Marinade Contraption, is it worth it? (beef, dressing, meat, sauce)
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A very simple tenderizer for meat is papaya - which I much prefer to pineapple. Here we wrap the meat in papaya leaves for a while but you can buy commercial tenderizers which are pure papaya powder and would probably work just as well. There's another method using the fresh fruit if you can find it where you live. All I can remember is that the fruit's peeled and then mashed up with a little salt. You can probably find it on the internet!
Yes, marinades can really tenderize meats. Just remember it only tenderizes the outside 1/4 inch of each piece.
If you like poultry/tougher cuts of beef and want something very easy, try bottled Italian salad dressing, (not the "creamy Italian"). Add the raw meat and salad dressing to a zip lock bag, toss it in the fridge and in a couple of hours, turn the bag over; then let it sit in the fridge and marinate some more. I've done this from 2 hours total time up to around 8 hours or so. I highly doubt anything bad would have happened if I left it overnight. A good rule of thumb is to use approximately 1/2 cup of marinade for every pound of meat.
The acid in the salad dressing, (i.e. vinegar), softens meat fibers and connective tissue. When cooking, the oil slows the evaporation of moisture, which makes it more tender, and also adds flavor.
You could try it with other salad dressings too. Any one with both oil and either vinegar and/or lemon in the ingredients will work.
Thanks.
I tried 8 hrs with a salad dressing to which I added some vodka and Worcestershire sauce on London Broil. I think I should have cut the meat in half lengthwise because I think it was just as tough as it would have been had I done nothing.
I read somewhere that alcohol will tenderize meat as well as acid.
Maybe I'll add a bit more apple cider vinegar, too.
I use a Jaccard on some meats and it definitely helps with marinade penetration in a chicken breast.
BTW - watch out for pineapple juice marinades that instruct you to leave the meat in them overnight, trust me.
I have a Teriyaki with pineapple. What will that do?
I do believe that the product would work similar to a vacuum bag, probably not as well. I think you should try a few things first.
How are you cooking the steaks? Sirloin is easy to overcook and because its so lean it will get tough if you are cooking it to well done. Try medium or med rare.
Try cutting the steaks thinner and marinating in an air free ziplock. You need acids or special enzymes to tenderize the meat. Papaya and Pineapple both contain enzymes that can tenderize meat.
Try manual methods with a meat hammer. Pound it flat.
Try slicing the meat perpindicular to the direction the grain is running.
Try dry-aging it yourself or purchasing dry-aged beef.
Besides those, your kinda stuck. That cut is lean and is gonna be on the tougher side anyways. Cooking to well-done or even medium is going to highlight the problem.
Thanks for reminding me. I have some Bromelain hanging about. It's the pineapple enzyme that helps with digestion (and tenderizing). Yes, I should have cut the meat thinner. I did a London Broil, but it was not a great result.
I don't eat a lot of steak anymore, mostly because I want it well done and as you say it is more tender if it's not that way. I thought marinating would be a way of tenderizing the meat and still cooking it well.
I pound my chicken breasts often, just to keep it cooking all in the same time.
I have one of those Jaccard contraptions but don't use it much.
Location: Los Angeles>Little Rock>Houston>Little Rock
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I always use a ziplock bag for marinating unless it is a huge piece of meat. My favorite marinade for steak has lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, red wine vinegar, Worchestershire sauce, and vegetable or olive oil. My favorite bottled barbeque sauce is Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Brown Sugar. I often marinate chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano. There are so many different spices and herbs you can use for marinades as long as you use an oil and an acid like vinegar or citrus it usually turns out fine.
Brining is great for pork and poultry. It is usually water, salt, sugar, sometimes vinegar, and some seasonings. I brine my turkey for Thanksgiving and brined pork chops are great on the grill.
BTW, I only marinate steaks like flank, flat iron, skirt steak, and London Broil.
I have a Teriyaki with pineapple. What will that do?
All I can tell you is I put a small pork butt in a pineapple marinade overnight and all that was left the next day was mush. The same thing happened to my sibling when trying a similar pineapple marinade.
I always use a ziplock bag for marinating unless it is a huge piece of meat. My favorite marinade for steak has lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, red wine vinegar, Worchestershire sauce, and vegetable or olive oil. My favorite bottled barbeque sauce is Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Brown Sugar. I often marinate chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano. There are so many different spices and herbs you can use for marinades as long as you use an oil and an acid like vinegar or citrus it usually turns out fine.
Brining is great for pork and poultry. It is usually water, salt, sugar, sometimes vinegar, and some seasonings. I brine my turkey for Thanksgiving and brined pork chops are great on the grill.
BTW, I only marinate steaks like flank, flat iron, skirt steak, and London Broil.
Do you marinate in that barbeque sauce? It would seem that if you added alcohol or vinegar to it that it might work.
All I can tell you is I put a small pork butt in a pineapple marinade overnight and all that was left the next day was mush. The same thing happened to my sibling when trying a similar pineapple marinade.
Either someone here said so or I read it on the net - I think the time limit to marinading chicken is two hours. Pork is longer and beef, you can do for a long time.
Location: Los Angeles>Little Rock>Houston>Little Rock
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goldengrain
Do you marinate in that barbeque sauce? It would seem that if you added alcohol or vinegar to it that it might work.
No, I don't marinade in BBQ sauce. If grilling it would cause to many flare-ups from the sugar content. When baking I just usually add the sauce in the last 30 min. or so.
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