Basic Cooking Tips: How To Tenderize ANY Meat!

[u/SoupedUpRecipes]

Hi everyone, Today, I want to talk about how to tenderize meat before cooking, which includes cutting, pounding, and marinading.

Tip NO.1: Slice the meat against the grain

You’ve probably read in recipes and heard again and again that meat should always be sliced against the grain. What Exactly Is grain? It refers to the direction that the muscle fibers are aligned. Slicing the meat against the grain can shorten the fiber, which makes it easier to chew. In the opposite side, if you cut it with the grain, the fiber is very long and it is quite tough. 

Recipe Examples: 

• Toothpick Beef [牙签牛肉]: https://youtu.be/fL9OyNFBzj4
• Crispy Sweet And Sour Pork Northern Chinese Style [锅包肉]: https://youtu.be/BAYIYDgYwfs
• Pork Stir Fry with Celery [芹菜炒肉]: https://youtu.be/BFgSfC0kaN4

Tip NO.2: Use a meat tenderizer 

A meat tenderizer helps to break down the dense, tough muscle fibers and the protein that binds them. You just use it to pound the meat until the meat gets a little fluffy. This technique will be good for cooking steak, pork chop, and breaded chicken. 

Recipe Example: Easy Breaded Chicken Breast Recipe [炸鸡排饭]: https://youtu.be/GlMtOZQtOxI

TIP NO.3: Marinate the meat correctly

1. Baking soda does an amazing job at tenderizing meat
Cutting and pounding affects the grain in a physical way, Baking soda breaks down the meat fiber in a chemical way. I know it sounds wired. In fact, I have been using baking soda in many of my videos and it does an amazing job. It alkalizes the meat proteins and makes them hard to bond together which keeps the meat tender when cooking.
How to use baking soda?

• If it is a large piece of meat that you tend to grill or pan-sear: Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the surface. Rub it nicely. Do it on both sides. Let it rest in the fridge for 3 to 5 hours. Rinse the meat several times to remove all the baking soda. If you don’t rinse the baking soda off, the meat will have a weird taste. I don’t use this method often because I don’t eat steak that much and it is time-consuming to do this. Anyway, Wipe the water with a paper towel. Then you can cook the meat however you want.
• If you want to marinate smaller meat pieces: Just add some baking soda directly into the meat with other seasonings. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes before cooking. One important note is that over adding baking soda bring a weird bitter taste. I will suggest no more than 1/2 tsp/ pound of meat. 
• If you use baking soda in the marinade, it is better not to use anything sour like vinegar, lime juice at the same time. Because baking soda will react with the acid and lose the effect. 

Recipe Examples: 

Chicken Chow Mein (Chinese Stir Fry Noodles): https://youtu.be/LhfmijhNfqY

Sweet and Sour Pork [酸甜咕噜肉]: https://youtu.be/_4fFSKXIsBs

Pepper steak: https://youtu.be/y70Zjr8R_UQ

2. Velveting helps you to create a juicy, tender texture of meat

• Velveting is a technique in Chinese cuisine for preserving the moisture of meat while cooking. It is Chinese restaurants’ secret. They use it to create that juicy, velvety texture of meat. 
• We usually pre-coat the meat with a mixture of egg white, corn starch, some Chinese cooking wine, and other seasonings for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Then the meat can be stir-fried, which I have done it in my chicken and broccoli recipe; You can deep-fry it which I showed in my Mongolian beef recipe, or you can boil the meat, my spicy pouched beef recipe is a perfect example. 
• What the velveting mixture does is that it protects the meat fibers, preventing them from seizing up, which leads to the juicy tender meat. This technique gives the meat a starchy layer, which is perfect for recipes that have lots of sauce because then the meat can catch a lot of flavors. 

Recipe Examples: 

Chicken and Broccoil: https://youtu.be/G5UvqrlI_MM

Sichuan Spicy Poached Beef Recipe [水煮牛肉]: https://youtu.be/yJSuI1VEslA

Easy Mongolian Beef Recipe: https://youtu.be/noHyHzFUC0A

3. Some fruits also have the ability to tenderize the meat, such as orange, Pineapple, green papaya. 

• It needs to freshly grind puree or juice. Long life commercial fruit product does not work. Using fruit puree or juice as a meat tenderizer adds some freshness and fruity taste to the dish， which is what a lot of people love about.
• Here is how I do it: Marinade the meat with whatever seasoning and spices you like. Then add in some freshly squeezed orange juice. Mix it for 5-8 minutes. Refrigerate until you are ready to cook. 
• If you use papaya or pineapple puree, just rub it on both sides of the meat. Leave it at room temperature for 30 - 40 minutes. Unlike the acid in the orange juice, papaya and pineapple use enzyme to tenderize the meat which works better at room temperature. Do not marinate the meat for too long because the enzyme can make the meat extra mussy.

Recipe Example

Orange Chicken: https://youtu.be/GJ9OpCT9Ark

Ok, those are all the tips that I have for tenderizing meat. I am sure there are many other ways. If you know anything that I didn’t mention, leave me a comment down below the video so we can all learn. I hope this video inspired you and if it did, give me a thumbs up, please!

[u/MoriNana]

Wow, I didn't know you were active on Reddit! I love your channel. Thank you for sharing!

[u/SoupedUpRecipes → u/MoriNana]

Thank you for watching my vdeos.

[u/CrazyTillItHurts]

How would black or white peppercorns in place of the one another change the outcome?

I really like the way you speak

[u/SoupedUpRecipes → u/CrazyTillItHurts]

White pepper smells stronger and tastes much spicer. The flavor usually lasts longer when you are doing stew or soup. Black is a bit gentle and smells different. The flavor is easy to get lost when cooked a long time.

[u/MyOldGaffer]

Salt. Salting in advance definitely should be mentioned in this convo. Makes a big difference. Time depends on the meat.

[u/BaconBitz109 → u/MyOldGaffer]

How far ahead before cooking would you salt chicken breasts?

[u/jaylow6188 → u/MyOldGaffer]

Along the same lines, brine.

[u/Cenzorrll]

Tip NO.1: Slice the meat against the grain

As a whittler, "against the grain" as used in the cooking world bothers me. You're cutting across the grain.

Against the grain is still a parallel cut.

[u/norwegianjon → u/Cenzorrll]

As a woodworker, thank you! I've been confused by this before

[u/workingishard → u/Cenzorrll]

This has bothered and confused me for a long time. I still second guess myself every time I hear it.

[u/[deleted] → u/Cenzorrll]

So to cut against the grain of a steak I should cut perpendicular to the grain? I've actually been confused by what that means.

[u/FiveFootTerror]

I'd like to know if anyone tries these techniques with game meat - specifically venison. I have a whole freezer full, and no matter how I cook/slice/marinate, it is the toughest, driest meat I have ever eaten. I've gone so far as to cube it and slow cook it with bacon trimmings and knobs of butter and it still is unpleasantly dry, fibrous little chunks.

[u/Zuribus → u/FiveFootTerror]

I only cook venison stew, meat is marinated in rakija, its a really hard liquor from Balkans, but I guess any hard liquor without much flavor should do, 12 hours prior to cooking put it all in the fridge...lots of chopped onions, carrots, fry it on oil, add meat with the liquor, fry it more, then simmer it for 6 hours with lots of water, everything should be covered in water all the time, 1 hour before the end add red wine, chopped dry plums, chakalaka spices, za'atar, chopped capers and tomato puree...it's one of the best dishes I can make, everyone absolutely loves it, try something along those lines, I guess the point is in cooking it for a long time, marinated in alcohol first, learned all this from a bunch of old hunters, I hope you will try it !

[u/Jennachar → u/FiveFootTerror]

With venison I typically used a blade tenderizer. Also are you using good cuts of the animal?

[u/head_meets_desk → u/FiveFootTerror]

meat grinder (there's even a kitchen aid attachment one)
Find a burger recipe you like
have an amazing meal even with subpar cuts (which is a lot of the meat)

[u/brozark → u/FiveFootTerror]

Even your backstraps are tough? I've been eating tenderloin from a kill last Nov. and no matter how far beyond rare I take it, it is still incredibly tender.

[u/zem → u/FiveFootTerror]

have you tried pressure cooking it? never cooked venison, but it works well for goat, which can also be really tough if not cooked properly.

[u/demonbadger]

Everyone knows that you have to serenade the meat to make it tender.

[u/sailororgana]

I've been doing the baking soda thing whenever I cut up meat for stir fry and it works beautifully. I usually use fairly cheap cuts of beef or pork and adding just a bit of baking soda to the marinade makes it melt in your mouth tender.

[u/aspbca]

Agree on Salt! Brining the whole bird makes a lot of difference esp if u plan to fry it later..

[u/fazik93]

A popular south asian technique is to use raw papaya or papaya paste

[u/rdldr1]

A baking soda marinade for meat does wonders!

[u/contrabardus]

Buttermilk is also good for tenderizing meat.

It has a high acidic content and is really great to use as a tenderizer for poultry in particular.

Soaking chicken in buttermilk overnight will result in the best fried chicken you've ever made.

Also, a buttermilk soak is the secret to perfect Onion Rings.

It not only tenderizes the onion making it easier to chew after being fried, but also cuts down on the harsh onion flavor, leading to sweeter and milder onion rings.

[u/BitPoet]

Time and temperature. Regardless if it's smoking, braising, sous vide. You're using temperature and time to break down the tough cuts of meat.

[u/[deleted]]

Great advice will definitely take on board. Your channel is also really amazing, your recipes really are one the best.