A lot of people believe that marinating a piece of meat that starts out tough will help make it tender. Unfortunately, this is not true a lot of the time. Many marinades are great at improving the flavor of your steak; they will generally not work so well at tenderizing. Let us look at how the various marinades are made, and how they work.
Marinades come in three basic types - acidic, enzymatic, and dairy. Acidic marinades that are too strong can make your food tough, while enzymatic marinades at an overly high strength will turn many steaks to mush. Dairy marinades can improve the tenderness of meat, but they are not necessarily suited to certain kinds of cooking.
One family of marinades relies on vinegar, wine, citrus and similar acids to denature proteins. This will unwind the proteins in the steak you are cooking. Once they run into other unwound proteins, they will bind back together. This happens when we heat proteins, as well. Water molecules start out trapped in this new mesh of proteins, creating a really tender steak. However, if the marinade is highly acidic, the bonds will tighten and the liquid will be squeezed out, actually toughening the tissues. That is bad news.
This is why mildly acidic marinades are preferable to highly acidic ones. They add a lot of great flavor, and should be relatively weak for best results. Tighter meats, such as flank steak, can survive higher acid marinades, but are not generally preferred for grilling.
Enzymatic marinades can actually break down the collagen and muscle fibers. They come from sources like honeydew, papaya, raw pineapple, fig, ginger, and even kiwi. However, if you use too much, they will turn the muscle to mush without tenderizing. The length of time the meat marinates will affect this as well. The texture gets softer over time. This is the kind of activity you will find from most commercial meat tenderizers, which use papaya enzymes.
The last category of ingredients you can use in a steak tips marinade is dairy products. Usually mildly acidic and including yogurt and buttermilk, this is the kind of marinade you will find in a lot of Indian foods, as well as in southern fried chicken recipes.
Steaks in this kind of marinade can be interesting, but you may need to adjust your cooking methods, since this is a little unusual. Curry flavors in your marinade may turn up a good result on the grill, however.
Your marinade does not have to be all that complex, so long as you know what you can expect from the ingredients you use. You will get a great meal every time if you only take the time to check out all the kinds of marinades available. One of them is going to be right for your steak. - 31875
Marinades come in three basic types - acidic, enzymatic, and dairy. Acidic marinades that are too strong can make your food tough, while enzymatic marinades at an overly high strength will turn many steaks to mush. Dairy marinades can improve the tenderness of meat, but they are not necessarily suited to certain kinds of cooking.
One family of marinades relies on vinegar, wine, citrus and similar acids to denature proteins. This will unwind the proteins in the steak you are cooking. Once they run into other unwound proteins, they will bind back together. This happens when we heat proteins, as well. Water molecules start out trapped in this new mesh of proteins, creating a really tender steak. However, if the marinade is highly acidic, the bonds will tighten and the liquid will be squeezed out, actually toughening the tissues. That is bad news.
This is why mildly acidic marinades are preferable to highly acidic ones. They add a lot of great flavor, and should be relatively weak for best results. Tighter meats, such as flank steak, can survive higher acid marinades, but are not generally preferred for grilling.
Enzymatic marinades can actually break down the collagen and muscle fibers. They come from sources like honeydew, papaya, raw pineapple, fig, ginger, and even kiwi. However, if you use too much, they will turn the muscle to mush without tenderizing. The length of time the meat marinates will affect this as well. The texture gets softer over time. This is the kind of activity you will find from most commercial meat tenderizers, which use papaya enzymes.
The last category of ingredients you can use in a steak tips marinade is dairy products. Usually mildly acidic and including yogurt and buttermilk, this is the kind of marinade you will find in a lot of Indian foods, as well as in southern fried chicken recipes.
Steaks in this kind of marinade can be interesting, but you may need to adjust your cooking methods, since this is a little unusual. Curry flavors in your marinade may turn up a good result on the grill, however.
Your marinade does not have to be all that complex, so long as you know what you can expect from the ingredients you use. You will get a great meal every time if you only take the time to check out all the kinds of marinades available. One of them is going to be right for your steak. - 31875
About the Author:
You have got the oven set, and the steak is all ready to slide in... but how long does it take to cook a steak in the oven? The answer will depend on the thickness of your steak. For cooking charts, visit EasySteakMarinades.net to help solve this dilemma. You will also find recipes, tips, and great advice.
