Why You'll Probably Want To Avoid This Popular Type Of Meat At The Grocery Store

Meat lovers have a wide selection to choose from at the grocery store, and there's a cut for everyone. However, Christie Vanover, the head cook and pitmaster for Girls Can Grill and a contestant on Food Network's "BBQ Brawl," advises against picking up pre-marinated meats. "If you're short on time, you may be tempted to grab a package of meat that is pre-marinated, meaning it's packaged with spices and other additives or salt-based solutions," she says. Yet, what you're getting in convenience might come at the cost of texture and health.

"These can definitely enhance the flavor of your meat," Vanover admits, "but they can also change the overall consistency of the protein." Of course, the point of many marinades is to affect the texture, using acids and salts to tenderize the meat. However, the pitmaster adds that "with homemade marinades, you need to be careful because too much acid for too long will change the meat from being tender to being firm or mealy." If meat is left in a marinade for an extra hour, it could compromise its texture. So, imagine a pre-packaged marinated meat that could potentially be sitting in acid for days.

Still, more pressing for Vanover are the ingredients in these prepackaged marinades. "You want to check the sodium levels and phosphates," she tells us. "Pre-packaged, marinated meats tend to be higher in sodium" which poses various health risks. While Trader Joe's has an entire line of these pre-marinated meats, perhaps you ought to think twice before purchasing.

While Vanover generally advises against pre-packaged marinated meats, they certainly aren't inedible. So, if you want to take a shortcut and avoid making your own marinade from scratch, Vanover explains that commercial marinades "are usually formulated to adjust for the long time the meat spends in the solution." The formulated marinade solution won't turn meat to mush, of course, but it will affect the consistency of the meat. For example, says Vanover, "the texture for cuts like pork tenderloin to be more hammy than fresh tenderloin." You can thus treat pre-marinated pork tenderloin like ham, slicing it up to enjoy over creamy pasta carbonara or in a fancy sandwich. One thing to look out for with pre-marinated meat is that it's evenly coated in its packaging.

Ironically, Vanover tells us that the best way to improve the texture of marinated meats is by drying them back out. "You can improve the texture by removing it from the packaging and patting it dry," she says. "Start by grilling or searing it over high heat to create a crust. Then, finish it over lower, indirect heat to finish cooking the inside." Since marinated meats have been sitting in juices for days, it's important to "cook it at too low of a heat to start, [as] the excess moisture from the marinade will tend to steam the meat." And steamed meat is about as rubbery and mushy as it sounds.