Tenderizing The Steaks The first method, and arguably the fastest, is using a fork. Just go over the entire steak, puncturing holes all over. Then flip and repeat. The idea is that opening lots of holes helps moisture escape during cooking.
Now, stabbing a steak with a fork (Ouch!) also helps tenderize the steak. This technique usually works great for cheap steak with muscle fibers (e.g. flank). I, however, wouldn't recommend doing it to a more tender steak with a lot of marbling, such as ribeye.
Pounding
Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and tenderize the meat. Simply place the meat in between pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it prior to cooking. If you don't have a meat mallet, you can also use a heavy kitchen tool such as a skillet, saucepan or rolling pin.
Another benefit that has been associated with poking holes in raw meat is that it helps tenderize the meat. The piercings allow heat to penetrate deeper when cooking, cutting down on the cooking time and making the meat tender.
This will tenderize a tough cut while leaving it thick like a steak. Pounding meat with a hammer works well too but you end up with a very thin cutlet.
Marinades do not penetrate the meat deeply. Most of the tenderizing effect of a marinade will occur on the surface. Piercing the meat before marinating will give the greatest tenderizing effect.
A common misconception with spot-checking the temperature of a steak is that poking it with a probe will cause precious juices to drain, resulting in a dry finished product. We're happy to debunk this myth that needs to go!
Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Wet aging is done by vacuum packing the meat and letting it age in its own juices. Wet aging is done by more than 90% of fine steakhouses.
Muscles also toughen with age, so a younger animal yields more tender meat. Additionally, overcooking meat, even meat that comes from the more tender muscles, can make it tough. That's because heat causes the proteins in the meat to firm up.
In Chinese cooking, proteins like beef, pork or chicken are velveted first before stir-frying them. There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts.
Besides velveting the meat prior cooking, the meat in restaurants may be marinated with chemical meat tenderizers. The active ingredients are usually papain or bromelain, which are enzymes extracted from fruits.
It also allows marinades to penetrate through the steak easily. Lastly, people poke holes on the steak to allow heat to enter the steak's center part. As a result, the steak will cook evenly and also reduce the cooking time on the grill.
One popular tip is to slice on a bias. This is a way of saying that you cut with your knife tilted on a 45 degree angle to your cutting board. This will increase the surface area of each slice, breaking down more muscle fibers and improving tenderness.
Tenderizing The Steaks
The first method, and arguably the fastest, is using a fork. Just go over the entire steak, puncturing holes all over. Then flip and repeat. The idea is that opening lots of holes helps moisture escape during cooking.
Velveting is a simple process of using baking soda or a mixture of egg whites, cornstarch and oil to marinate and tenderize economical cuts of steak, chicken and other meats before cooking. Velveting meat softens fibers to reduce toughness and enhance juiciness for maximum flavor and tenderness.
Adding butter to steak adds extra richness and can also soften the charred exterior, making a steak more tender.
Most chefs regard beef cooked to medium-rare — with an internal temperature of 130-135F (55-57C) — as the best way to bring out flavour and retain moisture in tender cuts such as rib eye and top loin. Unlike rare, medium-rare allows time for the outside to caramelise and develop a sear.
Marinate: Marinating your steak in acids or enzymes breaks down the fibers and tenderizes the steak. To marinate the meat in an acidic solution, add lemon juice, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, or buttermilk to your marinade and let the steak soak in it for thirty minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the cut.
Your best bet for achieving marination magic is to soak your chicken, pork chops or loins and steak at least 30 minutes, but never longer than overnight.
As the meat cooks, the coagulated albumin gets squeezed out and appears in the form of the weird, slimy, white substance that you are probably familiar with (and weirded out by).
The white string you see in your chicken is just a tendon. The tendon is connective tissue that helps the muscles attach to the bones, just like the tendons we have!