Marinated Turkey Breast Experiment

[Gunslinger]

You guys made me hungry for turkey, and all I have is breasts. So I took 2 small ones out of the freezer. While trying to figure out how to prepare them, I decided to experiment a little.

I like Teriyaki injected deep fried turkey. But I decided this time I would inject and then marinate them and leave them to sit overnight.

So here's the experiment:
We all have heard how meat under vacuum is supposed to marinade better because supposedly, the muscle fibers open up allowing better penetration.
So the first breast has been injected and is marinading in a closed container. I'll flip it over and shake it up every couple of hours.
The second breast is getting the vacuum treatment. Now according to the people that swear by this method, it should only take a few hours. So sitting under vacuum overnight should really make this sucker rich. We'll see.

The teriyaki recipe is a simple one:
2 cups soy sauce
8 cup water
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cloves fresh minced garlic
1 cup cornstarch mixed with 2 cups cold water

Mix all but the cornstarch and the 2 cups water in a sauce pan. Simmer for 30 minutes. Cool completely. Inject or marinade as you normally would.
Don't add the cornstarch and water if using as a marinade. I will thicken the remaining marinade to drizzle over the breast slices before I serve it.

Raw breasts with ribs and skin.


1st breast. This will get turned and shaken every couple hours.


2nd breast is double vacuumed and will sit just like this over night.


I am going to fry these at noon, and serve with Stove Top Stuffing (because I love it), and probably a noodle dish to be determined later. I will post picks when done.

[irishteabear]

Sounds like a great experiment. I will be checking back to see the results.

[doctor phreak]

i would like to see if the vacuum method is better ..i would think it would be....but i do luv some smoke turkey...can't wait to see

[sumosmoke]

Thanks for the recipe for the homemade teriyaki sauce. I'll be watching this thread to see how the turkey turns out.

[Richtee]

I have not used the marinade/vac method, but I have done a curing experiment similar. I DID note an approx. 20% faster cure penetration time with the vac-pak.

Keeping my eye on this one THANKS Tom!

[Walking Dude]

but i do luv some smoke turkey

Doc, i think he is deep fat frying these babies.

[Bassman]

Sounds like a good marinade/injection. It will be interesting to see how these turn out.

[Gunslinger]

I have not used the marinade/vac method, but I have done a curing experiment similar. I DID note an approx. 20% faster cure penetration time with the vac-pak.

Keeping my eye on this one THANKS Tom!

No numbers on this one. Not that I'd have the slightest clue as to how to run them anyway. Strictly going by color, taste and texture here.
My Sister in law used to blow up food in a food testing lab. She has a doctorate in Chemistry. Maybe she could offer some help. Naw, she doesn't even like me. Duh.

[Texas-Hunter]

No numbers on this one. Not that I'd have the slightest clue as to how to run them anyway. Strictly going by color, taste and texture here.
My Sister in law used to blow up food in a food testing lab. She has a doctorate in Chemistry. Maybe she could offer some help. Naw, she doesn't even like me. Duh.

I know that feeling same here brother..

[Gunslinger]

Results

Well, this didn't really go the way I had planned. I was going to post pics of the breast and sides, plated and looking nice, and just like that I lost interest. It happens sometimes. I can't explain it, but it happens. So here's what I got.

After the teriyaki was drained, the vacuumed breast most definitely looked darker.

Both were deep fried at 375° in peanut oil for 3 minutes per pound plus five minutes.

After cooking, I really couldn't tell a difference in color between the two. That made me nervous because I would think that the vacuumed breast would be darker. At least a light carmel color. But nothing.

Slicing was a bit different though. The vacuum marinaded breast was much juicier, and more tender. Remember, the other breast, while not vacuum marinaded, it was injected liberally and soaked in marinade overnight.

Taste. The difference was unbelievable. The injected breast had a good flavor, but very, very light teriyaki. Which might be fine for some.
The vacuumed breast had a great flavor, strong, not over powering, but there for sure. And tender, my lands was it tender.

Here they are side by side. Other than the difference in skin color (dark one had to cook a bit longer), I really couldn't tell a difference in the color of the meat.


Here is a closeup of the injected and marinaded breast.


And a closeup of the vacuum marinaded breast.


So in conclusion.............Well it's fairly obvious. I'm a believer, and I will continue to marinade and cure under a vacuum.

[Richtee]

So in conclusion.............Well it's fairly obvious. I'm a believer, and I will continue to marinade and cure under a vacuum.

Well done, Sir... points

I always love to read a decently controlled experimental post. And as I mentioned I had evidence supporting your conclusion in the cure arena.

[Texas-Hunter]

Outstanding... Did the skin get darker do to cooking longer or from the sugar burning from the marinade and being infused in the meat and skin??

[Gunslinger]

Outstanding... Did the skin get darker do to cooking longer or from the sugar burning from the marinade and being infused in the meat and skin??

I thought of that, but it most certainly wasn't burnt. But the marinade definitely had something to do with it. The skin had a great teriyaki flavor too.

[jbchoice1]

Well, this didn't really go the way I had planned. I was going to post pics of the breast and sides, plated and looking nice, and just like that I lost interest. It happens sometimes. I can't explain it, but it happens. So here's what I got.

After the teriyaki was drained, the vacuumed breast most definitely looked darker.

Both were deep fried at 375° in peanut oil for 3 minutes per pound plus five minutes.

After cooking, I really couldn't tell a difference in color between the two. That made me nervous because I would think that the vacuumed breast would be darker. At least a light carmel color. But nothing.

Slicing was a bit different though. The vacuum marinaded breast was much juicier, and more tender. Remember, the other breast, while not vacuum marinaded, it was injected liberally and soaked in marinade overnight.

Taste. The difference was unbelievable. The injected breast had a good flavor, but very, very light teriyaki. Which might be fine for some.
The vacuumed breast had a great flavor, strong, not over powering, but there for sure. And tender, my lands was it tender.

Here they are side by side. Other than the difference in skin color (dark one had to cook a bit longer), I really couldn't tell a difference in the color of the meat.


Here is a closeup of the injected and marinaded breast.


And a closeup of the vacuum marinaded breast.


So in conclusion.............Well it's fairly obvious. I'm a believer, and I will continue to marinade and cure under a vacuum.

yep... thought you'd like it... well done gunslinger

[grothe]

Great thread Gunny.....real nice job on the comparison!