tenderizing a rib eye

 
Hi Howard, Welcome to the forum. I don't think it will hurt anything. I have never tried it but have been experimenting with McCormick's unflavored meat tenderizer that contains bromelain, an extract from the pineapple plant. I have been using it on choice rib eyes and strip steaks from Sam's Club and get steaks that are juicier and like butta. Part of the process is piercing the meat, I use a two tined kitchen fork so they are pierced every half inch. It does contain salt and I am looking for a salt free version made by Adolf's but haven't found it in the stores yet. I'm not sure yet but it seams like my steaks take a little longer to get to the same internal temperature when tenderized this way.

 

I had the same problem searching for Adolph's Sodium Free and looked at stores far and wide for nearly a year.


What I ended up doing was calling their info line at 1-800-328-7248 (8:30 to 8:30 EST Mon - Fri). I was surprised to discover they have wonderful sales records and were able to direct me to a store which carried it about 50 miles from me. They were also able to tell me only 2 stores in our whole state carried it so you may still have a problem, but being in FL I would think sodium free might be more common.

using a jacquard will always make it more tender... but keep in mind it isn't that fat that makes it tender anyway, it's the grade of beef and the type of cut.

if you have a ribeye, and it's choice, then you shouldn't need to do anything to it.

the guy confuses 'denatured' proteins with meaning 'relaxed' (more tender), but other than that, pretty solid.

stike wrote:

if you have a ribeye, and it's choice, then you shouldn't need to do anything to it.

In years gone by I would have agreed with that statement completely. Today I am not convinced it is entirely so. I eat a lot of steak and find todays choice marginally better then yesterdays select and not even close to what prime used to be. I have had choice Porterhouse/T Bone steaks that were like leather and rib eyes that were not much better. I don't complain too much because I get my meat at Sam's, often when it has been marked down to less then $6.00/#, almost half what the supermarkets get. If I tenderize it properly I can get it so I would think it was prime and hope to be improving on that with a sodium free tenderizer. When I was a kid growing up in Walpole, MA. we had about a dozen Black Angus that were naturally organic and grass fed, that was the beef dreams are made of. All Dad needed was his hibachi and every Sunday we had the perfect steaks. The heck with the "good old days" I want steaks like that today with out going to the poor house. :laugh:


 

 
I agree Jeff, I question how the beef today is mass produced. My BIL up north raises organic Black Angus on a small scale, maybe 30 head and his beef is far superior to what I can by down here . . . or anywhere else for that matter. Your right, not all choice is equal. I was in BJ's yesterday picking up some Pearls and looked at the choice beef in there. For the most part it couldn't hold a candle to what I get at Sam's. It didn't have anywhere near the marbling and fat nor were the cuts looking anywhere near as nice, they were small, thin and and did not impress me at all, prices were about the same. It strikes my as being strange that we can buy lamb from Australia and New Zealand but good Colorado lamb is hard to find. I have heard only great things about Argentinian beef but have never seen it and would probably choke on the price if I did.

I get to eat extremely well compared to much of the rest of the world so I have no serious complaints, we are fortunate to live where we do. Now if we could just get the politicians to shut up everything might taste better! :laugh:


 

I bought a prime strip loin from RD...the marbling was fantastic...but I'm here to tell you after cooking 3 or 4 of them...this one just plain aint tender...I did jaccard 2 and it made a noticeable difference...I totally agree with what you said, but these just aint fillin the bill, flavor is great, tenderness aint happenin..I wont give up on prime but this particular loin was not what we expected...to the original question..we have had plenty of costco "choice" loins that were more tender than this one is..

 
I agree, Angus has become a marketing ploy. Your also right, I couldn't tell the difference between a red or black Angus. Heck, I doubt if I could tell the difference between a Hereford, a Shorthorn or a Brown Swiss for all that matters, after all a cow is a cow is a cow, all one species. It's like chickens, I doubt anyone could tell if an egg came from a Rhode Island Red or a Plymouth Rock. I agree, it's all in the raising, what you put in and how you put it there really counts. When I was a kid for 4-H I raised a Milking Shorthorn steer for the table. At about a year and a half old he produced over 600 pounds of outstanding beef, easily as good as any of the Angus we had. Maybe not as good a yield but the quality was there. BIL I believe is raising organic CAB. I bet he knows the blood line of every animal he has. He has worked hard on his herd for many, many years and the quality of the beef is excellent.