Tenderizing meat with marinade

Some of the tastiest cuts of meat are also the toughest. Tenderizing meat can take several forms. For some cuts, a tenderizing mallet helps to break down the fibers. While this is an excellent method especially if you are feeling the need to let off some steam, there are less physical ways to have tender meat. You can use a marinade.

Most marinades are made up of three parts, some fat, an acid of some sort and flavoring usually in the form of herbs and spices. Following are a few marinade methods and tips.

Methods:

Acid

In the acid method, some of the most popular ingredients used are wine, vinegar and some form of citrus. While these add a lot of flavor to the meats that they marinate, they are not all that effective at tenderizing, If the meat is left to marinate too long, (more than two hours), the opposite effect will occur.

When using an acidic marinade, less is more. Be judicious in the strength and don't overpower the meat.

Enzymes

A second method of marinating is the use of enzymes. Several fruits are popular as ingredients in marinades, including pineapples, ginger, and kiwi. These won't make the meat tough if they're left on for too long but they can make it mushy. Again, less is more and shorter than two hours is the way to go.

Dairy

A third method of marinating is the most gentle, and it involves using a dairy product such as Greek yogurt or buttermilk. These are both slightly acidic and have the desired effect in a gentle way.

Types of marinades

If you have a tough cut of meat and you want to make it delicious and less tough what marinade works the best? There are proponents for all three methods and the best method is to use trial and error to find out what works best for the meat that you have.

• One easy acid marinade is bottled Italian salad dressing. It has all the necessary components, oil, acid, and herbs. Placing a piece of meat in a Ziplock bag along with the bottled dressing is simple, and all that is required is to rotate it so that the meat is evenly marinated. It can be done simply with olive oil, red wine vinegar and chopped garlic or garlic salt if you prefer to control your ingredients.
• Lemon, lime or orange juice are also great with olive oil and whatever spice combination your family prefers. Black pepper and Herbs de Provence both combine well with citrus.
• Pineapple combines well with ingredients such as soy sauce and brown sugar to make a delicious marinade for chicken. This marinade isn't only good with chicken, it also works with steak and pork.
• Buttermilk is a popular marinade for fried chicken. By adding a strong ingredient such as cayenne pepper to the milk, you can give your fried or baked chicken a real pop of flavor.

When you want to give your food a lot of flavor and tenderize your meat, marinating is the way to go, and a method that every cook should have in his or her arsenal. It can make even the toughest cuts of meat delicious.