Back in 2016, I bought a home vacuum sealer during my experiment with sous vide cooking. I’ve used it off and on for five years, but most of the time it sits at the back of the counter next to the stove. During my year end budgetary review I concluded I was spending way too much on food. Given the unreliability of deliveries, the short cycle grocery shopping was also prone to problems. I concluded I had to buy more bulk items to save on the ‘cooking for one’ surcharge from the smaller amounts I’d been buying. So I turned back to the trusty vacuum sealer. After the first round of partitioning larger packages, I looked at the juices that would seep out of proteins while in the vacuum bag and thought about marinading the meat rather than simply sealing it. But immediately on the tail of that thought was the realization that store-bought marinades would run into both the problem of cost and the issue of unwanted ingredients. So I figured I could experiment with making my own marinades.

Or rather, mostly brines.

Being ignorant, I didn’t realize just how much oil marinades took to make. The basic formula was a ratio of 3:1 oil:acid plus flavorants. I didn’t buy additional oil, so I just had my one bottle of peanut oil, which turned out to have slightly less than four cups of oil left in it.

I got three different proteins for the experiment – chicken, pork, and beef. A pretty common assortment. I’d always intended to brine the chicken. I’d intended to marinade the beef, but when I ran out of oil after handling the pork, I switched tracks.

Now, I used a common set of flavorants between the three, but with variations with each iteration.

Not appearing in this photoshoot – the fresh ingredients and the fish sauce.

Most of these were herbs and spices I had on hand. I bought fresh green onion, ginger paste, and lemongrass paste for the general marinades, as well as a red bell pepper. I’d also ordered an orange bell and an aloha pepper but apparently the store was out of those colors. (The hazards of pickup orders). I had some garlic left, and picked that up for the first round.

So, I started with brining the chicken.

Chicken Brine

UnCivil Chicken Brine

  • Vacuum Sealer
  • 1/2 Gallons Water
  • 1/2 Cups Salt
  • 1/2 Cups Fresh Chopped Green Onions
  • 1 Clove Garlic, Minced
  • 1/2 tsp Lemongrass Paste
  • 1/2 tsp Ginger Paste
  • 1/8 cup Fish Sauce
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 6 Chicken Thighs

  1. In a large container, mix all ingredients except chicken until salt is dissolved Heat if necessary

  2. In vacuum bag (or airtight container) place two thighs, ladle in enough brine to cover the chicken. If using an airtight container, more brine may be needed per chicken depending on the shape of your container

  3. Seal container

  4. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours to let flavors soak in

  5. Remove chicken from container. Bake, pan fry, or otherwise cook chicken as per personal preference.

  6. Don't spill on floor when serving

Dinner
American

Wow, that recipe image is tiny. Here’s the full image:

The red stain on the bag is from borscht that spilled in the fridge I apparently haven’t fully cleaned up.

I noticed one procedural difficulty when working on the chicken, ladling the liquid into the bags was a bit of a difficult dance. It would be so much easier if I could just pour a bottle into the bag. I was unable to find my cooking funnel, but I did find a glass bottle that once contained 16 oz of eggnog. I’d washed it out thoroughly after last using it, so it seemed like the perfect container to mix my marinades. I unfortunately ran out of garlic after the chicken. I’d also forgotten what seasoning I’d used before and didn’t want to look it up. So I looked in the cabinet and grabbed a bunch of what I had on hand. I also had to break down the individual strips of pork ‘ribs’. For the most part, the pork was boneless, but two of the five strips had bone at one end, so I cut all five in half, and put the two bone-in pieces in the same vacuum bag. But here’s the recipe:

UnCivil Marinaded Pork Ribs

Made with whatever was in the cupboard for flavoring

  • Vacuum Sealer
  • Bottle
  • 1/4 Cup Frech Chopped Green Onion
  • 1 Cup Peanut Oil
  • 1/3 Cup Lime Juice
  • 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
  • 1 1/2 tsp Salt (Used Himalayan Pink for this, but any salt will do)
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Ginger Paste
  • 1/4 tsp Lemongrass Paste
  • 1/8 tsp Adobo Seasoning
  • 1/8 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1/8 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1/8 tsp Ground Sage
  • 1/8 tsp Tarragon Leaves
  • 1/2-2/3 lb Pork

  1. In the bottle, mix the non-pork ingredients. Don't forget any

  2. Place pork in vacuum bag or other airtight container.

  3. Seal container, removing as much air as possible

  4. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours

  5. Bake or pan fry pork until done, by your definition of done. This is not a BBQ recipe, so I don't think slow cooking will help it.

Dinner
American

The full image from the recipe:

Ribs?

Most distressingly, I ran low on oil while putting the pork together. I’d been planning to marinade the beef too, but without oil, it’s not a marinade. So the beef got the most experimental mix – an acid brine. I swapped out the oil for water and more salt. This may not turn out, but it’s experimental. I am also risking the most expensive protein of the mix. I don’t even remember the cut of beef, it was the one that was on sale. I also swapped out some of the seasonings. I had one bell pepper, which I diced and added to the mix for this. I have no idea if it turned out…

UnCivil Brined Beef

A marinade sans marinade

  • Vacuum Sealer
  • Bottle, 16 oz or more
  • 1/4 Cup Fresh Chopped Green Onion
  • 1/4 Red Bell Pepper, Diced
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1/3 Cup Lemon Juice
  • 1/8 Cup Fish Sauce
  • 4 tsp, heaping Salt (I used Himalayan Pink, but any salt will do.)
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Ginger Paste
  • 1/4 tsp Lemongrass Paste
  • 1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1/8 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1/8 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1/8 tsp Ground Sage
  • 1/8 tsp Tarragon Leaves
  • 1/2-2/3 lbs Beef

  1. Add all ingredients other than the beef to the bottle. Mix thoroughly.

  2. Place beef in vacuum bag or other airtight container

  3. Add seasoning mix and liquid to beef

  4. Remove as much air as possible and seal.

  5. Refrigerate 24-48 hours.

  6. Cook to your desired level of doneness. I know some of you will just gnaw on it straight out of the bag.

And here’s that tiny image made larger:

I notice these are getting more brown as I go along.

I have only had the honor of tasting the chicken. It was delicious, and retained more juices than other preparation methods.