Food & Receipts

How to tenderize tough meat using common kitchen ingredients

When cooking, many people encounter the problem of tough and difficult-to-eat stir-fried meat, braised meat, and bone soups. Apply the following tips immediately to ensure that all your meat dishes are tender and easy to eat.

Administrator

21 December, 2023

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There are many reasons why beef, pork, and chicken can be tough. It could be because of poor quality meat, such as old chicken, tough chicken breeds like Cornish X, culled chickens, older roosters, spoiled pork, spoiled sow, frozen buffalo that has been frozen for a long time… Or it could be tough due to improper cooking methods, such as using too high heat, cooking for too long… Therefore, no matter the reason, one of the ways to make the meat tender and not tough is to marinate it with catalysts that make it tender faster.

Using fruits:

Many fruits contain natural enzymes that help break down proteins in meat, making them tender and juicier. Among them, the strongest enzyme is found in pineapple, papaya, followed by apples and mangoes. To reduce the sweetness in the dish, you should use slightly unripe fruits. And be aware that if using pineapple, only use a moderate amount of pineapple juice as pineapple is a very strong tenderizer that can make your meat too tender. Pineapple is especially suitable for beef stew, braised pork belly, or tough chicken stew. Or when stir-frying, you can also add some slices of pineapple to stir-fry together.

Using lime or vinegar: Marinating meat with lime or vinegar for 30 minutes before cooking also makes the meat much tender. In case you are making grilled meat or steak, marinate them with orange juice. If you use vinegar, choose a mild-tasting vinegar that is not too dark.

Using beer: Beer is also a marinating liquid that can help tenderize tough meat. And if you want to make braised meat tender quickly, especially when making braised pork belly, you can marinate them with beer. Beer helps to break down protein bonds faster, making the meat more tender. In the case of braising meat with eggs, adding beer also helps create a better color.

Using sake: When marinating the meat, remember to add a little olive oil with sake, and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight to enhance the flavor and make the meat more tender. Especially for grilled meat, marinating them this way will make them even more delicious.

Using Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola acts as a perfect meat tenderizer. Before cooking, soak the meat in Coca-Cola for 10 minutes. Then remove the soaking liquid and cook as usual. However, Coca-Cola is more suitable for grilled meat and braised dishes rather than stir-frying.

Using baking soda: Baking soda is also a marinating ingredient that helps tenderize meat. However, you should only use a small amount of baking soda, about 1 tablespoon for 1 liter of water. Soak the meat in the baking soda solution for about 30 minutes, then rinse and cook as usual.