Marinating in yogurt
I'm currently letting some wild turkey (the bird, not the whiskey) marinate in some plain yogurt. I saw this somewhere on TV or online. Does anyone know what's actually going on chemically when the meat is marinating in the yogurt? Since it's a base I can't imagine that it will have much of an affect on breaking the meat do, although I could see the yogurt working its way in between muscle fibers. Anyone with experience marinating with yogurt care to comment?
Best Answer
The two general purposes of marinating is to tenderize and add flavor. What is happening is that the acidic elements are penetrating the meat and breaking down connective tissue. This causes the meat to become tender. Depending on your marinating liquid it also infuses flavors into the meat. I make a tandoori chicken recipe that calls for plain yogurt and spices. The flavor change will be minimal if you are using only plain unflavored yogurt. Here is an article that I found that goes into a little detail. Marinade Science Article
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Quick Answer about "Marinating in yogurt"
Yogurt tenderizes meat much more gently and effectively than regular marinades. While acidic vinegar- or citrus-based marinades can toughen proteins like chicken breast to a rubbery consistency, yogurt slowly tenderizes them, resulting in meat that can practically be pulled apart by hand.How long can you marinate in yogurt?
You really only need 15 minutes to see a difference in your chicken, but since lactic acid doesn't come with the same risk of making food mushy as other acid-based marinades, you can leave the chicken in the yogurt overnight or up to 24 hours.Do you rinse off yogurt marinade?
Don't Rinse You should not need to do more than shake the excess marinade from your chicken, or if you want to be very thorough, pat it down with towels lightly. If you rinsed, you would be washing away from of the flavor developed by your marinade, and the seasoning at the surface of the chicken.Can you marinate meat in yogurt overnight?
It's important that all sides of the beef cubes are coated in yogurt. Take your container, place it in the fridge and let it marinade for a few hours, ideally overnight.Can you marinate chicken in yogurt too long?
We like a little bit of tenderizing with meat, but when your chicken thighs are exposed to lemon juice, lime juice, yogurt, or vinegars for too long, the texture of the meat turns from tender to mushy and stringy, two words that have never been used in tandem to describe something pleasant.Yogurt marinated chicken
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