls all the air out and automatically switches to heating mode to burn the edge shut.
 
Tom L said:
How do you get it to seal without sucking out the liquid? Mine model pulls all the air out and automatically switches to heating mode to burn the edge shut.
Click to expand...

My answer to your question is very carefully:) I have the Food Saver Pro II and I can activate the sealing mode anytime throughout the vacuum process so I lay paper towel in the cavity of the machine to catch anything, start the process and hit the seal button as the air is being pulled out. I have a manual seal button on my machine, I would think you would too. If you notice you will see were liquid did pass before the actual seal was complete. The paper towel catches any excess so as not to flood the machine.
The bag still has some air in it but not nearly as much. I've been doing this for marinades for years with great success.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top