By that, I mean melt-in-your-mouth tender - you can’t even feel the meat fibers when you chew. It’s always that way when I order a beef dish from a Chinese restaurant.
I know how to get chicken as tender as it is in dishes from the restaurant: I toss the cubed chicken in a bit of cornstarch, let it sit in the fridge for a little while, then cook.
But with beef, I’ve never had much luck. I do the cornstarch thing, and add a bit of Hoisin sauce maybe, or some dried chilies, etc. It comes out tender, but definitely not melt-in-your-mouth like the “real” thing.
So, does anyone know? Does it involve sherry or cooking wine? A bit of vinegar? (I’ve tried the dash of vinegar thing, too.) I’ve searched the web and have found nothing new other than the things I’ve already tried.
I have no response to that response. Except uncontrollable peals of laughter.
What about tenderizing the beef? Doesn’t beating a piece of meat make it melt in the mouth?
Not in my experience - which is vast! Only well Hung Beef will melt in the mouth no matter how much you beat it before!
Personally, I prefer getting a nice bit of beef, hanging it in the Kitchen over the sink for 3 or 4 days and then toss it in the pan - it always melts in the mouth for me!
Mind you I’m not as fond of chicken as I am of beef - I have yet to find well hung chicken as tasty, no matter how it is tossed in that pan.
In any event, I always recommend a good dipping sauce to pop your beef in before sticking it in your mouth!
No real answer but some thoughts from an Alton Brown fan… One - slice it very thinly and most importantly across the grain. The fibers separate more easily when it is cut this way. Second you might try soaking the sliced pieces in a bit of vinegar before cooking (rinse the vinegar before cooking). The acid in the vinegar helps break down the connective tissue in the mean and makes it more tender. Last, beating your meat may help if you do it after the meat is sliced as this might also help break up some of the connective tissue as well.
I know; it reads sort of like a fortune cookie:
“Only well Hung Beef will melt in the mouth no matter how much you beat it before!”
Lucky Numbers: 5 47 248 72
Sorry I thought the topic was tender beef and not pampered pussies!
I’m surprised that so few folks seem to know how to get tender beef!
I too cut me beef across the grain and also remove any flaps of Membrane or Gristle that hang around the edges. It is very important to cut your beef with the sharpest knife as ragged edges affect the presentation!
I see no value in slapping a bit of poorly cut, ragged edged and poorly hung beef on any plate. If I can’t have well hung beef, well cut and well presented Beef, I’ll take the tossed salad!
Oh and keep Vinegar way from beef unless you plan to cook slowly - vinegar and beef don’t mix unless you have time to let them tenderise together. On the other hand I can recomend slamming some beef in a realy hot pan, searing it all over and deglazing with some Balsamic Vinegar… and a caper or two!
Marinate the beef for at least an hour in a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine, corn starch, ginger…
and baking soda.
The reaction between the baking soda and the wine serves to tenderize the beef like nothing else in the world. Applied to a nice skirt steak or flank steak, it’s unbelievable.
Yes! I’ve heard about the baking soda thing! I’m going to try it either tonight or tomorrow, then stir-fry the beef with onions, whole dried chilies, and an orange-flavored sauce.
Oh, and bloomingpouf, sorry about all the innuendo and double-entendre stuff. I do appreciate your help. I see you’re new to the boards, so you may not know that I’m part of the SDMB Gay Posse.
You will have to ride faster and harder to catch this Bum Bandit! Bring on the posse - and where will we have the shoot out… and do we get cater waiters or just serve well hung tender beef???
My first thought on reading the title was of the fortune-cookie message “That wasn’t chicken”…
Question on the well-hung beef thing, how do you not get sick from that? MrsIteki is rather paranoid and won’t eat meat that gets, say, left on the kitchen table for 2 hours after we bring it home from the store. She even brings picnic-style ice-packs to the supermarket to keep the meat cool till we get home. I don’t really understand the hurry since my granny would always hang the christmas turkey in a wardrobe for a week before it was cooked.
Tell me more about this hanging of meat, and how to do it without getting E-Coli, salmonella or botulism.
Helloooo bloomingpouf from another little irish homo
