Meat Preparation Techniques: How to Tenderize Tough Cuts of Meat
Buying a good piece of meat has to be well thought out and you must be mindful of your budget. It can cost you more to buy a piece of meat that has a good marbling of fat coming from a good part of the pig or the cow. You should also take into consideration the recipe you are going to use and the preparations you will be doing with the meat.
Let’s say you want to have steak for dinner, would you be buying an expensive cut or a cheaper one? While it may not be your priority to spend so much cash on buying expensive meat that would be easier to cook and yield a softer texture, you do not have to fret because there are plenty of meat preparation techniques that you can use to tenderize tough cuts of meat. If you are in this situation, read on.
Using Meat Tenderizers
Meat tenderizers can mean two things: it could be an ingredient that you would slather on your meat to tenderize and break down its tough protein components, or it could be a tool that you could use to bash the meat into a more pliable and softer texture.
Meat tenderizer powder
A meat tenderizer powder is an enzyme powder that comes from fruits or vegetables that help break down meat fibers. Some commonly used are papain and bromelain which comes from papayas and pineapples respectively. This is a fast and cheap way to tenderize meat as it will do all the tenderizing work for you. Meat tenderizer powder is also available in most grocery stores so it is convenient and easy to buy.
Natural meat tenderizer
If you would like to use a more natural way of tenderizing your meat you can find fruits and vegetables that you could blend or mince to make a marinade for your meat. This includes papaya, pineapple, onions, and honey. Each of them can be used separately to make a tenderizing marinade for your meat before you cook your dish. Choose a natural meat tenderizer that would complement the taste of the dish you are planning to make.
Meat mallet
A meat mallet or a hammer is a tool to pound and flatten meat which could make it more tender. It is easy to find in shops that sell cookware and will look like a small hammer with spikes. Although not all recipes call for flattened meat, you can lightly pound your meat to tenderize its surface.
Using Meat Slicers
If you do not have a meat tenderizer or if you want an added step to ensure that your meat is soft, you can use a meat slicer to cut up your meat into thin pieces. The easiest way to use a meat slicer is to have your meat frozen first. If you do not have a meat slicer you can use a knife to try to slice it as thin as possible or just slice across the grain of the meat to cut the long tough strands.
Using Meat Grinders
If all else fails or you just do not want to cook your meat as a big chunk of meat, you can always grind your tough meat with a meat grinder along with additional fat. Grinding it with additional fatty pieces will ensure moist and tender meat when you cook it.
For additional tips, take a look at this video about meat preparation:
