Do you know what the difference between an expensive cut of meat and an inexpensive cut of meat is?
The tenderness!
And the traditional cut you’re always buying at the grocery store can easily go up against a pricey filet mignon if you know a few tricks of the trade.
Restaurants have been using these methods for years to take the toughness out of their lower quality cuts.
These meat tenderizing tips will turn your meat into juicy pieces that will fool your family and dinner guests into thinking that you spent a fortune on the main course.
Here’s how to turn up the tastiness and tenderize your meats:
Acidic Marinade
It doesn’t sound delicious, but believe us, it is delicious! Don’t worry you’re not using harsh or scary chemicals here. What we mean by acidic marinades is using naturally acidic juices like lemon, lime, vinegar, yogurt, or even buttermilk to soften up your tougher cuts of meat.
Just pour the acidic juice of your choosing over your cut so that it’s completely covered by it. You can let it soak in a bowl or on a baking pan covered in parchment paper. You don’t need your cut to be fully submerged.
Then sprinkle some seasonings like salt, pepper, and thyme. Flip your cut over and make sure the other side gets marinated and seasoned. Let your cut soak for at least 30 minutes.
Now your piece of meat is ready to cook! You’ll find a great acidic marinade recipe below:
Pound Meat
Pounding your meat with a mallet will also tenderize it. Just make sure you don’t pound it too hard or it can get mushy! You can cover your meat with some plastic wrap to protect it. Use the textured side of your mallet for beef and pork. Use the smooth side for things like chicken cutlets to flatten them.
Make sure you beat both sides of the meat so that it’s evenly tenderized.
You can watch the tutorial on how best to do this below:
Salt Rub
Rubbing your meat with salt will make even the cheapest cut of meat more tender. So much so that they even refer to this method as the poor man’s filet mignon.
First, you’ll want to coat the entire cut of steak with a coarse salt. Leave it out on your counter for 1 hour per inch of meat. Then wash off all of the salt completely and pat it dry before you cook it.
You can check out the video below for the full tutorial on this method.
Slow and Low
As you might assume, putting your meat in a slow cooker will absolutely tenderize your meat. Using a slow cooker traps the moisture inside of your meat which is why it ends up tasting so juicy. Slow cooking your meat will allow you to cut through it like butter. It will literally melt in your mouth.
Slicing It
You can also slice your meat in such a way for maximum tenderness. You can score the meat and make shallow cuts on the surface of a thinner steak to break up proteins and all the meat to absorb its juices or marinade more. You can also slice in thinly across the grain to break up its long fibers so it becomes easier to chew.
Source: America’s Test Kitchen
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