There are different ways to tenderize meat, including slow cooking, marinating, and pounding. While you can tenderize meat at home using a meat mallet or rolling pin, some manufacturers handle the process by using mechanical tenderization, which involves breaking down the meat's connective tissue with sharp blades.
Expensive steakhouses usually butcher and dry-age their own prime beef and a lot of the top steakhouses have high-temperature infrared broilers that they cook the steaks in that break down the connective tissue in a way that couldn't be done at lower temperatures.
Briefly soaking meat in a solution of baking soda and water raises the pH on the meat's surface, making it more difficult for the proteins to bond excessively, which keeps the meat tender and moist when it's cooked.
There are different ways to tenderize meat, including slow cooking, marinating, and pounding. While you can tenderize meat at home using a meat mallet or rolling pin, some manufacturers handle the process by using mechanical tenderization, which involves breaking down the meat's connective tissue with sharp blades.
While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. For beef, add a 1/4-teaspoon of baking soda for tenderizing. Additional seasonings are optional and vary from recipe to recipe.
Baking soda acts as a meat tenderizer by changing the physical composition of meat fibers. It raises the pH levels on the surface and makes it tougher (pun intended) for the proteins in the meat to bond.
Deep-fat frying
This method is only used with very tender meat. Usually, meat to be deep-fat fried is coated with egg and crumbs or a batter, or it is dredged in flour or corn meal (breaded).
How do Chinese restaurants get their beef so tender? They use a tenderizer before they cook it, which is usually made of corn starch, cooking rice wine and soy sauce. They marinate the beef in this combination for about 20 minutes before cooking.
Cattleman's Restaurant explains that wet aging is a newer process popularized by the mass production of plastic bags. A quick and cost-effective way of aging beef, portioned meat is packed in vacuum-seal bags and refrigerated for 10 days. Naturally occurring enzymes break down the muscle, tenderizing the meat.
09/9Lemon juice or vinegar
Lemons are highly acidic, making them a great meat tenderizer. A thick coating of lemon juice applied one hour before cooking will draw water from the meat, thus, improving the meat's texture. Adding too much of this marinade could actually toughen the meat.
Science of Cooking: Braising Makes A Tough Cut Tender | Exploratorium. Long before cooks had ovens, they had braising.
Acidic ingredients like vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt and wine weaken collagen and protein in meat. Once the proteins are broken by acid, one loose protein can bond with another and trap liquid in the meat, making it juicy and tender.
Cola's high acidity and caramel flavor makes a surprisingly good meat tenderizer. Cola typically has a pH of about 2.7—for comparison, lemon juice has a pH of 2—making it acidic enough to break down some proteins without dissolving your meat.
Or for an even easier option, you can use water and baking soda for this style of meat tenderizing. Before your next stir-fry, sizzling platter of fajitas, or skillet dinner, follow these steps to velvet sliced meat. For every 12 ounces of meat, use 1 teaspoon of baking soda and ½ cup of water.
Rub And Marinate The Meat With Sugar & Salt
Sugar helps keep the moisture in the meat (moisten the meat), and salt helps to break down the proteins and muscle fibers. Pierce the meat with a fork or a meat tenderizer, and sub the meat with sugar, then, repeat with salt. Ideally, marinate the meat overnight in a fridge.
Pear juice or puree is traditionally used in Korean meat marinades—the juice not only adds sweetness but also works to tenderize the meat.
Add Some Fruit
In addition to acid-based foods, plant enzymes in fruits like pineapple and kiwi can tenderize meat. Like with lemon juice or vinegar, you don't want to leave these foods on beef for too long—it will make the meat soft. You can blend fruit to create a marinade.
If you're grilling or pan-searing steak, garlic butter is a perfect way to add extra flavor and tenderness to your beef!
Lemons are highly acidic, making them a great meat tenderizer. A thick coating of lemon juice applied one hour before cooking will draw water from the meat, thus, improving the meat's texture. Adding too much of this marinade could actually toughen the meat.
Salt and soy sauce tenderize meat, help it retain moisture, and increase its savoriness. Sugar helps browning characteristics. Oil helps distribute fat-soluble aromatic compounds over the meat.