It’s an old but proven way to help you make your ‘white meat’ favourites as juicy, tender and flavour-ful as possible. It’s easy and relatively cheap. So why wouldn’t you embrace grandma’s ‘secret’ marinade? If only you know about it?
It’s not a marinade most folks who use marinades think of right off the bat. But it’s as classic – and effective – as any BBQ formulation or papaya tenderizer out there…
Pour on the buttermilk
Folks of my grandmother’s generation – particularly home cooks from the US deep south and south-west – were well acquainted with the practice of soaking chicken, pork and veal in buttermilk…
No substitute
Way back then, there was no substitute for buttermilk if you wanted to tenderize ‘white meats’ but avoid rendering them strongly flavoured – as in BBQ preparations. Subtle flavours and juicy tender-ness were often a matter of careful cooking, devout prayer and just plain luck.
Now-a-days, we know that agents such as papaya and pineapple enzymes, and acids such as those found in wine, citrus juices and vinegar, can tenderize even the toughest meats.
But when you want to tenderize and maximize juiciness without adding flavours that would clash with your planned flavouring treatment… There’s still no natural application that can do the job like buttermilk. Not even yogurt, which some modern cooks nonetheless swear by…
How it works
Buttermilk contains lactic acid. It works as well as vinegar does in common in BBQ marinades, and papaya in tropical applications.But it is perfect for delicately flavoured meats because it imparts little or no flavour of its own in the process.
Like malic (apple) acid and a few others, it doesn’t really taste harsh at all. And once it’s done its’ work, it has been at least partly neutralized by the inherent chemical reactions. If anything, it may impart a light flavour note described as ‘tangy-sweet’.
Depending on the type of meat you’re working with, and how tender you want it, you can immerse it, tightly covered and refrigerated, for anywhere from 6 to 24 hours. Some cooks say longer, for some recipes.
All experts consulted caution you to discard the buttermilk after marinating. (It’s full of meat stuff that naturally attracts dangerous germs.). And be sure to pat down the surface of the meat well with paper towels before continuing with preparation. Do not rinse!
My take
It’s time for a buttermilk renaissance. Not just for marinating, either. The stuff used to be relatively expensive outside of dairy-producing regions, where it was cheap and plentiful. But times have changed. Not as easy to find as it once was, it’s still a supermarket commodity.
And I reiterate, it couldn’t be easier to use. The problem, if there is one, would be that folks these days demand instant gratification. It’s bad enough for them to have to wait a few hours for their meat to tenderize. Let alone overnight. Or – Bobby Flay forbid! – 24 hours or more!
Still… Buttermilk marination qualifies as a lost (but certainly not unrediscoverable) culinary art form…
~ Maggie J.