Grilled some boneless porky ribs last night.

the striations in the meat led me to believe they might be a bit on the stringy side, so i used a tenderizer blend.

Ingredients: salt, dextrose, papain, and tricalcium phosphate. no added salt and it was too salty when done.

Are there tenderizers where the enzyme 'is not' the third ingredient?

Meat Tenderizer

Substitute for Meat tenderizer
Pineapple juice, papaya juice, wooden or metal meat mallet

Read more from GourmetSleuth.com: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/meat-tenderizer#ixzz3G3tQbTeF

Have you used the gadget?

I know those juices will work, but will spoil for as often as they are used, and I don't drink umbrella drinks.

Yep I have used a jacard and and a tenderizing mallet.

I meant the hole puncher.

Who ain't used the hammer?

jaccard is the way to go

Agree with that if you don't have a cuber

hobart. i've used all the cheap tenderizers and nothing works like a hobart. they ain't cheap,but they are the best.the lem hand crank model works fairly well.

A cuber and a tenderizer are two separate things

A friend has one like that with a blade shape rather than a round point. Haven't found one like that locally.

Intuitively, it seems the blade style would work better. Does it matter?

http://www.mrtenderizer.com/

Thanks, guys. I'll order this Jaccard w/ free shipping from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Jaccard-20034...8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Mister+TENDERIZER

I use the jaccard on brisket aint gonna do that with a mrtenderizer

that thing sucks. mrtenderizer ain't worth buying.

this is the cheapest model i'd buy. i had on that worked pretty well on thin cuts.

http://www.lemproducts.com/product/stainless-steel-vertical-tenderizer/butcher-meat-tenderizers

I have the exact same unit. Mixed feelings from junk to so so based on recommendation Alton Brown' s Good Eats.

Ran a side by side comparison on some sirloin from the same steak.

Worked the damn thing like a sewing machine for about 3 minutes on one piece without much difference between the two.

JMHO

That's nice and all, and LEM seems to have a good rep, but I'm not spending $250 (220 plus shipping will make it close to 250 into my mitts) for an occasional use item.

Hell, that's a couple bricks of 22 rim!

it was a joke...... nobody has a sense of humor on here anymore but then maybe you bought one and speak from experience

I miss DIYguy.

I've Googled, but I have found several devices that use both names for the same device... and terminology seems to vary a lot.

Can you explain the difference between a tenderizer and a cuber in terms so simple that even a dumb ol' Swede can follow?

John

only differents i see is some press the meat to flatten and tenderize it. the 200.00 plus cuber from lem and my 2700.00 hobart(that have 50.00 in)both have metal knives that actually cut part way thru the meat. the flatten and cut to tenderize.

Absolutely correct George but we are talking about tenderizing tough cuts of meat aren't we?

John both devices actually DO THE SAME THING, tenderize tough cuts of meat. A rose by any other name deal. With a cuber the blades cut into or through the meat (depends on width setting) and flatten it as the meat is rolled through. Do it several times and you have cubed steak which is what most all chicken fried steak is made of.

A Tenderizer such as a Zacard just pokes relatively small holes in the meat but does not even it out unless you are using a hammer which is not advisable. You just keep stabbing it as long as you want to.

Thanks for the clarification on cuber vs. tenderizer guys!

John

they both try to do the same thing but nothing works like a hobart cuber.

Depending on what part of the country you live in, you can actually buy papaya nectar at the grocery store, on the Hispanic foods aisle. It has the enzyme papain in it, which is an excellent tenderizer. The nectar is a liquid that you can soak the meat in, like a marinade. It does a great job on beef steaks. I've not used it with other meat. I've always marinated the steaks in the papaya nectar for an hour or just a little longer, but not much longer. Works great.

I don't want to cook steaks that need to be chemically or mechanically chewed in advance.

If an unmolested steak isn't tender then it was cooked too much or wasn't very good to begin with.

I'm gonna get one of those...along with a ricer.

Ricer ?

Please explain,sse.

tater masher

Thanks, I remember now.

Used to make wicked good home fries as well.

Yeah, a BFH. lol

Will a 12#er do?

I just need a striker - I'm an old fugger.

Got studded snow tires?

Maybe you should use a 4#er and hit three times. Suck it up old timer. lol

Um, wet cook (meaning covered) and finish on the grill? I do that a lot to save time, can ignore when in the oven or slow cooker. Did that just the other day with "country ribs" which were on sale - cut up shoulder. Perfectly tender.

Still use MSG for beef if I end up with tough stuff for the grill, as in a tasty cut for teriyaki. Sparingly or you'll get mush.

It was country ribs in the case I posted. I ran out of time to do them in a crack pot or a low'n'slow oven.

Sprinkled them w/ powdered/granulated tenderizer. If I use it again, probably should be rinsed or H2O soaked for a short while prior to hitting the grill.

Yep, just rinse them.