How to Tenderize Meat Properly?

No one wants to eat meat which is hard or non-juicy. Juicy, tender meat is worth relishing and savouring in a meal. A little work and by following some simple steps, the meat can be tenderized appropriately.

Do not buy a pricey meat cut to get tender meat. The choice of meat needs to be right, and only the price cannot decide on which is better. Right meat can always be tenderized without any need to marinate overnight.

Let’s take a look at those simple steps to enjoy flavourful meat:

Beat the Meat- Use a mallet to pound the meat is an efficient method to tenderize meat. It works very nicely, but there may be mushy meat if you do it too much. Tenderizer tools that have needle points for meat piercing can be used for this purpose. They are equipment that can offer you a more sensitive method to tenderize meat. This way, you are not harming the meat fibres too much.

Acid marinates- Acids loosen up the tough meat. Meat can be soaked in a marinade that is made with buttermilk or yoghurt, lime juice and vinegar. This can tenderize the tough meat proteins. But, ensure that the marinade is not kept too long with meat. This is primarily because the meat protein structure cannot be weakened. This can result in mushy and soft meat if you over marinade the meat in acid. Keeping it for about half an hour to about 2 hours with a period check should do good with tenderization. Keep looking for cooked edges of the meat in the marinade, and when you begin noticing them, it is at this time, you will know that the meat is over marinated.

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Enzymes margination- Many fruits like kiwi, papaya, pear and pineapple comprise of enzymes which can help in marinating meat and tenderize it. Puree the fruits and add in seasonings to create a juicy marinate. Marinating the meat in this juice will make the meat tender. Leaving in pineapple enzymes for long is not recommended. Bromelain, a potential enzyme, doesn’t work well with marinating for too long.

Add Salt- Adding in salt to tough meat and keeping it for one hour or so before cooking it can tenderize muscle fibres of the meat. This way, no marinade is also required to tenderize. Rinse the salt off the meat before cooking.

Slice right– Some clever tricks with a knife can tenderize meat. Scoring is one of them. Make shallow cuts on the meat surface like a flank or skirt. This way, the proteins that are toughened up shall break down. This way, the meat tenderizes with marinades and absorbs it as well. Another knife trick is thin-slicing across the meat to break down meat fibres. This will make the meat easy to chew on.

Cook it slowly- Low-temperature heat should be given to meat and cook it slowly. It may take longer to cook meat, but it is best to tenderize the meat this way. Tough tissues, fibres and collagen break down to tender meat. Make use of a slow cooker and cook it with broth to make the meat tender.

Conclusion By using simple steps as above, you can tenderize the meat efficiently and have a delicious meal without compromising on the flavour.