Summary
How do the “viandards” and professionals to tenderize a meat and make it so tasty? Why and how is my meat so hard? How to obtain tender and melting beef? Can the marinade tenderize all hard meats? How to make a stew, a beef bourguignon or any simmered dish without the meat being dry? How to make a meat too hard tender after cooking? Even a beef steak in the pan?
How do the “viandards” and professionals make a meat and make it so tasty?
Meat is not a world apart, reserved only for specialists. The art of cooking is not lacking in tips and tricks capable of satisfying seasoned lovers of a good piece of meat, full of proteins and vitamins. We will review through a game of questions and answers, all the methods, 10 in all, so that your family meal no longer turns into a pitched battle, knife between the teeth!
Why and how is my meat so hard?
It is important to go to the butcher, a professional who knows his business well. Indeed, the tenderness of the meat will also depend on the choice of the piece, the date of slaughter, the packaging, and the quality of the supply. Forget the eternal “it’s the butcher’s fault, he served me his leftovers!” You must be more specific when making your request: “beef to baise, pork for the oven, cutlets for the pan … ». These details are important for the professional, who will also give you valuable advice and this bouquet of aromatic plants that hangs out on his worktop.
How to obtain tender and melting beef?
By rolling your piece of meat, in coarse salt, a few spoons of baking soda or in honey, you will give these ingredients time to act on the fibers of the meat. It will then be more tender after rinsing.
It is quite possible, too, to cook meat in crust with the same ingredients. The principle? A steam cooking that will soften even the hardest meats. Baking soda, salt and honey in abundance, will give after a passage through the oven, to your legs, fleshy parts of the beef, beautiful golden crusts, which everyone loves, except this aunt, who wants to be tougher than meat! On the other hand, monitor the cooking time.
Can the marinade tenderize all hard meats?
This is a method that could be described as a grandmother’s trick, which would make starred chefs scold! And yet, it is indeed this, since the dawn of time, women have found practical tricks to satisfy the whole family, and often with the means at hand. They have experienced everything and today we benefit from these finds, which have become traditions. The marinade is one of them. To tenderize hard meat, it must be moisturized, allow its fibers to relax. It therefore contains acidic and softening elements. The question that arises in this case concerns the duration of maceration. The answer is relative, and depends on many criteria, including the type of meat and marinade. 3 to 6 hours, and the case could be heard! It’s your turn to experiment and make your own contribution.
Thanks to the acidity… lemon, vinegar
The acid element is highlighted here. Of course, you’re not going to look for chemicals, although, in molecular cuisine… You need elements that contain non-abrasive, softer acids, which are nevertheless able to penetrate the muscle fibers and relax them. Lemon, red wine vinegar or cider, will do. Note that tomato, pineapple or papaya are excellent meat tenderizers!
Thanks to lactic ferments: milk, cream, dairy products.
Lactic ferments contain touching powers, thanks to their famous enzymes that do so much good to the digestive tract, which will overcome the hardest meats. This foolproof technique therefore consists of soaking your raw meat in these nutrients. We must no longer see a single square inch of meat, whatever it is. Here too, time is on your side: between 5 to 8 hours, or a night in the refrigerator.
This crazy life makes you boil? What if, you let off steam by “beating” this hard meat?
Yes, sometimes in the kitchen, we tend to want to let off steam… physically! What we are going to discuss now is rightly called: hammering. We hit the piece of meat, to destroy the fibers and thus tenderize it.
You have two options. With or without meat mallet.
Without tools: put your piece of meat in a clean cloth or film it vigorously, then place it on your countertop and start tapping on it for a few minutes. Observe the effects, you will not have any unpleasant surprises!
With a meat mallet: As with the previous method, simply hit your previously packaged pieces of meat and observe the final result.
How to make a stew, a beef bourguignon or any simmered dish without the meat being dry?
“Simmering” is in itself a method of tenderizing meat. It is important to cook it over low heat for a long time and especially to pay attention to the level of water, salt or tomato! It is too often forgotten, tomato sauce with its acidic action, its water, counts for a lot in the success of dishes called casserole! Upstream, we will have taken care to cut the pieces of tomato and also slip a teaspoon or two of baking soda. Shhh, it’s a secret!
How to make a meat too hard tender after cooking?
Sometimes you miss your cooking. Don’t panic! You now have a lot of tips and tricks to get out of it. You can use marinade for example, or milk.
It’s never too late! Here’s how to catch up with the meat of a beef bourguignon too hard?
It’s never too late to set things right! Packaging technology should suffice. After taking them out of the pot, wrap the pieces of meat, ideally in aluminum foil or cling film and leave in the refrigerator, for a quarter of an hour. This involves cutting cooking and rehydrating the meat with its own water losses. To serve hot, slide everything into an oven at 80 ° C. Meat lovers will see the difference!
And to tenderize a skewer of beef? How do I do this?
The method is much the same. Except that the barbecue tends to seize very quickly the blood, and the water of the grilled meat. By always wrapping in aluminum foil, or cling film, you give it a chance to find juice. If necessary, slide them, still packaged, into a low-power oven. The trick also works with a leg of lamb overcooked from the outside.
Even a beef steak in the pan?
For beef or pork steak, you need to intervene, urgently, with an ingredient you already have in the refrigerator: sparkling water. Bathe the room, taking care to recover beforehand, the juices and the juice, for your sauce. Soak, covered, for five minutes and reheat in the oven. More efficient than in a hot pan. The ice cube technique also gives good results.
You are now at “point”, on all the tips and techniques that you can now put into practice, to satisfy the viandards around you! Before, during and after cooking, you will ensure on all fronts!
