# Marinade: Air in the Bag or no? (Need answer fast) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902 "2011-10-26T20:40:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902/1 "2011-10-26T20:40:48Z")
Bought a nice looking pork loin today and just finished cutting up a Ridiculous Amount of Garlic \. I won’t be putting it in the crockpot until late tomorrow morning, so I was thinking of mixing a couple tablepoons of olive oil (extra light) with the garlic and marinading the pork in that overnight. Are you supposed to leave some air in the bag when you marinade or do you have to squeeze out as much as possible? Thank you for your cooperation 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bri2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/48db29/32.png) [@Bri2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bri2k)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902/2 "2011-10-26T20:43:12Z")
I’m no expert, but I often do marinades using an old cake pan. I just cover it with foil and it seems to work fine. Usually I only marinade meat for an afternoon. Having more time is to your benefit and I don’t think having air in there would be a problem. Bri2k ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902/3 "2011-10-26T20:47:41Z")
Squeeze the air out. You want to maximize contact between the marinade and the meat. Areas of the meat exposed to air are not getting the benefit of the marinade, a problem that can be reduced or eliminated by making sure there’s little or no air. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902/4 "2011-10-26T21:01:10Z")
Yeah, squeezing out the air just means the marinade coats more/all of the meat. No other benefit or consequence. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902/5 "2011-10-26T21:40:40Z")
Ok I will squeeze the air out since there’s not that much liquid (it’s more of a garlic paste than anything) and I want maximum contact with the meat. Not sure how long to cook it (it’s about a 4lb pork loin) but I’ll set the pot for 10 hours and start checking it every hour after about 6 hours. Hmmmm, I’m also thinking of making Rosemary/Thyme/Fresh Garlic/Dash of olive oil Potatoes cooked in the oven just until crispy, and maybe some green beans with French’s Fried Onions… Thanks for the responses! ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902/6 "2011-10-27T12:09:37Z")
Either squeeze the air out, or leave it in and toss it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marinade-air-in-the-bag-or-no-need-answer-fast/600902/7 "2011-10-28T14:59:29Z")
I would squeeze the air out myself, as others said it maximizes the meat-to-flavor contact. More importantly, where do you live and what time should we stop by tonight? ;).