How do you tenderize meet?

Question

Is it true that if you boil it before frying or baking it,that that helps to tenderize it?

Answer 1

There are several methods: squish it, hack it, dust it, drown it, or coddle it for a very long time in gentle, moist heat.

There are various circumstances that affect how tender a piece of meat is. The length of muscle fiber is what makes meat tough, so the cut of meat you choose is particularly important. How the meat is handled after the animal is killed also has a great impact on whether it is tough or tender. If the meat has been handled properly, it will be juicier, resist spoiling longer, and have a better texture. But of course, you have no control over that.

So, once you get your tough cut of meat home, you’ve got to find ways to break up or soften the muscle fibers. Using mechanical means, you can flatten it with a tenderizing mallet, the bottom of a heavy pan or some other blunt object (most people place the meat between two pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap to keep it tidy), you can score the meat across the fibers with a sharp knife, or, in dire cases, you can grind it and turn it into hamburger. Once the meat is cooked, you may have another opportunity to physically tenderize it. A flank steak, for instance, is cut in the direction of the muscle grain and is inherently tough. Once cooked, you always slice it thinly against the grain, which transforms a tough piece of meat into a still somewhat chewy, but very edible, serving.

There are also chemical solutions — some better than others. There are a variety of powdered tenderizers on the market (some instant, some requiring a period of rest). These include a powdered form of papain, an enzyme found in papaya, which has been used for this purpose for centuries. An awful lot of cooks have various reasons for avoiding commercial powdered meat tenderizers, though. They can make the outside of the meat mushy while leaving the inside tough, leech out the juices, and impart an unpleasant flavor.

A widely accepted alternative (and the basis of many cookbooks) is to marinate the meat, which not only tenderizes somewhat, but adds flavor. To be an effective tenderizer, a marinade must include an acid, which "denatures" or unwinds the long proteins in the muscle. Marinades also may not get inside the meat very well, leaving it tough in the center. Some recipes call for you to inject the marinade into the meat at various points to get below the surface, and there are injectors on the market for this purpose. Dry marinades and rubs impart flavor, but do nothing to tenderize the meat.

Finally, for large tough cuts of meat, the best solution is long, moist cooking — stewing or braising. That is the reason pot roasts and stewed hens spend hours in the oven.

Answer 2

Dale's sauce is a great tenderizer but can be a little on the salty side. I usually let my steaks sit overnight in the refrigerator in a 50/50 mixture of Dale's and water. No matter how you tenderize start with a good cut of meat.

Answer 3

One of the best things I've seen is something called a needler. This pokes little holes in the meat breaking up the muscular toughness. See link below.

Boiling will tenderize but also ruin the flavor.

Answer 4

A pressure cooker works better than boiling and does not take as long. There is a powder meat tenderizer that I use from time to time that works well also. It is made by Laury's and you can find it with the spices, put it on 30 min before you cook. It is not as good as the pressure cooker.

Answer 5

Depends where you are I suppose. They used to say that Coke Cola would do the job.
Now if you happened to live anywhere you can get hold of Paw Paw tree leaves wrap the meat in a few of those,leave in fridge overnight and then 4 or 5 days in the freezer. Works everytime and believe me even the toughest cuts of meat become tender .

Answer 6

Sort of. But I think these are better ways: for frying and baking marinate the meat (for at least 1 hour, or overnight if possible) in flavored oil, salad dressing, or buttermilk; for roasting use a roasting pan with a rack or place the meat on top of some sliced onions (or other veggies), and put plenty of liquid (water, broth, wine, vinegar, fruit juice) in the bottom of the pan.

Answer 7

depends on what kink of meat, steak, pound it with a meat pounder, sprinkle with garlic salt, & meat tenderizer than fry or grill, pork chops maranate in soy sauce for a few hours than grill or for chicken marinate than grill or fry unless you have bones than you can parboil to help with cooking

Answer 8

not really, you boil it fore, the context of the meat will be changed from steaming of the water.

All you have to do is to use starch, oil, soy source (any) to tenderize for about 30 minutes and use knife to hammer it (chop it in dull part of the knife), then you cook it however you want it. The meat will be tenerized!

Answer 9

Yes it dose , but that also depends on what your tenderizing.

Answer 10

well, there have been some very good and complex answers to this one. Personally, I don't like bashing the snot out of my meet with a mallet. I find it takes away some of the juiciness and flavor of the meat. Chemically, I have used the powdered tenderizers, but be careful, some of them leave an aftertaste that is less than desirable. I am a believer that the cut of meat you choose is important. However, you cannot eat ribeyes every meal (unless you win the lottery or something). I like to tenderize by marinating in beer or coca cola. These both work well. I am a hunter, and marinating wild game in coca cola removes much of the gamy taste associated with deer, wild duck, pheasant, etc.

The boiling concept, I have found, may work for tenerizing, but you lose flavor and the natural juices of the meat in the water as well. Also, when frying or grilling, have your cooking surface good and hot before you put the meat on, so that the outside is seared quickly, and holds in a lot of the juice and flavor. This also helps in the tenerizing.

I guess, in a nutshell, my answer to tenderizing is this: Keep it simple. Marinate in beer or coca cola if using a less desirable cut of meat, and sear in the juices and flavor. Many people add a lot of sauces and spices to their meat, but personally, I like the flavor of the meat by itself. Have a great day

Answer 11

I don't know about the boiling , but i do know that if you have to cut it always cut against the grain. Never with the grain, also if you have one of those meat mashers (don't know the real name..lol) that helps too.