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Each of us has our own image of perfectly cooked meat: someone loves baked chicken, someone loves fried pork kebab, and someone loves Burgundy beef, which was stewed for a long time in a fragrant sauce. But no matter what kind of meat you like, you probably want it to be soft and juicy. Indeed, who likes to chew on a hard, dry sole for a long time! But how do you make meat tender and juicy? Is there a secret here?
Choose the right meat
The easiest way to make meat tender and juicy is to use a cut that is tender enough by itself. We know meat is muscle, but not all muscles work the same way. Some are in constant motion, others, such as the tenderloin, hardly work, have a different structure of muscle tissue and are softer.
This does not mean that the tenderloin can be cooked soft, and the brisket cannot: just the latter contains a large amount of collagen protein, which must be cooked slowly and for a long time. Therefore, the most important thing is to find the right cooking method for the cut you have. Meat that is suitable for barbecue or steak should not be stewed, and vice versa.Read more: How to choose the right meat
Do not hurry
The most expensive types of meat are ready when you decide that they are ready: for example, steaks are fried not so much to soften the meat, but to obtain a golden crust and achieve the meat that is fried at the most delicious level. But with less expensive cuts, rich in connective tissue, things are different: the collagen contained in it requires a long heat treatment, as a result of which it is converted into gelatin.
Gelatin makes the juices contained in meat thicker, they stay inside the piece even when the protein structure changes, and we owe the famous effect of meat melting in the mouth to gelatin. The answer is obvious – you just didn’t extinguish it long enough. Do not rush, do not bother with the fact that during a long cooking of meat all vitamins will “go away” from it, but just give the meat the few hours it needs, and it will thank you in full.
Use acid
Exposure to an acidic environment helps to soften the meat as it denatures the protein. Imagine that a protein consists of many helices linked to each other. Under the influence of acid, these spirals straighten, the structure of the meat becomes less rigid – this process is called denaturation. For this reason, before cooking some dishes, such as kebabs, the meat is marinated with the addition of acidic foods.
But here, as in everything else, the measure is important: vinegar, pomegranate juice or kiwi pulp, of course, will soften the meat, but deprive it of taste and texture. There is quite enough acid, which is contained in fermented milk products, wine, onions and the like, not very acidic foods, and if they are not able to make your meat soft, then you just chose the wrong piece.
Do not overcook
If you used the right cuts of meat and still came out dry and tough, you may have simply cooked it for too long. Regardless of how you prepare the meat – boil, stew, bake or fry – the processes that take place inside are almost identical. Under the influence of high temperature, the protein begins to shrink, squeezing out the juices that are contained in the meat. It won’t be possible to completely avoid losing juices, but if you stop cooking the meat in time, there will be enough of them to keep the meat juicy.
Some housewives overcook the meat out of ignorance, others out of fear that it will remain raw, but this problem can be solved with a simple tool: a kitchen thermometer. Measure the temperature inside the meat and do not cook it longer than necessary to obtain a doneness level that suits your chosen piece.
Don’t forget about salt
Under the influence of salt, proteins are denatured in the same way as under the influence of acid. The only question here is time, but pickling is not a quick process either, and usually takes at least an hour. Pre-salting meat in brine or dry method makes it softer, as well as more tasty and juicy, since proteins that have passed through such a “soft” denaturation are not compressed so much during heat treatment, and more juices will be stored inside. it allows you to evenly salt the meat throughout the volume so that it takes just as much salt as needed. But if you prefer dry salting, please. The main thing is not to start frying or baking the meat immediately after you have rubbed it with salt, but let it lie down for at least forty minutes.
Defrost slowly
Of course, fresh meat is preferable to frozen, but sometimes you have to cook it too. If this is the case, resist the temptation to force the defrosting of the meat by placing it in the microwave or running hot water. This lack of ceremony is a sure way to lose a lot of liquid in meat, since the microscopic ice crystals formed in it will break its structure when quickly defrosted. Do you want defrosted meat to be juicy? Simply transfer it from the freezer to the top shelf of the refrigerator and let it defrost in the slowest and most gentle way. It may take a day, but the result is worth it – the loss of juices during defrosting will be minimal.
Give the meat a rest
Did you take the meat out of the oven or take the steak off the grill? I bet all you want at this moment is to quickly cut off a piece for yourself and enjoy the taste of mouth-watering meat that this maddening aroma exudes. But do not rush: without letting the meat “rest”, you risk losing most of the juices it contains: it is worth making a cut, and they will simply flow out onto the plate. Why is this happening? There are several different theories, but they all boil down to the fact that due to the temperature difference inside and on the surface of the meat, an imbalance is created in the distribution of juices inside the piece.
As the surface cools and the interior heats up under the influence of the residual heat, the juices will be evenly distributed inside. The lower the degree of roasting of the meat and the larger the size of the piece, the longer it needs to rest: if the steak is enough for five minutes in a warm place under a layer of foil, a large roast beef for several kilos may take half an hour.
Slice across the grain
Sometimes it also happens: the meat seems incredibly tough, but the problem is not that it is really tough, but that you are not eating it correctly …. The structure of the meat can be thought of as a tightly assembled bundle of rather thick filaments – muscle fibers. Separating the fibers from one another is much easier than cutting or biting through one of them. For this reason, any meat should be cut across the fibers: this will make it easier for you to chew it.
Wean
So, where acid and salt have failed, mechanical action will help! Beating meat with a special hammer or just a fist, or using a special tenderizer, you destroy its structure, doing the work in advance that your teeth would have to do. This method can be used to cook all sorts of schnitzels and chops, or to give a large layer of meat the same thickness – for example, then roll it into a roll. However, the general rule is: if you can not beat, do not beat … By destroying the structure of meat, you are depriving yourself of those texture nuances that usually make up a large share of the pleasure of eating meat dishes, so you should not try to soften already soft meat.
Win a su-vid
The most advanced and trouble-free way to cook meat soft and juicy, and from absolutely any cut, is the sous-vide technology. For those who are not yet aware of what it is, I explain: products (in our case, meat) are packed in a vacuum bag and cooked for a long time in water heated to a certain temperature – for example, beef cheeks need to be cooked for 48 hours at a temperature of 65 degrees. As a result, the meat is incredibly juicy and tender. The word “incredible” is not a figment of speech here: if you have not tried meat cooked in sous vide, do not even try to imagine its taste and texture. In order to start experimenting with sous vide, you will need a vacuum sealer and special equipment, But for a start, it is quite possible to get by with a multicooker and plastic bags with zip-lock, which are sold in every supermarket.
Well, this guide on how to make meat tender and juicy is long and detailed, but I must have missed something. Write your favorite ways and secrets of meat softening in the comments!