mmm@weitek.UUCP (Mark Thorson) (10/16/85)
In one of my many experiments in cooking I discovered an unusual new way to marinate beef. I didn't try it again because a friend of mine (who has been both a restaurant and industrial food service manager) said it was dangerous and that I was lucky I didn't get sick. What I tried was coating a steak with a thick layer of baking soda and leaving it overnight in the refrigerator. The next day the meat had lost much of its opacity, much like a piece of aged meat. When I cooked it, it was extremely tender and it tasted a little odd. What I would like to know is whether she was right. Is there any conceivable reason why this process could be poisonous? I do remember what seemed like the faint smell of ammonia in the finished product, which is consistent with the fact that ammonia is a breakdown product of proteins. Could a very small amount of ammonia be dangerous? I'd like to know if my friend is wrong, because I think there is potential for a great new recipe in this. Mark Thorson (...!cae780!weitek!mmm) PS I did it twice with absolutely no ill effects.
sdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer) (10/17/85)
I doubt this treatment of meat would be poisonous, although after reading
your account, I am tempted to become a vegetarian. Probably I would
be most concerned with the amount of sodium which comes along with the
baking soda. I really am not sure what effect it had on the meat:
sodium bicarbonate is a mild base, almost too mild, but it might
assist the hydrolysis of the fats to glycerol and fatty acids; I doubt
that it would have much effect on the proteins.
--
/Steve Dyer
{harvard,seismo}!bbnccv!bbncc5!sdyer
sdyer@bbncc5.ARPAmmm@weitek.UUCP (Mark Thorson) (10/21/85)
The responses to my original posting were unanimous: don't try it. Alas, the recipe for Beef Thorson will be lost forever due to toxicity. The warnings fell into two catagories: alkaline decomposition of meat results in unpleasant breakdown products and alkaline environments promote dangerous bacterial growth. So I guess the message is: cancel further research along these lines. Mark "who let him in the kitchen" Thorson (...!cae780!weitek!mmm) ps I've been told that putting a spoon or fork into the pot will accelerate the cooking of dried beans by 2X to 3X.