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9 Ways of Tenderizing Meat

Like many things at the grocery store these days, the price of meat has gone up. So, if you’re looking to stretch your budget by buying cheaper cuts of meat, good news. Once you learn the secrets behind these 9 ways of tenderizing meat, you can buy those cheaper cuts and have them cook up like an expensive piece of meat.

Instant Pot Pork Carnitas. Photo credit: Bagels and Lasagna.

Cook in Your Slow Cooker

A person holding a raw pork roast above a slow cooker filled with carrots.
Photo credit: Bagels and Lasagna.

There’s something about the slow roast that occurs in a Crock Pot that makes meat fall apart. So when you have a tougher cut of meat — pork, steak or chicken — consider slow cooking it so you’ll have a tender dinner in the end.

Use Your Electric Pressure Cooker

Photo credit: Bagels and Lasagna.

Like the slow cooker, your electric pressure cooker, aka the Instant Pot, does a great job of automatically tenderizing any meat you put in it. When we use our Instant Pot to make pulled pork or carnitas, we know that at the end of the cook, the meat will melt in our mouth.

Mechanical Tenderizing

Raw beef steaks rest on a wooden board, accompanied by a metal meat tenderizer—an essential tool for mastering how to tenderize meat effectively.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.

Mechanical tenderizing can help make meat thinner and break down muscle to make it more tender and easy to cut. One of the common ways to use mechanical tenderizing on cuts of meat like a round steak or other tough cuts of beef is a meat mallet.

Brining

A hand holds raw pork fat above a pot filled with liquid. Slices of pork fat are stacked on the left. Kitchen utensils hang in the background.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.

You probably think about brining and your Thanksgiving turkey. Well, brining works to tenderize meat, too. Brining itself is rather easy. It only involves mixing the brine — sugar and salt — submerging the meat and keeping it all cold.

Yogurt Marinade

Raw pork steak coated in a creamy marinade on a plate, with a bowl of marinade, a raw steak on a board, garlic, and rosemary nearby.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.

Yogurt is a popular way of tenderizing meat, because the lactic acid in the yogurt breaks down proteins in the meat, making it tender and flavorful. It’s a popular choice for middle Eastern and South Asian dishes, such as tandoori chicken or kebabs.

Mustard and Honey Marinade

Raw turkey legs in a baking dish being coated with a mustard-based marinade.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.

Marinating is a common way to quickly tenderize meat and add flavor. Many different ingredients will tenderize meat when added to a marinade, such as mustard, an acid, and honey, a sugar.

Using Vinegar or Wine

Person brushing marinade on raw steaks with herbs and cherry tomatoes on a wooden board.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.

Once again, acid and sugar play a part in tenderizing a piece of meat. So reach for vinegar, be it apple cider balsamic or white vinegar, or a wine to marinate your meat in. Think of a dish like coq au vin, where the meat cooks right in the wine.

Velveting Meat with Baking Soda

A piece of raw beef on a brown plate sits on a wooden surface, with a small amount of white powder beside it.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.

According to Arm and Hammer, “Velveting is a simple process of using baking soda or a mixture of egg whites, cornstarch and oil to marinate and tenderize economical cuts of steak, chicken and other meats before cooking. Velveting meat softens fibers to reduce toughness and enhance juiciness for maximum flavor and tenderness.”

Pineapple or Pineapple Juice

Grilled pork chops with caramelized pineapples, garnished with rosemary, on a ceramic dish.
Photo credit: Depositphotos.

Pineapple and pineapple juice have an enzyme called bromelain that breaks down the proteins in meat, making it more tender. You may think about pineapple on an Easter ham but chances are it made that meat tender and delicious.
Read the article for more tips on how to tenderize meat

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