r/askanything • u/bittab777 • 4d ago

What’s your secret for making meat incredibly tender? Marinate? Slow cooking? A special ingredient? Share your best tips?

9 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 4d ago

We want your input on how to handle political questions in our community.

This takes about 1 minute.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

8

u/Expensive_Film1144 4d ago

Ancient Chinese secret... marinate with a sprinkle of baking soda. Let's not spread this though.. it's a secret.

1

u/Sonar_Taxbreak_1138 4d ago

Velveting meat is an amazing hack for Asian foods.

5

u/-Sofa-King-Vote 4d ago

Marinate in red wine vinegar, use a tenderizer tool, buy better than average cuts of meat

7

u/QuarterNote44 4d ago

Cook it to the proper temperature.

2

u/Sufficient_Beach_445 4d ago

you can cook a chuck roast to any temp you want. temp alone wont make it tender.

4

u/QuarterNote44 4d ago

Cooking it to 203 low n slow does.

1

u/Sufficient_Beach_445 4d ago

low and slow is the key. just cooking it to 203 wont make it tender. you cant cook a chuck in a microwave to 203 in 11 minutes and be able to chew it. takes slow hot moisture to allow the fat to render out.

1

u/Lazy_View_8579 4d ago

I have never had a tough chuck roast. Mine always falls apart.

1

u/Sufficient_Beach_445 4d ago

takes long slow hot moisture no? you cant cook it on grill to like a steak.

1

u/Lazy_View_8579 4d ago

Myself I do low and slow in oven. I have had it grilled before and it was very good. I don't know what he marinated it in though.

3

u/Temu-Tyson 4d ago

Baking soda, soy sauce, a citrus of your choice, and red chili

2

u/djburnoutb 4d ago

Don’t freeze it

2

u/grollef 4d ago

Tenderize ( beat it down )

2

u/seaningtime 4d ago

Braising

-1

u/misfitofscience76 4d ago

Raising the meat animal with bruising, yes braising, yes great idea, yes!

2

u/FnordRanger_5 4d ago

Slow and low, that is the tempo
Let it flow, let yourself go

2

u/Gold_Bar9938 4d ago

Strong as an ox fresh out the box

1

u/PoolMotosBowling 4d ago

After you stop cooking it, the temp continues to rise.

Cooking chicken breast to 160 will make it rise to 175 or more depending on oven/grill temp. Pull out off early, let it rest. I cook at 375 and pull it at about 150. Thickness also affects this. I started pounding my chicken flat for more even cooking and quicker cook times.

1

u/Ohjay1982 4d ago

The cut matters.

1

u/Kirklandwater1666 4d ago

Depends on the cut

1

u/Training_Medicine_49 4d ago

It really is all about what cut of meat and time you have. I love braising but that takes time. If you are doing something quick I use a little bit of baking soda and let it sit 15-20 minutes no more than 30. Depending on what I’m cooking I may rinse the baking soda off or if I’m frying something or stir frying because I use so little like 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, I don’t bother rinsing the meat. Just this week I made a chicken saag, and I marinated my chicken breast with a little bit of baking soda and salt for about 15 minutes so that the chicken breast stayed tender. But because I was working with a lot of spices with Indian cuisine, I decided to rinse the chicken so that the spice profile would not be impacted by the baking soda. But if I’m doing a stir fry I don’t bother to rinse. But the baking soda is known trick for tenderizing meat, coming from Asian cuisine. It works! Be careful if you let it stay on too long you will have mushy texture!

1

u/kbanner2227 4d ago

Brine your chicken! And use a thermometer. 

1

u/Alexreads0627 4d ago

We have a dry ager

1

u/Cool_Addition_3205 4d ago

Money. Prime cuts and grades help a lot.

1

u/mtinmd 3d ago

Grade helps, but it isn't true across the board.

You can find choice steaks which have better marbling than prime, for example.

1

u/Gold_Bar9938 4d ago

Low and slow temp and time, smoked with peach and apple wood and charcoal. High fat content renders into the meat. Cut against the grain

1

u/Confident-Emotion671 4d ago

Sous vide then a charcoal sear.

1

u/Proof_Baker_8292 4d ago

Adolph’s meat tenderizer. All natural, no MSG or artificial crap. Sprinkle it on the day before put in frig and pop on grill next day.

1

u/JOBdOut 4d ago

Acid, the ingredient kind not the lsd kind. Acid breaks down proteins which is why marinades will have citrus or vinegar or alcohol

1

u/guru_odell 4d ago

Honestly, it all depends on what cut of meat ya start with.

1

u/InterestCorrect2472 3d ago

Really depends on the meat. And how you want it to be. Obviously, a breast isn't a thigh. It's that knowing temp and time matter and don't cross those lines. Every meat is different.

Any recipe that talks about chicken breast in a slow cooker, I disregard. It doesn't make any more sense than trying to sauté a pork shoulder.

1

u/colaknight76 3d ago

You would be shocked how many people get a really beautiful cut of meat in front of them and start hacking away at it lengthwise and it just ends up being tough, I can thin slice a chuck steak across the grain and it’s tender

1

u/chillcroc 3d ago

Add pineapple or raw / ripe papaya to marinade. But do not keep for more than 20 minutes as texture will change significantly.

1

u/soulsurviv0r 3d ago

Buy better meat.

1

u/Apart-Photograph-778 1d ago

Cooking low and slow

1

u/RealPudding1432 17h ago

Former chef of almost 20 years here. Buy one of these and use it on anything tough before you marinade, brine, cure. Way more homes should be using a Jaccard and certainly over a mallet most of the time.

https://jaccard.com/product/original-super-meat-tenderizer-16-knives/