Here's something I never knew:
Using Baking Soda will tenderize any meat.
Here’s what to do with a large piece of meat you might grill or pan-sear.
① Rub the meat with baking soda.
② Let it rest in the refrigerator for 3 to 8 hours.
③ Rinse the meat thoroughly to remove all the baking soda.
④ Cook as desired.
The meat will be seriously tender.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try it next week and report back.

Thanks for the info.
I'll try it on Elk backstrap this weekend.

According to my sources, it only works on contact, that is, it does not penetrate, so the meat needs to be really thinly sliced for it to be effective all the way through.

Any meat sliced thin enough is tender. Think about Arby's roast beef sandwiches. If baking soda doesn't penetrate it's the thin slicing that fools you into thinking it's tender. If it does penetrate, it doesn't matter how you slice it....I have no idea whether it penetrates or not- try it and see.

Tried it yesterday on two elk steaks cut 1/2" thick. Left it in the frig for 5 hours. It completely altered the taste of the meat rendering it inedible.
Scratch that idea.

M774now:

Bob didn't tell anything about taste. He just wrote that it will tender the meat.

So my question is: Was the meat tender or not?

Jiri

BTW I use sometimes this hand tenderizer:


http://www.jaccard.com/Origina...--48-Knife_p_10.html

You're supposed to completely wash off the baking soda before cooking. Did you do that?

Of course I did. It made it marginally tender but completely altered the flavor to almost no taste at all.
Back to my usual methods.

quote:

Originally posted by Jiri:
M774now:

Bob didn't tell anything about taste. He just wrote that it will tender the meat.

So my question is: Was the meat tender or not?

Jiri

BTW I use sometimes this hand tenderizer:


http://www.jaccard.com/Origina...--48-Knife_p_10.html

That's what I use on my cutlets! Works like a champ.