Sous vide

[jonumberone]

Originally Posted by CigarNut

I have to say that the marinade I used most definitely infused the meat with lots of onion flavor -- it probably depends upon the marinade...

Originally Posted by T.G

Yeah, I wasn't thinking about the ones like yours which are mostly oil and pulverized solids, when I said that. I was thinking more about the higher liquid content ones. I should have been more clear.

The high liquid content ones that I messed with, things that had more than just oil, they had stuff like vinegar or other acids, and more volume, they yielded almost kind of a boiled meat end result. Not what I was looking for to say the least.

100% right, Michael. It definitely depends on the marinade.
Just to add on to what Adam said, not all marinades work the same way. Looking at your ingredients, they are all flavoring components, aside from the oil and salt. What your marinade doesn't have is a strong tenderizing component, like an acid.
Adding a tenderizing component breaks down the outer layer of the meat.
As that layer breaks down, the meat becomes more tender, and starts to release moisture. The breakdown of surface proteins and the void left by the escaping moisture allows the flavoring elements to penetrate deeper.
Left in a marinade too long, and the meat starts to breakdown too much.
Some acids can actually toughen up the meat if left in too long and some can make meat turn to mush.
You used the Anova, and the 8 hour cook time, to break down the meat. Had there also been a tenderizing component in the marinade, you likely would have ended up with a Tri tip that had an off texture.
You can still use a marinade with an acid component before cooking, but I wouldn't include it in the bag while cooking.