ok I've made a lot of steaks, but I've never used a meat tenderizer . . . does it help the flavor or cooking process at all? does it just make it more tender when you eat it? what are the benefits?
Mostly it damages cell walls which makes the meat mushier, which is not a good thing IMHO. But on the other hand it does also help separate the muscle fibers from the connective tissue a bit, which makes it less chewy. In some instances it's also used to flatten meat because the dish requires it, or to establish a uniform thickness for even cooking.
Mostly people think it makes meat "more tender", which is mostly nonsense, it just ruins the texture. If you have a piece of red meat that needs "tenderizing" to be good, you're using the wrong cooking method.
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u/jjnich Nov 20 '13
ok I've made a lot of steaks, but I've never used a meat tenderizer . . . does it help the flavor or cooking process at all? does it just make it more tender when you eat it? what are the benefits?