Pork tenderizer - tips

Video: How to Soften Pork : Cooking With Pork

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Pork is the most versatile type of meat available, which can not only be combined with many fresh, sour ingredients and rich spices, but can also be used with many dishes. However, unlike chicken or beef that is naturally tender and remains tender when undercooked or slightly undercooked, the pork is a bit chewy and needs to be thoroughly cooked (although this reason is not explained) . You should learn to tenderize pork to make the dish more tender and delicious. Read the article below to learn how to soften pork before cooking.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Soften pork before cooking

Use the hammer gradually. The pork chop is very hard while the muscle fibers of the meat are long and intact. To start tenderizing pork before marinating or cooking, break the muscle fibers with a meat hammer ("meat tenderizer"). Meat tenderizers are usually heavy hammers with a sharpened surface for beating the meat or a tool with sharp teeth to stab the meat. The intended use of meat tenderizers is the same, which is to beat or stab the meat so that the muscle fibers are broken down.
- Don't worry if you don't have a meat tenderizer. You can also use a fork or even bare hands to tenderize the meat. Stabbing, pounding, or squeezing the meat to break down muscle fibers and make it softer.
Use marinade to tenderize meat. The marinade not only softens but also gives the meat a delicious taste. However, not all marinades can soften meat. To tenderize meat, you will need an acidic marinade or a softening enzyme. Both of these chemicals are able to break down the tightly coiled proteins in meat at a molecular level. However, using too much will yield undesirable results. Too much acid makes the meat chewy because it denatures the protein in the meat, and too many enzymes often make the meat dull.
- Orange (lemon) juice, vinegar and wine are often used to make broth. For example, people often use red wine combined with soy sauce and other ingredients (brown sugar) to make pork broth. To avoid chewing pork with high acid marinades, use acidic dairy products instead. Yogurt and buttermilk are slightly acidic, thus making the pork ribs more delicious and sweet.
- Emollients are commonly found in some fruit juices. For example, the enzyme bromelain in pineapple and papain in papaya can both effectively tenderize meat. However, you should not use it too much to avoid caressing.
Marinate meat. Just like regular marinades, salty marinades are especially good for lean pork (such as ribs). Salty is to soak meat in salt water to help the meat in a dish be softer and moist. Brine not only contains salt and water, but also has other flavoring ingredients like apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, rosemary and thyme. The brine gives the meat a salty taste, so you should avoid over-salt when you eat it or dry it after your brine.
- The best salty recipe is to dissolve 3/4 cup salt, 3/4 cup sugar and black pepper (flavoring) with 3.8 liters of water in a large bowl (use hot water to help sugar and salt melt quickly. than). Put the pork in a bowl, cover and keep in the refrigerator until cooking.
- The salting times usually vary, depending on the type of meat you cook. For example, pork chops need to be salty for 12 hours to 1 day. You need to marinate for a few days if you want to grill the back in full. The tenderloin can be cooked after about 6 hours after being salted.
Use commercially available meat tenderizers. Artificial meat tenderizer is another pork tenderizer option. These are powder, sometimes liquid, emollients. Usually, the active ingredient in meat tenderizers is papain, a natural emollient found in papaya. Like papaya, you shouldn't use softeners too much to avoid excess tender meat.
- Meat tenderizer should be used in moderation. Pat the wet meat briefly before cooking, then sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of softener evenly over about 0.5 kilograms of meat. Use a fork to poke the meat about 1.3 cm deep, then cook.
- Meat tenderizers that say "seasoned" on the label usually contain salt - so you don't need to add salt before cooking.
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Method 2 of 3: Cook tender meat

Fry the pork well before baking. If you know how, there are many methods you can use to make pork tender and sweet when cooking. For example, for thin slices like ribs or cutlets, you can cook quickly and use high heat to make the meat look crunchier and more appealing, then reduce the heat and switch to dry cooking in the final stage. . For example, you can pan the pork on a hot pan or grill, then put the meat in the oven (or transfer the meat to the cooler part of the grill and then close the lid) for the rest of the cooking phase ..
Indirect heat is an important factor in making meat tender and sweet. The method of pan-frying before cooking makes the meat "crispy" better and vice versa, cooking directly can make the meat chewy and overheat. The indirect heat from the oven or grill can gradually help cook the entire meat, making it softer and more evenly cooked.
- Direct heat (cook on a hot pan) can cook the outside faster than the inside, so you only need to cook each side for 1-2 minutes to completely dry the meat. However, indirect heat (like an oven) takes longer to cook meat - 0.5 kg of meat typically takes about 20 minutes of cooking.
Braise pork. Braising is another way of cooking to keep meat tender and moist. Braising is a method of cooking slowly and using a lot of water. You can add the meat to a mixture of liquid (sometimes dry) ingredients, then simmer for a few hours. Braising makes meat moist, soft and delicious, so this is a method suitable for chewy pork pieces like shoulders and ribs. In addition, braised sauce can be used like a sauce or dipping sauce, so it is very convenient for pork dishes to be served with rice or similar.
- Braising times for different types of pork vary, however, it is recommended that you braise about 30 minutes for 0.5 kg of meat (chewy meat and more connective tissue usually take longer).
- Usually, some braising recipes require pan-frying or stir-fry the meat before braising it to make it look crunchier.
Smoked meat. Smoked is a method of slowly and low-heat cooking of meat, often applied to roasted dishes and has a distinct "smoky flavor". There are many different ways to smoke meat, but in general, a special wood (like Mesquite) is burned in a closed container so that the meat is cooked through indirect heat.Over time, the wood gradually changes its flavor to the meat, so it not only becomes soft and juicy, but also has a unique flavor that is not available when using other processing methods.
- The method is often expensive and time-consuming, so it should only be applied to long-cooking pork pieces such as grilled shoulder or brisket or suitable for a barbecue or outdoors.
- Smoking is the delicate art of cooking in which many professionals have to use specialized and quite expensive equipment. However, you can also cook with a regular grill. You can refer to the article on how to smoke meat.
Stew the pork or use a slow cooker. You can use a pressure cooker or slow cooker to slowly cook the pork and make it softer when eaten. Stewing meat is cooking meat in low heat in a mixture of solid and liquid ingredients over a long period of time. Usually, the casserole is usually chopped so that it can be scooped up with a spoon. Just like braising, the stewing method is suitable for meat with connective tissue (such as shoulder or ribs).
- The cooking time is different for the different types of meat but in general is similar to the braising time.
- The slow cooker (stew pot) is especially convenient for stewing meat. Normally, when you have a slow cooker, you just need to put all the ingredients in the pot, turn it on and cook for a few hours. However, if the recipe requires vegetables, you should add the vegetables later during the cooking process as the vegetables cook faster than the meat.
Leave the meat on after cooking. If you want the meat to be as tender and sweet as possible, don't cut it and eat it right after it's done. If you want the meat to stay wet and soft, one of the most important, but often overlooked, steps is keeping the meat as it is after cooking. Regardless of the cooking method used, remove the meat from the heat source and let it cool for 10 minutes. You can keep meat hot by covering the foil. You can enjoy the meat after this time.
- Cutting meat right after cooking will cause it to lose moisture and softness. When cooking pork, the broth from inside the protein fibers needs to be "squeezed" out. Leaving the meat cool gives the proteins time to re-absorb the moisture. That is why when you cut freshly cooked meat, you often see a lot of water dripping out. Conversely, the broth will flow less if you let the meat cool for a while before cutting it.
Cut the meat. If you want meat to be especially tender, learn how to cut it. To make the meat as tender as possible, slice it according to the grain. You will know how to cut meat according to the grain if you look closely and see the transverse portion of the individual meat threads when you cut. Fiber-cutting can break muscle fibers into small pieces before chewing. This tip will definitely be very helpful.
- For tender cooking methods such as stewing and braising, you don't need to cut the meat according to the grain because it's soft enough. However, the thick and large pieces of meat are grilled or baked should be Cut the meat to make the meat as soft as possible before serving. - That is why in banquets, serving needs to slice large pieces of meat by fiber and into thin slices for guests to enjoy more easily.
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Method 3 of 3: Choose tender cuts of meat

Choose back meat. In terms of the term for pork, the word "back" in a pig is not the same as a human. The back is a long strip of meat near the backbone and runs along the back of the pig. Overall, back meat is the softest and leanest meat portion of a pig, resulting in soft, sweet and nutritious dishes thanks to its lean proteins. Popular cuts of back meat are:
- Ribs of pieces
- Grilled tenderloin
- Cutlet
- Ribs back
- Grilled back
Choose tenderloin. The tenderloin (sometimes called "pork fillet") is the softest part of the back meat. The tenderloin is the long, narrow, and lean muscle strip along the upper ribs of the pig. The tenderloin is especially sweet, tender and lean, making it the most expensive piece of meat. Tenderloin is often sold:
- Whole pieces
- Cut slices into "circles"
- Pre-baked in wrap
Choose ribs. The pork ribs extend from the spine down around the belly edge, taste different, lean and taste, depending on the position of the ribs in the skeleton. The top rib (closest to the spine) is usually lean, sweet, and tender like a tenderloin. The lower ribs (near the belly) are also quite soft to cook, but are usually fatter and take longer to cook. The ribs you can choose are:
- Small rib
- Bone
- Ribs
- Sliced ribs
Choose belly meat. As the name suggests, the belly meat is very fatty, low-bone and cut from the belly of a pig. Many people like to thin the belly meat and bring it to smoke. Because it is very fatty, the belly meat needs to be grilled or baked for a long time and slowly before eating, so it will be sweeter and softer.
- Belly meats are usually available as bacon and similar products as Pancetta (Italian Bacon) and are rarely sold in regular butcher stores. You need to go to a meat supplier to buy the belly meat that matches the recipe.
Choose chewy meat if it cooks slowly. Soft cuts of meat (especially tenderloin) are often expensive. If you want to save money, you don't have to waste money on good cuts of meat. In fact, chewy, cheap cuts (like shoulder meat) can still be eaten if cooked slowly. Here are cheap cuts of meat you can soften if you know how to cook:
- Shoulder thigh meat
- Grilled shoulder
- Butt meat
- Boston Butt Meat
Choose less popular tender cuts of meat. You should try cooking some lesser known pieces of meat that can produce soft and sweet dishes. These cuts of meat are less common in modern Western dishes but are extremely popular in traditional recipes or cooking styles. If you dare to eat, you can ask to buy these special cuts of meat in the market. You can choose soft-cookable cuts of meat (by cooking over low heat) like:
- Mother
- Legs
- Nail
- Tongue
- Visceral organs (liver, heart, etc.)
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