Very hard meat - not a reason to refuse it

Agree that very tough meat can spoil the impression of the most delicious dishes. While soft and juicy cooked is the sure way to win the reputation of the best cook.

In principle, determine the hard meat or soft, perhaps, still at the stage of buying. For young animals, light or rosy red meat is characteristic . Dark red color and yellow veins of fat are signs of mature beef.

Incorrectly stored and subjected to freezing and defrosting of meat also turns into a hard. It changes color to gray-white and becomes sluggish.

Certain parts of the meat carcass are initially tough. For example, rump, femur part. It is better to cook or simmer for a long time. For frying, the cutting is the best - the best part of the beef carcass.

But if you have already acquired very tough meat, do not get upset. There are a lot of techniques for its softening and improving the taste qualities.

Beating is the easiest way to cook delicious beef. With a hammer, you can discard pieces of beef in such thin sheets that it takes 2-3 minutes to cook them.

Experts know the French method of beating. Meat is stuffed with pieces of pork fat with a flat needle, which simultaneously breaks the structure of the fibers.

Marinating is the most popular way for cooks, because it simultaneously softens and attaches the desired flavor. As marinades you can use vinegar, red wine, kefir, yogurt, lemon and pomegranate juices. The acids contained in them destroy the muscle tissue, i. E. Weaken them. It is important that the meat is completely immersed in the marinade. The process takes from 2 hours to a day, but if there is not enough time, you can speed it up. To do this, cut the meat into thin pieces or inject the marinade with a syringe.

Protein enzymes of plants such as kiwi, pineapple, papaya and ginger, can turn even very tough meat into a tender one. In the pulp of the fruit pulp, you can add garlic, pepper and then soak the meat in the mixture for about an hour. Longer marinating will lead to excessive looseness, so you must strictly observe the time regime. These same fruits can be used directly during cooking without preliminary pickling. In this case, the cooking time is almost halved.

Milk, cream and sour cream are ideal for obtaining soft and juicy beef. As a rule, milk serves for soaking, and it is better to add sour cream during extinguishing.

Table mustard gives not only the desired softness, but also an attractive scent. To do this, just cover the meat with mustard and leave for an hour. The excellent result exceeds all expectations.

In addition, there are other tricks that can "overcome" very tough meat. For example, throw thin pieces of meat into boiling water and after a few seconds add cold water.

The outer layer of meat will not overheat, and this will give a time reserve for its middle part.

The cork made of cork, added to the water along with the meat, promotes its softening.

The same effect is possessed by soy sauce, which will also add a delicious taste.