How to fry meat so that it is soft. How to cook meat soft and juicy? Tender Meat Secrets

Often the meat turns out to be tough, the housewives blame the seller and their poor choice for everything. However, in reality the situation is different. The steak can turn out soft and juicy if you first carry out certain manipulations. Culinary experts advise you to look for products that will make the meat juicy without additional difficulties.

Method number 1. Tenderizing meat with alcohol

Shashlik based on pork, lamb or beef is often treated with alcoholic beverages before roasting. We recommend giving preference to beer or wine.
In such a simple way, you will make the meat not only appetizing and soft, but also juicy. This is what everyone expects from a barbecue.
You don't have to worry about the alcohol ruining the dish. In the process of roasting, it will soak, you can safely drive or go on important business.
To tenderize the meat and give it juiciness, prepare a saucepan or a plastic bag. Chop the pork into pieces, soak in beer, leave to marinate for 1-1.5 hours. Do not rinse, immediately prick on a skewer.

Method number 2. Softening meat with mustard

Mustard is often used as the main ingredient in meat dishes. It gives pork certain flavor notes and gives the meat flavor. However, not all people are aware that mustard acts as a good softener.
For such purposes, we recommend applying the composition in a different way than you are used to. Take table mustard, chop the meat into pieces and grease with seasoning. Send in a plastic bag and wait 45 minutes.
Before cooking pork, rinse the meat with purified water and dry. In addition to the fact that the steak will turn out tasty and soft, it will also acquire the desired juiciness.
Very often, mustard is used in the process of cooking chops. In this case, you first need to chop the pork into slices, then beat off, coat and insist. It is not necessary to wash the meat before frying.

Method number 3. Tenderizing meat with onions

Onions are often added to barbecue marinade, and this is not surprising. A juicy vegetable tenderizes pork or beef meat without any problems.
If you don't know how to give the steak the desired juiciness, chop the onions into circles. Onion juice works the same way. It can be obtained with a combine, grater or blender, then wrapped in gauze and squeezed.
For manipulation, wash and dry the meat in advance, rid it of veins and all parts that are not useful in cooking. Place in a saucepan, add juice or onion rings here, wait 1.5 hours.

Method number 4. Tenderizing meat with lemon juice

Many people mistakenly marinate kebabs in vinegar, causing them to lose all the juice and become tough. If you are still using this method, discard it.
Replace the vinegar solution with a cheaper and more effective natural analogue - lemon juice. Mix it with mineral sparkling water (100 ml of fresh citrus per 1 liter of mineral water).
Soak the pieces of meat in this mass for several hours. It is not necessary to rinse the product before cooking. Tomato juice from fresh tomatoes acts in a similar way.

Soft pieces of pork baked in the oven

pork pulp - 1 kg.
onion - 3 pcs.
mustard - 30 gr.
garlic - 3 cloves
pepper, favorite spices and salt - to taste

Cut the pork into large pieces. Prepare the meat as described above to obtain the desired tenderness and juiciness. Make cuts with a knife.
Chop the garlic, and chop the onion into rings or half rings. Coat the meat with mustard combined with spices, salt and seasonings. You can add mayonnaise to this mixture (optional).
Leave the pork in the marinating bowl for 3.5 hours. After this period, line a baking sheet with foil, spread the pieces, cover from above. Send to the oven for baking until cooked.

Roast in sweet and sour sauce

pork tenderloin - 500 gr.
canned pineapple - 0.3 kg.
chicken egg yolk - 1 pc.
pure water - 50 ml.
potato starch - 35 gr.
bell pepper - 100 gr.
soy sauce - 35 ml.
ketchup - 60 ml.
vinegar - 25 ml.
granulated sugar - 65 gr.

Prepare a marinating bowl. Send the pork meat chopped into pieces into it. Pour in soy sauce, add raw yolk, water, starch. Salt, mix everything and wait 3.5 hours.
Chop the pepper into bars, chop the canned pineapple. Pour oil into the pan, heat it up, send the pickled pork inside. Fry until crusty, transfer to a clean bowl.
Fry the pepper in the same way, after 3 minutes add the pineapple pieces. Simmer the ingredients under the lid for 5 minutes. Start making extra sauce.
To do this, mix ketchup with sugar and vinegar, add this mixture to peppers with pineapples. Simmer under the lid until the sand dissolves, then add the pork and simmer until tender.

low-fat kefir - 500 ml.
garlic - 6 teeth
pork pulp - 950 gr.
onion - 1 pc.
spices - to taste

To achieve the desired result, you must first marinate the meat. As a result, you will get a juicy and soft steak. Take a container of a suitable size, pour kefir into it, place pieces of pork meat in the fermented milk product.
At the same time, peel and chop the garlic and onion into half rings. Send the vegetable to a common pan, season the meat with spices and salt to taste. Keep in mind that in order to achieve maximum softness and juiciness from the steak, it must first be beaten off.
Place prepared foods in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours. After the allotted time, heat the vegetable oil in a pan, put the pieces of meat in a bowl. Fry the pork on both sides until golden brown. The procedure is best done on medium heat.
After you have achieved a crust, reduce the flame to a minimum, cook the dish. A fried piece of meat will be able to retain juiciness and softness. Serve steak with garnish and garlic sauce. Don't forget fresh herbs and vegetables.

Soft pork with apples

onion - 1 pc.
flour - 45 gr.
fat - 55 gr.
cumin - 5 gr.
pork - 670 gr.
apples - 2 pcs.
salt - to taste

Before cooking meat, it must be thoroughly rinsed with running water. Salt the pork, roll in spices and flour. Preheat the pan, heat the vegetable fat in it.
Put the whole piece of meat in a fireproof container. Fry the pork on all sides until browned. After that, transfer the steak, along with the fat, to the roaster. After that, pour cumin into the dishes and pour in hot water about 3/4 of the container.
Set the roaster on the stove, turn on the slow flame. Simmer the pork, add water if necessary. At the same time, peel and chop the apples into slices. Before the end of cooking meat, add fruit.
Once the pork is ready, take it out of the roaster. Add flour diluted with water to the remaining broth. Boil applesauce for about 8 minutes over medium heat. After the meat has cooled, cut it into pieces. Pour in the prepared sauce, sprinkle with fresh herbs.

French juicy pork

cheese - 240 gr.
onion - 1 pc.
oil - in fact
mayonnaise - 220 gr.
pork - 530 gr.
salt - to taste

Prepare the pork properly, cut the meat into small pieces. Thoroughly beat the meat, treat with salt and pepper on both sides. Next, grate the cheese on a fine grater. Peel and chop the onion into rings.
Choose a suitable refractory dish, grease it with vegetable oil. Lay the pieces of pork on the bottom of the container. Put the prepared onion on top of the meat, pour the products with mayonnaise. Sprinkle the dish with cheese.
Send the meat to bake in a preheated oven. Simmer the pork until fully cooked. Before serving, it is recommended to decorate the dish with olives and fresh herbs. Eat hot meat.

To cook juicy and tender pork, you need to take the tenderloin of the animal. This meat is the softest. If cooked correctly, the dish will literally melt in your mouth. It is also important to properly marinate the pork, it should brew for some time in the sauce. Mineral water with gas, mustard mixture, lemon juice or onions will do for the marinade.

Video: how to soften meat

7 ways to tenderize beef

How to marinate beef for tenderness?

There are many ways to cook beef. This is healthy and tasty meat, but it does not always turn out soft for housewives. If you have a couple of hours before cooking, you can marinate beef for tenderness according to our recipe. And below I will tell you how to cook beef soft and without pickling.

Marinade for beef (for softness).

Method 1. Beef marinated with vinegar.

For 1 kg of beef. Meat cut into pieces or a whole piece. Marinate 1 hour.

1 onion (cut into half rings)
3-4 tablespoons of vinegar 9%
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
ground pepper to taste
half a glass of water and a little sunflower oil
ATTENTION! do not salt the meat - marinate without salt! Salt already when cooking.

We leave the beef in the marinade for 1.5 -2 hours. Next, we beat the meat with a hammer and cook according to the recipe.

Method 4. Beef marinated in beer.

For 1 kg of beef. We take:

Salt, pepper. Knead the meat or coat and marinate in the refrigerator in a saucepan or in a bag for 1 hour. Then fry on a fire or in a pan. The beef will turn out incredibly soft!

Method 5. Beef marinated in sea buckthorn juice.

Even not very successful beef can be cooked very soft and juicy. We cut the beef into steaks, pieces 2 cm wide and the size of a palm, then to fry.

1 glass of sea buckthorn juice
salt, pepper to taste

Salt the meat, pepper it, and put it in a bowl. Pour the meat with 1 glass of sea buckthorn juice (sour, best). We stand the meat for 40-60 minutes. Then heat up a frying pan with a little sunflower or olive oil. Fry from 2 sides for 5 minutes, for the formation of an appetizing crust. Then close the lid, reduce the heat to a minimum and simmer until tender, about another 40 minutes. Turn the pieces once, in the middle of stewing.

The beef will come out very juicy and soft! And sea buckthorn juice will add a unique note to your dish!

Method 6. Beef marinated with kiwi.

In general, for the softness of meat - you need acid. But vinegar, if the meat is overcooked, can have the opposite effect and the meat will become tough, like a sole.

Marinade for 1 kg of meat.

kiwi - 2 pcs. peel and grate
1-2 onions we cut into half rings
salt and pepper the marinade

Parsley goes well with beef. Coat the meat well in the marinade, put in a container with a lid and refrigerate for 2 hours. Then cook according to the recipe, in pieces or a large piece in the oven.

The meat will be amazingly tasty and tender!

Method 7. Beef marinated with tomato (tomato marinade).

For 1 kg of beef. Meat cut into pieces or a whole piece. Marinate 1-2 hours.

Make the marinade:

tomato paste 2 table. spoons
garlic 4 cloves pass through the press
2 medium onions cut into half rings
sweet pepper 1/2 pc. cut into small cubes or thin strips
pepper with black and red pepper
add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 pinch of suneli hops
and finely chopped greens (parsley, basil, thyme)

Coat the beef with marinade, put in a saucepan or container with a lid and keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

How to cook tender beef.

To make the beef soft, for example in goulash, we need time. We defrost beef "on our own", no defrosting in the microwave. Cut the meat into pieces and rinse. Put the meat in a frying pan or stewpan and pour enough water to cover the meat. DO NOT SALT!(unless otherwise specified in the recipe, for example, sea buckthorn juice can also be salted when marinating) Simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Next, cook according to the recipe.

You can salt the meat after 1 hour of marinating. To absorb the salt.
Meat cooked in this way will definitely be soft.

You may be interested in:

(module Marinades for meat)

Choosing meat is a great art. It is good to do this slowly, with a fresh mind, coming early in the morning to the market to a familiar butcher. But in the store to choose the meat of the right conditions is not so simple. And if you come across old sinewy beef, it is very difficult to make a tender dish out of it that melts in your mouth. However, the attempt is not torture, and cunning housewives have invented many tricks that can turn a hard sole into a perfect roast.

brute force

More precisely, the mechanical effect. Wrap the piece of meat in a plastic bag and carefully go over it on both sides with a hammer. After beating, even the oldest meat will become softer and more tender. If chops are not your strong point, but you need to attach unsuccessful meat somewhere, scroll it in a meat grinder. Tenderness minced meat will add white bread soaked in milk and onions.

Often the meat feels too tough due to membranes and tendons that you forgot to remove during processing. Next time, be more careful about cleaning the meat and everything will work out. But, of course, that's not all! In fact, there are other methods in the world.

gentle impact

The best assistant in giving tenderness, juiciness and taste to meat is marinades. They do not have to be super complex in composition. For example, ordinary mustard will do the job just fine if you spread it on pieces of meat intended for frying and leave them alone for about one hour.

In general, almost everything that is in the house can serve as a marinade for meat. For example, fruits. They, thanks to fruit acids, make the meat tender, soften and give it a piquant taste. Fruit marinade is easy to make: take a couple of kiwi, a little salt, pepper and spices. Grate and cut all this wealth, soak the meat in the resulting marinade for half an hour - and you will have a luxurious roast on your table. Just remember to blot the meat from the marinade before frying.

An excellent marinade is obtained by using pomegranate juice. It is enough to add spices to the sour, astringent, tannin-rich juice and put the meat for several hours.

Lemon showed itself well in softening meat. Pieces of meat are laid with lemon, sometimes a raw egg is added to this mixture, and left in a cool place for a while. The time depends on the degree of rigidity of the meat, but on average two to three hours are enough for it to acquire acceptable conditions.

Marinades based on fermented milk products will also give the meat the required softness and tenderness. And regardless of what you are going to cook: chicken, pork, lamb or beef. Kefir or unsweetened yogurt is taken as the main ingredient, mixed with spices, a small amount of salt, pepper and herbs. It is enough to spend the meat in such a marinade for about 2-4 hours. By the way, some people like to marinate meat under mayonnaise, but for some reason professionals do not welcome this method. Keep in mind that the recipe for dairy marinades is not for everyone due to religious reasons, but we have a lot more in stock.

Wine or beer is widely used as a marinade. So the meat is prepared for both regular frying and frying on skewers. If you add mineral water, onions and spices to wine, it will turn out faster and tastier. Fragrant meat soaked in beer will not leave indifferent either your household or guests. Before frying, such meat is best rolled in flour.

As for stronger drinks, vodka has long been used as the basis for a marinade, especially when working with poultry meat. In China, soy sauce and spices are added to vodka, chopped turkey or duck breasts are dipped in the marinade and marinated for a maximum of 2 hours. Before frying, pieces of meat are dried with a napkin. Don't worry - there won't be any smell of alcohol left.

For the most fearless experimenters, we can offer marinades based on kvass with honey, tomato sauce with adjika or tea leaves. Having tried marinating meat in several of the above ways, you are sure to find an option that suits your taste.

Other tricks

In order for the meat to turn out tender and juicy, it is necessary to prevent the flow of juice from it during frying. This is best done either by breading, or by "sealing" the meat over high heat. Bread the meat just before you start frying. As a breading, flour, crackers, an egg, or a combination of them are suitable. Pieces of meat are placed in boiling oil, then the frying process begins immediately, and the meat juice does not leak out.

You can "seal" the meat without the use of breading, and even without the use of oil. Meat is simply placed on a hot pan, fried until browned, turned over and fried in the same way. After that, the fire should be reduced and fry until cooked over medium or low heat. Beef can even be undercooked - some people like meat with blood. With other types of meat, this trick will not work: you don’t want to get some trichinella from a half-baked pork chop, do you?

An excellent result is obtained if the meat is baked in pots or foil. In these cases, it is cooked in its own juice and turns out excellent even without any additives.

If your cutlets are fried, try to turn them over as carefully as possible so as not to damage them, otherwise the juice will also leak out. And most importantly - do not salt the meat in advance! The salt will draw the juice out of it before cooking. Well, if your roast still turned out to be a bit dry, try fixing it with a water bath. Pour water into the pan, place a colander with meat over it and close the entire structure with a lid.

So, if one of the gastronomic experiments fails, do not lose heart, there is always a way to get it back on track!

Oven-baked meat is a delicious dish that can be served with a family feast. Cooking pork in the oven is quite simple, and the possibility of using various spices, seasonings and ingredients for stuffing or stuffing can diversify the dish, improve its taste and make the meat juicy.

What kind of meat is suitable for roasting in the oven?

For baking, it is recommended to choose only chilled meat, for example, a shoulder or neck, you can bake a ham. If there is little fat on the meat, then you should not cut it off, during the cooking process it will melt and the meat will be saturated with juice, it will become juicier.

It is best to use heat-resistant dishes for baking, with thick walls and a bottom. It is necessary to mix marinade for meat and subsequently marinate it only in dishes that do not oxidize, for example, in glass, plastic or enamel dishes.

Cooking Tips:

To prepare the marinade, it is best to use dry table wine or lemon juice. Delicious pork is obtained by adding apple juice or wine vinegar. But red wine is absolutely not suitable for pork, in cooking it is used for cooking lamb or beef.

You need to keep the meat in the marinade at room temperature for a couple of hours, then you should definitely put it in the refrigerator, covering the dishes with cling film. If a piece of pork is baked in foil, then it should only be placed on the mirror side, then during baking, heat will be additionally reflected from the walls of the package, which will reduce the cooking time.

The meat is completely ready when, when pierced with a sharp knife, clear juice is released from the center of the piece, without pink inclusions, at this stage the foil can be unfolded so that the top of the meat is covered with a delicious crust.

Baked pork in foil

Such meat will be a great alternative to morning sandwiches with sausage. In this case, it is advisable to cut the meat into thin slices while warm so that it does not crumble and does not fall apart.

A piece of pork - 800 gr.
Carrot - 1 pc.
Provence herbs - 1 teaspoon
4 garlic cloves
White table wine - 250 ml.
Onion - 3 pcs.
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Favorite spices - to taste

Preparation of baked meat:

From the washed piece of pork, cut the bone, if any, and cut off excess fat. It is recommended to leave a little fat layer on the meat so that it turns out tender and juicy.

In a suitable bowl, mix dry wine, salt and spices to taste. Put the prepared piece of pork in the marinade for a couple of hours.

Cut the garlic cloves into two parts, cut the peeled carrots into slices the size of the prepared garlic.

Remove the meat from the marinade, make cuts in it and stuff with garlic and carrots.

Mix a little salt and pepper, and rub the meat with this mixture.

Prepare and peel the onion and cut it into thick rings. Cover the baking dish with foil and lay out the onion. They will serve as a pillow for the meat, add juiciness and prevent the pork from burning.

Put stuffed pork on the onion pillow, wrap the foil in a tight envelope.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees in advance, and put the form to bake for an hour, then unfold the envelope and leave the meat until a crisp appears.

Pork stewed with prunes

When stewing, much more flavor is retained in the products than when roasting meat, and with the right choice of a piece with a small amount of fatty layers, the meat turns out to be unusually juicy. The aroma of the dish is added by prunes with a slightly smoked and sweetish aftertaste.

For cooking you will need:

Onion - 2 pcs.
Pork fillet - 500 gr.
Bay leaf - 2 pcs.
Prunes - 250 gr.
Ground pepper and salt
Small bunch of fresh herbs
A little vegetable oil for frying

Meal preparation:

The washed piece of meat is cut into small cubes.

Peel the onion from the husk and cut into thin half rings. Soak the prunes in hot water, remove the pits if necessary and cut in half. Water from soaking should not be poured out, it is useful for extinguishing.

In a frying pan or saucepan with a heavy and thick bottom, fry the onion and add the pieces of meat, fry quickly to get a golden crust.

Add prunes and strained broth to the meat, salt and season the meat with spices.

Stew the meat until cooked, but not less than one hour, if necessary, you can add water to the pan.

A few minutes before the readiness, add the bay leaf and chopped greens.

Roast pork with mushrooms

For cooking you will need:

Pork - 500 gr.
Onion - 2 pcs.
Wine - 50 ml.
Chanterelles or other forest mushrooms - 200 gr.
Provence herbs - a couple of whispers
A little salt and ground pepper
A little vegetable oil

Cooking Pork with Mushrooms:

Wash the pork, pat dry with kitchen paper and cut into thin strips, salt and pepper well.
Sliced pork pieces fry until appetizing crust.

Add chopped onions and mushrooms, a mixture of Provencal herbs, and a little table wine.

As soon as the alcohol has evaporated, the fire can be added and the onions and mushrooms can be brought to readiness. As soon as everything is evenly fried, the dish is ready and you can set the table.

What if the meat is tough? People who are not vegetarians like to cook meat dishes. Meat is boiled, steamed, fried and stewed.

But what if the piece that came across to us turned out to be harsh for some reason? Or while frying, you got distracted and brought your meat to an unpresentable state.

It is in this case that you will need practical advice from people who have already encountered similar troubles.

First of all, let's deal with the second case, when we have already cooked the meat, but it turned out to be tough. In this case, there is only one way to return your dish to a digestible look. You need to put it in a water bath.

How does she prepare? Very simple: you need a pot of boiling water, on which you place a colander on top, where your meat is already located.

From above you need to cover all this splendor with a lid, and give the opportunity to cook in this way for half an hour or forty minutes. After that, the meat will become softer, and the crust formed during frying will only add spice to it.

Now let's start returning the meat to an attractive appearance, if you did not pay attention to its rigidity when buying. Use the following tips to make meat more tender and soft:

1) If you are a beef lover, then you need to remember that it is stewed with salt, spices,cream and sugar. Then even the toughest initially meat will become soft and pleasant to the taste.

2) If you are going to cook meat, be it pork, lamb or veal, you need to do this for about two or even two and a half hours on slow fire. This will allow you to feel significant changes for the better and the finished dish will become much more tender.

3) Very common are before cooking. In this regard, there are many ways and recipes. The most common and affordable is the use of onions and vinegar, because in every kitchen there is this list of spices and food.

4) Incisions made on its surface will help speed up the process of penetration of the marinade into the meat.

5) After placing the meat in the marinade, you need to leave it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. The low temperature will help you in your quest to tenderize the meat..

6) One way to make meat more usable is to dipping it on all sides in mustard. You can use the product both bought in the store and in grains. Why, even with dry mustard, you can achieve significant results.

7) For a better result, you can give the meat the effect of a kitchen hammer or the back of a knife - this will bring it to the tone we need and make it softer.

8) If you undertook to cook meat, then remember that you need to salt it only at the end of the cooking process. The same rule applies when frying meat. Just salt has the ability to draw water out of the product, so if you want to achieve softness of meat, it is better not to salt it immediately.

9) Very often ready-made cucumber pickle is used as a marinade. You can also use tomato, but still the best results in practice were shown by pickle from cucumbers.

10) An exotic kind of marinade, but very effective, will become made from kiwi juice or pulp. True, do not overdo it - use one fruit per kilogram of meat. Also, do not overdo it - the meat should be marinated for no more than three hours, otherwise it will simply begin to decompose.

11)Pineapple juice and pulp can also be applied. Moreover, they are not as dangerous and aggressive in terms of impact on meat as kiwi. Use the same proportions.

12) If you are stewing meat and notice that it is slightly harsh, you can add beer to the dish. True, analyze who exactly will eat it. If you have small children, then this method is unlikely to suit you.

13) If you are going to fry tough meat, you can moisten it with lemon juice a few minutes before cooking. Allow the juice to soak in and start frying the meat.

14) A very expensive marinade contains soy sauce. You need to soak the meat for an hour or even two, but do not forget that now you should not salt it too much, since the sauce itself has a rather piquant taste.

15) Can soak the meat in water with starch diluted there for several hours. This will give the product the necessary tenderness.

16) When cooking, add half a teaspoon of sugar to the pan. This will give a significant effect in the form of softening of the meat.

17) Many people use a very extravagant method when preparing boiled meat. It consists of throwing three wine corks into the water. It is not known how effective this method is, but given its popularity, one can speak in the affirmative.

True, make sure that the corks you use are from natural cork, otherwise the result may be disappointing.

18) in meat, which is stewed,you can add a couple of tablespoons of dry wine. Be sure to take wine that does not contain alcohol, as it will tenderize the meat.

19) Sometimes the product is soaked for about an hour in vodka, which gives it a special tenderness. But look for people in our country who will casually transfer a few liters of vodka like this? To be honest, it's really hard to do...

20) Another very effective marinade recipe for tenderizing meat involves use of finely chopped onion,grated apple,a tablespoon of vinegar and spices.

Among the latter, it is most advisable to use bay leaf, ground black pepper and vegetable oil.

21) Milk marinade prepare as follows:

take half a liter of kefir;
the same amount of mineral water, soda;
add salt, pepper, herbs and spices to taste;
stand for three hours, you can longer.

We hope our advice will allow you to make your dish exquisite and original, and the meat, which is harsh at first, will become soft and tender, as most recipes require!

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