Why does marinade tenderize meat

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Acidic marinades add flavor but may toughen One marinade family relies on mildly acidic ingredients, like citrus juice, vinegar, or wine. Enzymes make meat mushy Another approach is to use enzymatic marinades, which work by breaking down muscle fiber and collagen connective tissue.

For true tenderizing, use buttermilk or yogurt Dairy products are, in my opinion, the only marinades that truly tenderize. Private Notes Edit Delete. Comments Leave a Comment. Leave A Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.

Member ID. Featured Review. What We're Cooking Now. Menu A Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner. Menu A Cozy Fall Brunch. Find the inspiration you crave for your love of cooking. Videos View All. To flavor: An acidic marinade commonly is used to marinate meats and vegetables, quite often with some enzyme involved. Studies show that monounsaturated fats, like olive oil, will carry marinades into meat faster but not any deeper. Calcium is thought to cause naturally occurring enzymes in meat to begin breaking down muscle tissue.

Adopt these times as general guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules. Marinating depends on such variables as strength of concentration of the acids or the enzymes, type of meat, and—most important—your taste.

Check out some of the tools we like. All products featured on Cuisine at Home are independently selected by our editors; we may earn an affiliate commission from qualifying purchases through our links. So what is actually happening is that the outside of the meat is becoming overly tender -- mealy -- while the inside remains mostly untouched.

Surprisingly, simply generously seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper will work wonders for flavor. This is particularly true if you do this 30 to 45 minutes in advance. Try this sometime: Cook three steaks, one that has been salted and peppered in advance, one that has been seasoned just before grilling and a third that is seasoned only afterward. The difference is astonishing. Steak seasoned at the end tastes like meat with salt.

Steak seasoned just before grilling is a bit better. But steak seasoned early has a deep, complex flavor and a much richer brown crust.

The notable exception to the rule that marinades only work skin-deep is brining. And brining does more than just give flavor. Tags Cooking basics cooking tips meat Shop.

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