Hack it, squish it, dust it…all of these are ways of tenderizing meat. So why is meat so tough sometimes? There are a couple of reasons…it might not have been handled properly after it was killed or the age of the animal can make a difference.

If you find that your meat is tough, the key is to find ways to break up or soften the muscle fibers since it’s the fibers that make the meat tough. So how do you tackle your tough meat? One way would be to use a tenderizing mallet, or something heavy to flatten it. You can also score the meat with a sharp knife. Once the meat is cooked you it can be tenderized further. For instance, a flank steak is cut in the direction of the muscle grain, it’s inherently tough so once it’s cooked slice it thinly against the grain…this takes a once tough piece of meat and transforms into a more tender piece of meat.

Another way of tenderizing meat is with the use of chemical solutions. There is a large selection of powdered tenderizers. Professional cooks tend to stay away from this form of tenderizing as it makes the outside of the meat mushy but leaves the inside tough, without juices and lacking flavor.

The best alternative for tenderizing meat is to marinate the meat. In conjunction to tenderizing it enhances the flavor of the meat. In order for it to be effective, the marinade should have an acid, which unwinds the long proteins in the muscle. One of the drawbacks to marinades is that sometimes it does not get inside the meat very well, leaving the meat tough in the middle. To combat this some marinades are injected into the meat at various points to go below the surface. Dry marinades or rubs leave some flavor, but it doesn’t do anything to tenderize the meat.

For large tough cuts, it’s best to stew or braise the meat a longer period.