What is a good natural meat tenderizer?

Add Some Fruit In addition to acid-based foods, plant enzymes in fruits like pineapple and kiwi can tenderize meat. Like with lemon juice or vinegar, you don't want to leave these foods on beef for too long—it will make the meat soft.

southernliving.com - The Secret Ingredients To Make Meat Tender - Southern Living

Can I put heavy cream in my coffee on keto?

Coffee with Heavy Cream Adding two tablespoons of heavy cream can substitute for coffee creamer for those who can't live without it. Two...

Last updated Apr 21, 2019

Does keto cleanse the liver?

More research shows that the keto diet can not only assist in weight loss, but that it can also help prevent Fatty Liver Disease and reverse fatty...

Last updated Apr 21, 2021

Promotion

If you have ever volunteered to cook the Thanksgiving turkey, you are probably familiar with the concept of brining—soaking the bird in a mixture of salt water and spices to make it tender and flavorful. Using a dry brine, or rubbing the meat down with salt and dry spices and letting it air dry in the refrigerator, is also a popular method to gain the same results. Along with salt, however, there are other ways and kitchen staples that you can use if you want to tenderize meats. Adding things like baking soda and water creates a chemical reaction that guarantees a juicy burger and succulent chicken. Before you fire up the grill this weekend or brown your ground beef for a pot of chili, read on for a quick science lesson on tenderizing any cut of meat you may cook.

Use a Marinade

Everyone loves a great marinade to add flavor to chicken, steak, or fish, but did you know it can also help tenderize the meat? Use an acid-based food, like lemon or lime juice, over meat. Only keep this marinade on for two hours because too much time can make the meat too mushy. In addition to acid-based foods, plant enzymes in fruits like pineapple and kiwi can tenderize meat. Like with lemon juice or vinegar, you don't want to leave these foods on beef for too long—it will make the meat soft. You can blend fruit to create a marinade.

Brine with Salt

Soaking meat in a salty brine helps the meat muscles absorb more water, thus retaining moisture. Through a process called "denaturing," salt causes protein in the meat to uncoil and form strings, which link to water. Brining with a salt solution helps keep the meat from drying out when cooked.

Tenderize with Baking Soda

Change the Meat's Chemistry

Using a solution of baking soda and water to tenderize meat works differently than using a brine. Baking soda neutralizes acid and raises the pH level on the surface of the meat, causing the outside to become more alkaline. This chemical reaction makes it more difficult for the proteins inside the meat to tighten up, and when proteins can't bond, the meat stays tender when cooked instead of constricting and toughening up.

Work Faster with Baking Soda

Tenderizing with a baking soda solution is faster than using a saltwater brine. Meat only has to sit in a baking soda solution for 15 to 20 minutes, but a brine solution can take at least 30 minutes to start working. Plus, letting the meat sit longer in baking soda will not harm it, whereas over-brining meat can make it stringy and mushy.

Use Less Baking Soda Than Salt

A standard brine for one and a half pounds of meat calls for one-fourth cup of salt dissolved in one quart of water. If using baking soda, make a solution of one-fourth teaspoon of baking soda and a pint of water for 12 ounces of ground beef. It takes a teaspoon of baking soda in its water solution for sliced meat, such as chicken and pork.

What happens to your body when you start ketosis?

Ketosis is a process that happens when your body doesn't have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy. Instead, it burns fat and makes things...

Last updated Dec 19, 2020

Should you wash grapes before eating?

To clarify, the whitish film you often see on grapes isn't from pesticides; it's called "bloom," a waxy coating produced by the plant itself to...

Last updated Jul 15, 2022

Promotion

How long to let meat sit in vinegar?

thespruceeats.com - How to Make a Homemade Meat Tenderizer - The Spruce Eats

Sometimes you can score a real deal on certain cuts of meat. Unfortunately, these cheap cuts are often tough, but that's nothing a little tenderizing can't fix. If you use a tenderizer, you can make a tasty dish and know you've saved money in the bargain. Here's how to make a cheap and easy meat tenderizer.

How to Make It

Just add 1 to 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to your cooking liquids and your roasts, stew meats, and steaks will come out tender and juicy every time. Another option is to pierce your meat all over with a fork and then soak it in vinegar for 1 to 2 hours before you cook it. Whichever method you choose, be sure to cook your meat in a non-reactive pan or dish. Cast iron and some other metals can react unfavorably with the acid in the tenderizer. Coated non-stick pans or glass baking dishes are ideal.

Why This Works

The acetic acid in the vinegar breaks down meat fibers, making them more tender and flavorful.

The Spruce / Miguel Co

Other Things You Can Use to Tenderize Meat

If you don't have any white vinegar on hand or would prefer to use something else, you can also use wine, citrus juice (lemon, lime, or orange), tomato sauce, beer, pineapple juice, soda, coffee, tea, buttermilk, yogurt, or any other type of vinegar (apple, balsamic, red wine, or white wine). The acid in these foods will tenderize the meat just like white vinegar. So choose a tenderizer with a flavor that appeals to you and complements the dish that you're making.

Other Ways to Tenderize Meat

If you want to tenderize meat without adding any flavor to it, there are several other options that you can employ:

What happens if I don't hit my fat on keto?

When you don't eat enough fat on keto, you deprive your body and your habituated brain of sugar, but you don't replace those calories with the...

Last updated Sep 16, 2019

What is a keto substitute for brown sugar?

The best keto substitutes for brown sugar are Swerve brown sweetener, Lakanto brown monk fruit sweetener, Anthony's golden erythritol, and monk...

Last updated Feb 19, 2022

Promotion

How do you know when your body is kicked out of ketosis?

How You Can Tell if You've Kicked Yourself Out of Ketosis Intense sugar cravings. Stalled weight loss. Crashed energy (likely a sugar crash,...

Last updated Sep 27, 2021

Promotion

How many slices of bacon can you eat on keto?

While this bacon is sugar-free, it's loaded with protein and contains fat, making it fit perfectly into a keto diet—two slices of cooked bacon only...

Last updated Dec 30, 2020