BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)

Subject: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 07:56 PM

You can find anything on the internut. Hundreds and hundreds of pages about whatever but, for some things, you can't beat asking friends.

So, anyone wanna share their recipe(s) for a marinade for tenderizing tough cuts of steak? Of course, any and all recipes are welcome - not just tenderizing recipes.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 09:07 PM

Cheap beer. Let the steaks soak in it for several hours before you cook them. And I mean REALLY cheap beer -- like that Canadian stuff, you know, Budweiser.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 09:16 PM

Or put it on a sturdy board on a table or stump and whack it with something -- the butt of an axe works, as do those tenderizing mallets you can buy in the gourmet shops. Then soak it in cheap beer. Be sure to sear both sides before cooking it.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Beer
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 09:41 PM

That is a really low blow Rap. Especially knowing how Gnu loves BUD.
i agree in that you should pound the hell out of it or put it on the floor and jump on it. Then soak it in some cheep beer like a Light Beer. I call it training beer.
ad.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 10:20 PM

If you know a logger who wears calked boots or a golfer you can have them stomp yer steak.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: gnu
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 10:39 PM

Light (or Lite as it's spelled down south) beer? I'd rather be fat than sober.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: frogprince
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 10:47 PM

"...a logger who wears calked boots or a golfer..."

Fergawdsake, guys; beat your meat if you must, but don't stomp on it!

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Janie
Date: 08 Jul 12 - 11:00 PM

I'm pretty loose when it comes to mixing marinades and don't measure anything, so I can't really give a recipe, and what I might use to marinate steaks for broiling is very different from what I would use for a roast.

I'm assuming for now you are wondering about steak marinades. I don't eat a lot of beef, so tend to splurge on good cuts, but have fairly recently run across a commercial marinade "Stubbs Beef Marinade" that is better than anything I have concocted on my own for steaks, be they tender or tough cuts. tough cuts of beef may be tough, but are also more flavorful. A fillet may melt in one's mouth, but is not all that flavorful.

Regardless, to tenderize a tough cut the marinade needs a fair amount of acidity. I prefer lime juice to lemon juice for beef. A concoction that includes tamari, lime juice, perhaps some Worcester sauce, garlic, salt, pepper and some hot pepper, a pinch of dried mustard, and a little bit of grated lime or lemon peel is good. Tender cuts such as ribeyes, NY strip steaks, t-bones or porterhouse can benefit from just a short soak of 30 minutes per side. Tougher cuts such as round or chuck steaks are yummy if marinaded 12-24 hours.

I like red wine or red wine vinegar for beef roasts, and other herbs as well as a little honey, but not for steaks. Adding sweetening to a steak marinade turns it into a bar-b-que sauce instead of a marinade, in my very humble opinion.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 09 Jul 12 - 01:02 AM

2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or else leftover red wine)
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
one clove minced garlic, if you like garlic

Marinate in fridge, but don't ask me how long. Turn occasionally, for even tenderizing.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: JennieG
Date: 09 Jul 12 - 02:57 AM

Apparently kiwi fruit can be used, as it has an enzyme which works on the meat to tenderise it. According to a couple of sites I found you puree kiwi fruit in a food processor or blender (or I suppose you could mash well with a fork if you don't have one of those gadgets) and smear it on both sides of the meat for three hours or so. When ready to grill the meat just wipe off the fruit first and it doesn't affect the meaty flavour.

Let us know what it's like!

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Jul 12 - 03:49 AM

Tough meat will never become like fillet steak. Either cook slowly, or try any marinade that includes a vinegar type of ingredient. This helps break down the fibres of the meat.
As has been said, bash the meat to start the brekkdown of the tough fibres, After that try equal parts of cider or wine vinegar, teriyaki, soy sauce, and olive oil. It's also a good idea to stab your steak a few times with a fork before putting into the marinade.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: GUEST,999
Date: 09 Jul 12 - 08:54 AM

Use a rolling pin on the steak, smacking it every now and then where the lumps form. Good method for tough cuts that can then be marinated with all the stuff people mentioned in previous posts. Fast fry or bbq.

Get a tough piece of meat and cut the fat off it. Cover it completely with sea salt or Kosher salt. If it's an inch thick, leave it alone with the salt for an hour. Scrape the salt off, rinse the steak and pat it really well to dry it. Good for grilling. I wouldn't go more than medium because if you dry it out you have screwed up.

Slow cook in liquid. Then you don't have to do all that stuff. After 6 hours, let the vessel cool and skim off the fat. Send the fat to Ottawa.

Alternatively, you can start with corn-fed raccoon. Grill or cook in liquid. It'll be greasy enough to slide down unaided by tenderizers or even mastication, into one's gullet, onward to the stomach and intestines and outward to a brave new world of swirling waters and dark tunnels lit by the lonely glow of one last ember of light calling all from the dark recess.

Bon appetit!

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 Jul 12 - 09:39 AM

I think Bruce is talking about sending his old friend Mr Brown off, on a trip to the coast.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 10 Jul 12 - 06:13 AM

Not a marinade exactly, as not a long-term process; but I always enjoy a steak more when it has, prior to grilling, been well salted & peppered both sides, then soaked on both sides by being drawn thru a layer of virgin olive oil to which several splashes of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, + salt & black pepper, have been added.

~M~

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 10 Jul 12 - 11:10 AM

...Oh ~~ + a pinch of mustard powder. And of course fresh-made powder mustard to come along: none of your rubbish from a jar that loses all flavour 4 minutes after opening!

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 05:52 PM

The best before date on the Lea & Perrins... if it's over three years past the date and never refrigerated, it should be fine, right? I hope so on account'a I just smelled it and then put some in the cup of my hand and sucked it back.

Mum used to keep a bottle in the cupboard for a dog's age before there were best before dates. Never got sick. We'll see, I guess.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 06:02 PM

I have the grocery store butcher put a "rub" on meat when I buy it. I keep the seasoned meat in the refirgerator a few days before cooking, and it's great.
But I can't eat marinated meat. It makes me fart. Why?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: michaelr
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 10:19 PM

Contrary to popular belief, marinades are actually not very good at tenderizing meat. Acid can toughen proteins, and enzymes make the meat mushy.

Meat mallets do a better job, but the best way to deal with a tough piece of meat is long braising (meaning in liquid, covered) in a low oven.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Teribus
Date: 11 Jun 17 - 04:36 AM

Tip I got from a Chef - best marinade for tough beef - Coca-Cola.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 11 Jun 17 - 01:16 PM

If you use Argentine beef it will always be tender!

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Janie
Date: 11 Jun 17 - 01:35 PM

Papaya tenderizes, but as others have noted, for tough cuts of beef that need to be fixed in a short amount of time, what the tenderizer does it render the meat chewable.

On the other hand, I don't expect to be able to make a round steak into a Ribeye or Porterhouse in terms of texture or true tenderness. They still can taste good and beefy though.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Janie
Date: 11 Jun 17 - 01:47 PM

Reflecting on how I became a food snob after marrying into a family with some wealth.

Remembering my own rather humble upbringing and beginning to revert back to using less expensive cuts of meat and Mom's techniques as I find myself with reduced finances in early retirement. Although I have some healthier techniques and recipes than she had access or knowledge of back in the 50's and 60's, finding it gratifying, plus feeling chagrined about how snooty I became over the years.

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Jun 17 - 11:10 PM

Well, Janie cooked one of the best steaks I've ever had in my life!

I don't know how she does it, but she's a whiz in the kitchen. What with Janie's steaks and Dani's biscuits and gravy, a man could get overweight on a visit to North Carolina...

Subject: RE: BS: Marinade recipes (tenderizing steak)
From: BobL
Date: 12 Jun 17 - 03:58 AM

For some reason I read the thread title as "Marmalade recipes" ... well, I suppose the acid would tenderize the steak, and the bitter orange flavour would add a certain je ne sais quoi...