Helpful hint to tenderize even the cheaper cut steaks.

[Clipper]

www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/04/how-to-turn-cheap-steak-into-tender-juicy-steak.html

While I don't normally buy the cheaper cuts, I have tried this on sirloins just for the hell of it and it worked amazingly well. It didn't turn them into choice ribeye but it made them fairly tender, juicy, flavorful, and easy to cut and chew.

I actually tried one steak on which I used regular table salt and that was a mistake. The finer salt was absorbed and held in the meat and the end result was a very salty steak. By using coarse ground sea salt, the steak is not salty tasting when the salt is rinsed off and the steak is patted dry before grilling. I normally buy ribeye but this process makes a NY Strip just as tender and juicy as a well marbled ribeye.

Just a helpful hint with the summer grilling season coming on. Probably not for those on a sodium restricted diet though. The steak comes off the grill seasoned but not overly salty, but it does retain an acceptable and mild level of seasoning from the salt.

[kit]

Many people use common baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) dissolved in water and marinate their less tender steaks in the fridge for a few hours to tenderize, turning occasionally. Then they wash the marinade off and cook the steaks as usual. Hint: If you use this method, don't marinate the meat too long or it'll turn to mush as the fibers will break down too much (and be sure to wash the marinade off before cooking)

Other people use a prepared vinegar-based salad dressing to marinate the steaks for the flavor as well as tenderness. This also works well, but be sure not to use both at the same time because baking soda is alkaline and a vinegar-based salad dressing is acidic and used together they'll neutralize each other.

Well, that's enough nerdy tech-talk for this post. Happy eating.

[Clipper]

I do vinegar based Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette as a marinade for London broil. It does work well to break down the fiber and tenderize the meat. I use a 2 inch thick piece of round for London broil and I marinate it overnight in a ziploc bag with the dressing. I perforate the meat with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate deep into the meat. I know they say that poking holes in meat makes it come out dry, but if you sear it quickly and well on a very hot grill the surface seals and the juices remain intact and after letting it rest before slicing, the meat is tender and still quite juicy and succulent. Would you marinate a thinner cut of meat for a shorter time Kit? Such as a couple of hours for an inch thick steak? I once cut the London broil in half and cooked two pieces. Kathy is not a spice fan, and I like spicy food. I marinated mine in the same dressing, but I also added a bit of the juice from a jar of pickled jalepenos, lol. It was great but quite snappy.

[clarencebunsen]

I tried this tonight. I also got the grill out for the first time this season. It came out a little more salty than I wanted. Probably because I used too much salt and let it stay on too long while tending to kidlets. Next time I'll set the timer, use less salt and use some garlic & pepper seasoning. It was quite juicy.

[Clipper]

I recently bought a jar of "California seasoning" that is nothing more than plain old garlic powder and cracked pepper with a deceptive name that sounds quite gourmet in nature. I will try that along with the salt on the next steak I do. Sounds like and excellent idea Clarence. The link suggests adding crushed garlic. I have used the crushed garlic that comes in a little jar in water before learning of this salt and then rinse method. I found that searing the steak on high heat burned the garlic and made it bitter. I will try the crushed fresh garlic again with the salt and rinse method. Possibly garlic powder might be drawn into the meat better and what is not drawn in would be rinsed away. I will have to try both options.

I rinse the steak really well with plenty of cold water, and I pat it dry quite aggressively, pressing paper towels on it with quite a bit of pressure, getting it very dry, and possibly that draws more of the saltiness out of the meat. Mine has not come out too salty thus far with the exception of the failed table salt experiment. I wonder if the saltiness of the end product may somehow be related to how vigorously or aggressively a person pats the salt into the meat. I just gently patted the salt briefly so it would adhere to the meat, but did not press it hard or rub it in.

[clarencebunsen]

I have a bottle of Cora brand "Garlic & Pepper Seasoning" from Casa Imports. The first ingredient is salt followed by garlic powder, black pepper, mustard, cayenne, turmeric, parsley. I guess you can't judge a spice mix by its label. It was free and I find it tasty on burgers.

In my drive to limit carbs over the last couple years I've replaced ketchup & BBQ sauces with spice mixtures. Fortunately I have a wife who puts up with me ordering a cheeseburger without bun at Zebb's and then going to their fixings bar to add on dill pickles, hot pepper relish & mustard. Maybe that's because I bring back a serving of pickles for her.

[Clipper]

I love Zebb's. I haven't been there in several years. I like the fixings bar. They also have great milkshakes. I love lots of onions and pickles on my burgers and it is great being able to pile on much more than they would put on in the kitchen. One of the Thruway service plazas coming North from NYC had a Roy Roger's restaurant, and it also had a fixings bar for their burgers
. It was my favorite stop in the middle of the night when I returned from downstate or New Jersey with a Walmart trailer.

Zebb's also used to serve a Nacho's plate that was probably intended to be an appetizer for two. I would order it as a meal and eat it myself. They were great. Kathy loved their hot fudge sundae. We haven't found a place like that here yet. That is why we are anxious to get into Steak and Shake. They say the steak burgers are great as are the hand scooped milkshakes.

It seems that no matter where we roam, we will always miss something from where we have been. In the case of Utica and upstate NY, it is the Adirondacks first, and the wonderful selection of great restaurants second.

Send me a Zebb's hamburger by UPS. It will go well with the pickles I snatch from Alan's jar when I get it open.

[Deleted]

I tried Kits idea of Baking Soda with a small chicken breast. I left it in a bag overnight in the fridge and he is right this morning it was all mushy. I am going to combine balsamic vinegar salad dressing and baking soda and marinate a chicken breast in that. I bet is fizzes a lot. LOL

[kit]

You may not have much luck tenderizing Alan because vinegar is acidic and baking soda is alkaline and they're likely to neutralize each other. However, I'll bet it's going to taste good.