Meat tenderisers?

[Deerstalker]

Not sure if this is in the right place but....
I was reading an American book on game butchery and meat preperation, and came across "meat tenderizing salts".

These saltlike, cystalline compounds purport to be completely natural and also sometimes organic. One such product known as "Adolph's Meat Tenderizer" (best known apparantly) contains an enzyme called "papain" which breaks down the meats connective tissue and is obtained from the papaya melon. Others use bromelin an extract from pineapple and also ficin enymes, from various tropical flowers.

They also suggest marinading venison in buttermilk to tenderise it.

Has anyone any experience of these or similar products, are they worthwhile and can you get them in the UK?

[Spuddy]

The best meat tenderising secret given to me by a Chinese friend is good old fashioned cornflour mixed with a little water.
If you've ever wondered how they get chicken breast and cheap cuts of beef to be so succulent when stir fried then try marinating it in a cornflour and water (and soy sauce if you're actually doing it chinese style) overnight and you'll be amazed at the difference. No need for any strange chemical sounding extracts or enzymes just good old cornflour will do.
Try it!!

[mjcoetzee]

Powder meat tenderisers made with enzymes work okay, but I only use them when in a hurry. All other times I use a small amount of vinegar. If I want a specific flavour I use lemon, lime or kiwi (citris fruit in general)

Must try the cornflour and water.

You can also isolate DNA at home with shampoo, meat tenderizer, and a salad-spinner apparently

[johnc]

The Papain referred to in Adolphs tenderizer, is a natural extract from the seed of the Papaya fruit, which is traditionally used in Mexico in the miraculous transformation of tough old skirt into succulent Arrachera or Fajitas.
I've used Adolphs and it works fine for this purpose. Follow the instructions, then leave in a ziploc bag for 24hrs in a mixture of grapefruit or pineapple juice, Maggi seasoning sauce (or Lea & Perrins). just enough to cover the meat in the bag at a ratio of about 2 parts sauce to 1 part juice

I dread to think what is in the commercial preparation of fajitas, probably mostly MSG and smoke flavouring

[saucisson]

Nothing wrong with enzymes, I generate a few myself to digest my food

Spuddy , what's the rationale behind the cornflour working?, I'm intrigued...

[Ianinfrance]

Hi
I asked my friend Michael about this and his answer was a classic. "When you have been soaking in the batch, what heppens to your skin? Well the same happens to meat. "

Can't really argue with that! So it's not so much the cornflour as the water.

As for papain, this is pretty well known. There is an interesting series ofth photos, showing the effect of this enzyme on protein structure in Harold McGee's book Food and Cooking, iirc. I know that cheaper cuts of steak can be rolled about under vacuum with a solution of papain, and this tenderises the cut so it can be grilled.

[Spuddy]

Spuddy , what's the rationale behind the cornflour working?, I'm intrigued...

I have no idea of the science behind it. I have worked through a few theories but they don't really stand up as it seems to do different things to different meats.
i.e. With a cheap cut of lean beef it tenderises it to the point where you could pass it off as a steak BUT It doesn't really touch connective tissue (sinew) at all.
With chicken and turkey breast it makes it almost impossible to dry it out when cooking it BUT it seems to do nothing to leg meat.
The same variations occur with other meats too.
The effects are magnified according to the length of time in the marinade. Strips of chicken breast marinated overnight (24 hours is best) are completely transformed.
Experiment and you'll see.

[welsh wizard]

Interesting - I will try it with some pheasant breasts which always seem to dry out because of the lack of fat, and let you know.

Cheers WW