What if I don't have a meat tenderizer?

Author: Kathryne Raynor  |  Last update: Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Use a Meat Mallet: You can pound the meat with a mallet to tenderize it before cooking. This has the added benefit of flattening the meat out so that it cooks faster. If you don't have an actual meat mallet among your kitchen equipment, you can use something heavy such as a cast-iron pan or a rolling pin instead.

What to use if you don't have a meat tenderizer?

If you don't have a meat tenderizer, there are several alternatives you can use to tenderize meat: Acidic Marinades: Use ingredients like vinegar, lemon juice, or yogurt. The acid helps break down proteins in the meat, making it more tender.

What is equivalent to meat tenderizer?

The practice of tenderizing meat with alkaline substances has been practiced historically around the world. In Asian cooking, particularly in Chinese and Korean cuisine, using alkaline agents such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to soften tough cuts of meat has been a common technique.

Do you really need a meat tenderizer?

Ideally, skirt steaks and flank steaks should be tenderized since they have much long and tight muscle fibers which make it quite hard to chew them. Using a meat tenderizer for such steaks will help you plate succulent pieces at the end of your cook.

Can I use baking soda instead of meat tenderizer?

Baking soda acts as a tenderizer for ground beef, keeps it moist during cooking, and encourages deep browning by raising the acidity level of the surface of the meat. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 pound of ground beef for more tender meat with better browning.

The most tender beef in 15 minutes! The Secret to Tenderizing the Toughest Beef Quickly

What is the best homemade meat tenderizer?

News & Recipes
  • 1) Tea. Tea contains tannins, which are a natural tenderiser. ...
  • 2) Coffee. Coffee adds flavour and acts as a natural tenderiser. ...
  • 3) Cola. The acid content of cola makes it a great tenderiser. ...
  • 4) Pineapple, pawpaw, figs, kiwis. ...
  • 5) Ginger. ...
  • 6) Baking Soda. ...
  • 7) Vinegar. ...
  • 8) Beer or wine.

How long to soak meat in baking soda to tenderize?

Wet Brining with Baking Soda to Tenderize Meat
  1. Step 1: Dissolve Baking Soda into water. Use 1 teaspoon of baking soda and ½ cup of water for every 12 ounces of meat.
  2. Step 2: Soak meat in solution for at least 15 minutes. ...
  3. Step 3: Remove meat and rinse thoroughly. ...
  4. Step 4: Cook as desired.

What is a common meat tenderizer?

Types of Meat Tenderizers

There are also two main types of physical meat tenderizer tools: mallets and bladed/needled models. Chemical meat tenderizers involve added ingredients. This option usually relies on the action of enzymes, or molecules that break the bonds between things like—you guessed it—collagen proteins.

How to tenderize chicken without a meat tenderizer?

Prepare the meat differently

Another person offered “If you want to tenderize the chicken you can use butter milk. Put the chicken in buttermilk or milk and the enzymes tenderize nicely in not that much time.”

What is the best way to tenderize meat?

Pounding meat with a mallet is a surprisingly effective way to tenderize it. Acids can help break down tough meat. Soaking meat in a marinade made with lemon or lime juice, vinegar, buttermilk or even yogurt can help tenderize tough proteins.

What liquids are good for tenderizing meat?

Acids also can help soften tough cuts of meat. Acids commonly used include vinegar, tomato juice or citrus juice. Oils moisten the meat and add flavor. Red meat marinades often don't include oil since the meat generally contains enough fat, however chicken and fish benefit from oil since they are leaner meats.

What do Chinese people use as a meat tenderizer?

There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts. “People go for either egg white or baking soda as they are both alkaline ingredients.

What is a substitute for accent meat tenderizer?

Seasoned salts can be used as a substitute for accent seasoning. Kosher salt or Indian black salt can also work as substitutes. Herbs, spices, different types of salts, and salt substitutes without sodium can replace accent seasoning depending on the recipe.

Does soaking meat in vinegar make it tender?

1. marinating the meat with vinegar will make the meat much softer and tender after cooking; 2. the vinegar of the marinade will flavor your meat and enhance your recipes.

What to use if you don't have a rubber mallet?

Make Shift Rubber Mallet
  • Step 1: Items You Will Need. Tennis balls. ...
  • Step 2: Cut the Tennis Ball. Cut an X in the tennis ball approximately 2 inches long.
  • Step 3: Simple Mallet. Squeeze a the tennis ball and affix the hammer within the cross shaped hole.
  • Step 4: Hammer Away.

What can I use in place of a meat tenderizer?

In addition to acid-based foods, plant enzymes in fruits like pineapple and kiwi can tenderize meat. Like with lemon juice or vinegar, you don't want to leave these foods on beef for too long—it will make the meat soft. You can blend fruit to create a marinade.

What is the best liquid to tenderize chicken?

By the six-hour mark, the most tenderizing marinades were the same—orange juice, lemon juice, tomato sauce, and yogurt—with the addition of rice vinegar. The buttermilk-marinated chicken was a bit more tender than before, but still not quite as soft as the others.

What is a natural tenderizer for chicken?

Marinating your chicken in something overnight can help make it all the more juicier and tender. You can use a gluten-free, acidic marinade (like olive oil and lemon juice) or something breadier (like baking soda, egg whites, and buttermilk).

Is a meat tenderizer necessary?

Tender cuts like chicken breasts, beef filet, pork loin, and so on don't need any tenderization. THey may be pounded to reshape them, but there is no real requirement.

Does sugar tenderize meat?

Tenderizer: Sugar can help break down proteins in meat and make it more tender.

Is baking soda a meat tenderizer?

In short, yes! A little baking soda can be used to tenderize meat. Note that the best use for this is on thinner steaks and ground beef burgers that will have a wide surface area when cooked. It won't be effective with tough cuts of meat like stew meat, which are best made tender with a low and slow braise.

What happens if you don't rinse baking soda off meat?

If baking soda is left on the meat before cooking, it can affect the flavor of the meat, sometimes giving it a metallic taste. Rinsing the baking soda off the meat before cooking will prevent this.

What is the secret ingredient to tenderize meat?

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

Do you have to rinse meat after velveting?

The longer it sits, the more tender it will be. However, if you velvet for longer than an hour, the meat will become too soft—more akin to goo than a tender cut of protein. Rinse well before cooking: After velveting the meat, you have the option to rinse off the baking soda or slurry to prevent clumps in your stir-fry.

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