Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Question On Meat Tenderizing

Take flank steaks for example. If you marinade first,would adding some papaya to the marinade be just as efficient and successful as shaking a meat tenderizing powder over the meat prior to marinating?

Also,is there a time maximum that a tenderizing powder should be used before cooking? Soecifically,can a meat tenderizer stay on the meat too long?

Bob, flank steak is very good, if marinated and cooked right...AND sliced right. I think the low fat content requires something added. I always use a marinade that has a lot of acid in it. It can be as simple as a mix of Italian dressing and Dales/Moores sauce, or I have one that has some hot sauce and tomato in it, but I can't recall all it has in there now, but will find the recipe later. It has a nice kick to it. An overnight soak is best. Cook to medium rare, and cut in strips, about a 1/4 inch thick to serve. Cutting across the grain and on the bias is a main key.

Also have a "mexican" marinade that I use along with grilling all the veggies for "grilled fajitas". Again, a main key is slicing.

Don't worry about tenderizing powders. Never have used them.

slicing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dFRGKoUPcE

care to share that recipe?

I will, gotta dig it out from somewhere.

Is it mojo? Bitter orange juice, garlic, oregano and other spices? Although, that might be more Cuban.

When I get to the laptop I will throw up a flank steak cook that's way cool.

I agree that liquid marinades work best. Italian dressing works wonders as does red wine.

I like 'mechanical' tenderizing more than using marinades.

Don't have to be exact with measuring...I got this online some years back, and made some adjustments on my own. Feel free to do the same. I marinate both flank steak and sliced veggies in it, to grill, slice the flank steak across the grain very thin, then serve like fajitas.

1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 c. lime juice
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. paprika
Can of beer

Mix together, cover flank steak in ziplock bag or other air tight container, best if in fridge overnight. Be sure to let the marinade and meat come to room temp before grilling. Veggies don't require overnight marinating.

I've used mojo too, and it's good.

That method works as well. Making cubed steak for supper. :-)

How would you "mechanically" tenderize flank steak?

Same way you'd tenderize veal or chicken for scallopinis,marsalas and picatas,I'd guess.

Thanks for the tips...and recipes,gents!

Appreciated.

Back in the day, my company served large Sirloin Steaks for our Safety Party. The grill cook always sprinkled the steaks with Adolf's about 20-25min before grilling. Any longer and the steaks would turn mushy.

I use the Jaccard tenderizer for our chicken fried sirloin steak.

http://www.amazon.com/Jaccard-20034..._2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326647569&sr=8-2

JMO, but for flank steak, proper slicing is all I think it needs. YMMV

place the flank steak between two sheets of wax paper, and pound it with a mallet.

Flank Steak is big in Miami, where I lived for so many years. Cubans did both, whacked it AND marinated it. They used the mojo stuff.

It's a helluva C&P, but it works and the tool looks like it would work as well as, or better than a hammer.

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=847444&destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct.jsp%3FproductId%3D716033%2
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I guess I just never thought it needed mechanical tenderizing if it was sliced right and marinated.

I have this one in the kitchen drawer here. Same general idea (I got mine at a garage sale), works great!

Multi tasking tool.