meat marinades/rubs...can it be too long?

[steveo3002]

not much of a cook , ive started using some rubs/marinandes

is there any reason i cant soak/apply rub on the meat on day of purchase even its going to be a few days until i cook? can i ruin it doing it too soon?

[21TonyK]

In short. Yes it can but if it’s a shop bought marinade then it should give you a max time. Salt and acids are the things that have the greatest affect. For example I have a pork fillet in a 5% salt brine right now. 2 hours max. Any more and it will be knackered.

[JKRolling]

21TonyK said:

In short. Yes it can but if it’s a shop bought marinade then it should give you a max time. Salt and acids are the things that have the greatest affect. For example I have a pork fillet in a 5% salt brine right now. 2 hours max. Any more and it will be knackered.

Hi Tony, thanks for this post, really useful. I wonder if you could advise me on this. I’m looking to do char siu pork and I’m still undecided whether to do a shoulder or a couple of fillets as I’m not sure guests will appreciate the fat. I have also thought about brining first before drying and putting in a dry rub for 24 hours.

I’m undecided yet how to cook it, part of me thinks I will sous vide it then finish on a bbq. I just wondered what you thought might achieve the best outcome?

[21TonyK]

JKRolling said:

21TonyK said:

In short. Yes it can but if it’s a shop bought marinade then it should give you a max time. Salt and acids are the things that have the greatest affect. For example I have a pork fillet in a 5% salt brine right now. 2 hours max. Any more and it will be knackered.

Hi Tony, thanks for this post, really useful. I wonder if you could advise me on this. I’m looking to do char siu pork and I’m still undecided whether to do a shoulder or a couple of fillets as I’m not sure guests will appreciate the fat. I have also thought about brining first before drying and putting in a dry rub for 24 hours.

I’m undecided yet how to cook it, part of me thinks I will sous vide it then finish on a bbq. I just wondered what you thought might achieve the best outcome?

I've reached the stage where I regularly brine almost all pork and chicken even if its just a couple of hours in a very basic salt/sugar solution. I've read great results for sous vide char siu and it does make sense but I am a bit wary of sous vide meats high fat levels like shoulder or belly. I used to do a rolled belly sous vide but that was seamed before rolling leaving the fat on the outside only ready for finishing. I would however lean towards shoulder rather than fillet, you can always remove excess fat before you do anything to it. I'm only using fillet tonight because I want it medium, other than that I use shoulder for almost everything porky.

Try a 5% salt, 5% sugar brine for no more than a couple of hours on precut pieces, dry off and then marinate for as long as you fancy. After that I'd just BBQ, the brine will help it retain moisture while the fat renders properly. You could sous vide but you then need to reduce the BBQ accordingly which means less time for the fat to get proper sticky.

[FiF]

Char siu pork, have tried a number of recipes and methods. Family favourite so far is Gok Wan's "Poppa Wan's Honey Glazed Char Siu Pork recipe." Google or his book is your friend there.

Interested to hear of other favourites. On this one use pork fillet, marinaded overnight. Tend to make a shipping quantity, leftovers sliced thinly, frozen into portions, useful for quick stir fry meals later.

If doing a Chinese meal, will do for example a vegetable stir fry dish, and another one with the char siu as the central feature. Plus usual accompaniments, eg egg fried rice, spring rolls, whatever you fancy.

[isaldiri]

I'd personally never use pork fillet for char siew as it's far too lean but something with (a lot) more fat like a well marbled part of the shoulder cut into strips or pork belly with rind removed. By far the tastiest times I've had it in HK/Singapore has been on the rather unhealthy cuts.....

[Mobile Chicane]

I would definitely go for belly for char siu. Fat is where the flavour is.

Just eat less!

[Jiebo]

isaldiri said:

I'd personally never use pork fillet for char siew as it's far too lean but something with (a lot) more fat like a well marbled part of the shoulder cut into strips or pork belly with rind removed. By far the tastiest times I've had it in HK/Singapore has been on the rather unhealthy cuts.....

I find the fatty pork from supermarkets tends to have an awful taste, almost like it’s semi gone off, but only the fat. I’ve never had this problem from restaurants or takeaways, hence I always avoid pork in general, particularly the fatty cuts.