How to tenderize tough meat
- Thread starter Rev_Night
- Start date
what automatic jack said
what 'steaks' did you buy?
some cuts that don't get a lot of exercise are already almost perfectly tender and edible before they're cooked, and should get high heat for a very short time just to cook the outside.
meat from areas of the cow that work a lot are going to be tough and need to break down over the course of an hour or two (or much more) with low heat or a braise.
there is also how you cut it when you eat it. against the grain = easier to eat.
what 'steaks' did you buy?
some cuts that don't get a lot of exercise are already almost perfectly tender and edible before they're cooked, and should get high heat for a very short time just to cook the outside.
meat from areas of the cow that work a lot are going to be tough and need to break down over the course of an hour or two (or much more) with low heat or a braise.
there is also how you cut it when you eat it. against the grain = easier to eat.
This guy is correct.
And any piece of meat that went from $22 to $8 probably isn't worth attempting to eat.
I make godlike NewYork Strips every week on my propane grill. Get it really really hot >500 and throw them on there and a 2 inch thick steak is seared in 5-8 minutes. Flip it after the first minute to seal in the top side and then 3-4 minutes a side. longer if you like your steaks cooked beyond rare.
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yeah, you got shitty steaks.
Toughness has nothing to do with how cooked it is, except under crazy circumstances like you slowly baking all the moisture out of the meat. Even then it would just get crumbly, not tough. I'm not sure where you got this notion that overcooked = tough.
You understand that tough meat is meat with a lot of fibrous/sinewy muscle tissue running through it, right? You can't add this tissue if it isn't there in the first place.
There are a few things you can do to soften it up though if you have shitty beef. You can make it tender by cooking it in a broth (stewing) or slow cooking it in liquid (crockpot) for a day, or by tenderizing it with a *gasp* tenderizer.
Also: failing to cook beef on a propane grill is pretty sad.
Toughness has nothing to do with how cooked it is, except under crazy circumstances like you slowly baking all the moisture out of the meat. Even then it would just get crumbly, not tough. I'm not sure where you got this notion that overcooked = tough.
You understand that tough meat is meat with a lot of fibrous/sinewy muscle tissue running through it, right? You can't add this tissue if it isn't there in the first place.
There are a few things you can do to soften it up though if you have shitty beef. You can make it tender by cooking it in a broth (stewing) or slow cooking it in liquid (crockpot) for a day, or by tenderizing it with a *gasp* tenderizer.
Also: failing to cook beef on a propane grill is pretty sad.
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Mangle-Me-Elmo
Veteran XX
i dunno
skirt steak is pretty cheap and very tasty with a lil extra work
charqual!
skirt steak is pretty cheap and very tasty with a lil extra work
charqual!
HypnosisFX
Veteran XX
I use a little Sea Salt for about 15 minutes then wash it off. then i hit it with a tenderizer hammer and then grill it. My steaks come out soft and tender.
ok, so steaks are high heat, low time. Ill go back to safeway tonight and see what steaks they are having so cheap.
you better be buying shitty steaks if you are doing this to them
. the in the oven for an hour part. Beating the shit out of them before cooking is a good way to tenderize a crappy cut. I think myth busters found that shooting them out of a cannon at a wall works well as long as you can find the pieces.
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Mangle-Me-Elmo
Veteran XX
isn't safeway a gas station?
that shit's gonna be tender mmmm mmmmm.
btw - tenderizing can be a lot of fun and it does work:
