Meat tenderizer question (tenderizers, cider, ingredients, bbq)

[swbtoo]

I don't normally use meat tenderizer, but purchased some the other day. It says on the label "unseasoned", so I thought it was pretty much flavorless, but it's loaded with sodium which I did not expect. A 1/4 teaspoon has 400 mg. of sodium. Yikes.

Does anyone know - is the active ingredient, Bromelain, available by itself?

Is there a meat tenderizer on the market without the salt?

[michelleleigh]

I thnik the ingreadiant, you mentioned is an enzyme that is in pineaple, You can use kiwies as a tenderizer or pineaple(though i think it would leave a pineaple taste)Hvae you tried lime or lemon jucie mixed with white vinager or by themselves another good tenderizer is aplecider vinager. Try looking for a naturel tenderizer in a health food store,

[MB2]

Be careful....most of them have MSG (which caused cancer in lab tests!!!) in it!
Use natural ingredients....like pineapple juice/ slices etc. like described by pp.

[swbtoo]

Originally Posted by MovingBack2PA

Be careful....most of them have MSG (which caused cancer in lab tests!!!) in it!
Use natural ingredients....like pineapple juice/ slices etc. like described by pp.

all right...now the question about MSG. Someone who has worked in the food industry extensively told me that MSG is simply sugar and salt mixed together.
I'd never heard that before.

[Rcm58]

Papan is a natural extract of the papaya fruit and was what they injected live cattle with back in the 70's and marketed through swift as protend beef, it works very well. Another good alternative is a tenderizer made by Chef Master and is simply a hand held tool with dozens of narrow razor sharp blades that pierce through the muscle tissue and is capable of turning round roast into tender steak. Yes it works that well! I beleive the original patent was owned by a company called Jaccardi

Meat Tenderizer, Each)

[ontheroad]

Rcm58's suggestion is a great alternative, and if you don't want to buy a new tool, you can pound the meat with a kitchen mallet and get some of the same results. Pound both sides with some waxed paper on top, don't beat.

[Caseynj]

You can also pound the meat with a rolling pin if you don't have a mallet. I've used it and it works. The only time I used a meat tenderizer was when I was stung by a jellyfish. The pharmacist recommended I slather it over the stings to bring the swelling down.

[MB2]

Originally Posted by southward bound

all right...now the question about MSG. Someone who has worked in the food industry extensively told me that MSG is simply sugar and salt mixed together.
I'd never heard that before.

Unfortunately....that's not the case.
If it was that simple.....why can't we mix salt and sugar together at the house?
It's personal preference of mine to stay away from MSG, for as much as I can (ton's of it in Chinese Food!!!), and I've been working in the food business, extensively since 1985.
I'd much rather stick with natural tenderizers like pineapple, bbq sauce etc.

Monosodium glutamate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[alymaibra]

i have two suggestions that i use in my home faithfully.

1) you can buy one of the metal meat tenderizers that has a reversible head on it from pampered chef The Pampered Chef, Ltd.

2)plain and simple, just use milk. milk is a natural meat tenderizer. let it soak for a few hours for beef and rinse it off unless you care for the milk taste lol.
i do not suggest using it to tenderize pork though, it just soaks up the milk flavor and will ruin the taste of your meat no matter how much you try to mask it with seasonings.... --> learned by experience.

[Dirt Grinder]

Just grab a fresh pineapple and use the juice.