How To Tenderize Beef?

Who says that the grill is only prepared for the most tender cuts? Now, a tender beef need not to be expensive. With ideas on how to tenderize beef, anyone can can cook tender steaks and roasts while using less expensive cuts. How? Below are ways to guide you through the process of tenderizing beef.

Marinade

One of the most popular ways to make beef tender and flavorful is through the use of marinade with tenderizing ingredients like vinegar, red wine, olive oil, and seasonings such as garlic and other spices. Lime and other citrus juices are acidic in nature so they are effective addition in your marinade recipe, but if you want your beef to have different zing, pineapple juice from the fresh fruit is a very good option.

Pineapple juice has nature’s most potent tenderizer, the enzyme called bromelain. It can be extracted from the stems of the pineapples and as well present in the juice. Bromelain is known to be a “protein-digesting” enzyme, and this attribute allows beef meat to easily break down when it is soaked in a marinating mixture with pineapple juice. However, do not use canned juices because the enzyme can be only present in fresh pineapple fruit.

How to prepare the marinade:

In shallow glass or non-reactive container, combine wine, oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme.

Add the beef cuts and turn to totally cover the meat with the mixture.

Cover with plastic wrap and marinate the beef cuts in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. Tougher cuts of meat should be marinated not less than 8-24 hours while turning the meat occasionally to coat with marinade and for it to work effectively.

Discard the remaining marinade mixture after the meat has been cooked. If you are going to use it as a basting liquid, bring it to boil to kill the bacteria that has been in contact with the raw meat.

Pound

A meat tenderizer or commonly known as meat mallet is what will you need in this tenderizing method called “pounding.” Pounding breaks the strands of meat and its connective tissues, making it softer and easier to chew when cooked. Most of meat mallets are dual ended; the side with teeth is used to break the meat fibers, and the other one is to flatten the meat. The flat side is useful in shaping tougher cuts in even thickness that makes cooking evenly a lot easier. After pounding your meat is softer as prime beef loin.

Powder

This is the easiest way to tenderize meat. Tenderizing powders made of bromelain (from pineapple) and papain (from papaya) enzymes need only to be sprinkled over the cuts of beef.

Rub

Unlike marinating, the use of rubs is a dry technique. Rubs are consisted of dry mixture of herbs and spices applied to the raw meat. The length of time used in applying rubs is the same as marinating so that the mixture will thoroughly penetrate the meat. Rubs does not only make the meat tender and flavorful but it leaves a delectable crust that seal the juices in for a juicier and tastier beef.

Rubs mostly don’t tenderize, but only use to flavor, but you can add fruit juice, vinegar, or wine to make it a paste and cover the entire meat. Let it stand for a night.