what to do?

[Moe]

this fall my dad and a bunch of friends went out to Colorado elk hunting. they got two elk (3 year old bull and a cow) while up in Wisconsin we had some of the bull and it was really tender and easy to chew. this cow meat is VERY tough!! we think it was an old cow. we've tried to put it in the slow cooker to make it more tender and it helps a little but not much. my question is, how would you make this meat so that it was not so tough?
thanks
Moe

[Salmonsmoker]

Moe,

First of all, it was good to meet you at the D&T show in Lansing.

As for the elk: as with most red meat, it is more tender if not cooked to a well-done state. However, if it is still tough there are some other options. You could take it to a butcher shop and have it "cubed" or tenderized (they run it through a machine that contains multiple rotating knife blades that put multiple cuts into the surface - thus tenderizing the meat - it works.) You could cook it in a pressure cooker - usually this proceedure can make the toughest meat into very tender stuff. You could pound it with a meat hammer (which workes similar to a cubeing machine but also flattens out the meat). And you could make it into ground meat.

I would try the butcher's cubing machine first. Let me know how it works out.

ss

[BowDad]

I'm sure Salmonsmoker can give you some better info than I can ... but here is a method I have used to tenderize some old venison. I marinate the meat in buttermilk overnight. I know it sounds gross, but it works. The meat will become grey on the outside, but just wash it well and cook it as desired. Worth a try.

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"We shall never achieve harmony with land, any more than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations the important thing is not to achieve, but to strive." Aldo Leopold 1887-1948

[Salmonsmoker]

Bowdad,

Thanks for your post. Marinade is one way to tenderize meat that I had overlooked. I have not heard of using buttermilk, however, any food that is acidic will tenderize. Such items as vinegar (diluted with water) and tomato juice (or bbq sauce) work but each leaves a distinctive tast to the meat. Buttermilk is also acidic, and thus would tenderize. Also, it might tend to change the flavor less.....I don't know about that one. Any of them are certainly worth a try.

The nice thing about the cubed steak is that the meat is tenderized but the flavor is not altered - leaving it ready for a topping of sautaed mushrooms.

Thanks again for the post. I've been known to overlook the obvoius.

ss

P.S. The nice thing about this site is that we all have ideas and experiences that are valid and sharing is how we learn from each other.

[Kip]

Heres something else to try. I have a Super Meat Tenderizer from Cabela's. It is on page 287 of the Spring Master Catalog. It is a series of knives that you use on the meat. I have used it on several different "tough" cuts of meats. It works great. It works along the same lines as the cuber that Salmonsmoker talked about.

[BowDad]

Hey SS - The buttermilk idea was passed down to me by an oldtimer whom I greatly respect. I knew that it worked but didn't know why. After a couple of minutes of web research, I came up with the following article. Sorry about the length ... but it's worth a read.

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By Sharon Maasdam
of The Oregonian staff

Marinades make meat tender, right? Not necessarily.

In fact, some can actually toughen them, according to food chemist Shirley Corriher. That's contrary to popular thinking, but she's done the research that shows it is so.

Corriher says it was marinated shrimp that was always tough that led her to check out what marinades did to meat, chicken and fish.

Marinades do add flavor, but Corriher found they tenderize only when they contain a dairy product like buttermilk or yogurt.

Types of marinade
Most marinades are acidic. That means they contain vinegar, wine, lemon or other citrus juice.

A marinade can also be enzymatic. Marinades made with pineapple and papaya, for example, include an enzyme that breaks down the surface flesh.

Other marinades use buttermilk or yogurt as a base. According to Corriher, these are the only effective tenderizing marinades.

Acidic marinades
Corriher explains why acidic marinades may actually toughen products in the September issue of Fine Cooking magazine. "Acidic marinades," she writes, "denature proteins."

The proteins in raw meat, chicken or fish are tightly bound, like units of coiled ribbon. "When these proteins are exposed to an acidic marinade, the bonds break and the proteins unwind. Almost immediately, one unwound protein runs into another unwound protein and they bond together in a loose mesh. (The same thing happens when proteins are exposed to heat.)

"At first, water molecules are attached to and trapped within this protein mesh, so the tissue remains juicy and tender. But after a short time, if the protein is in a very acidic marinade, the protein bonds tighten, water is squeezed out and the tissue becomes tough. If you've ever tried marinating shrimp in highly acidic ingredients, it's likely that you're familiar with this result."

Mildly acidic marinades
By "highly acidic," Corriher means a marinade that has a high proportion of acid relative to the other ingredients. But less acid marinades can also add flavor, especially when fresh herbs, spices and other flavoring like Worcestershire sauce are added.

For shrimp, use 1 part acid to 4 parts oil. For example, use 2 tablespoons vinegar to 1 cup vegetable oil (8 tablespoons). A nice addition for flavor would be 2 tablespoons of the juice from a jar of capers.

Tight-textured meats, like flank steak, are not affected by a more acidic marinade. Since the marinade can penetrate only a fraction of an inch, it won't further toughen the meat.

Enzyme marinades
Raw pineapple, figs, papayas, honeydew melon, ginger and kiwifruit all contain enzymes that break down muscle fiber and collagen (connective tissue), Corriher says. These can turn tough meat muscle into mush without even going through an intermediate stage of tenderness. The longer the meat marinates, the greater the breakdown and the mushier the surface will become.

Most dry commercial meat tenderizers use papain, the enzyme from papaya, to do their "tenderizing," so use with caution.

Dairy marinades
Buttermilk and yogurt are mildly acidic, so they don't toughen the way more strongly acidic marinades do. According to Corriher, it's not quite clear how the tenderizing from dairy products occurs, but it seems that the calcium in dairy products activates enzymes in meat that break down proteins -- a process similar to the way aging tenderizes meat.

Indian recipes use yogurt marinades for lamb and tough goat meat. Southern recipes often call for soaking chicken in buttermilk before frying. Some recipes for game call for soaking in milk.

Add garlic, onions, herbs and spices to dairy products for a flavorful tenderizing marinade.

How long a soak?
How long you marinate depends on the texture of the meat or fish. An open-textured flesh, such as a fish fillet, needs only a few minutes of soaking to acquire the flavor. Food with a tighter texture, such as lamb, beef or chicken, can tolerate several hours in a marinade. For tenderizing marinades using dairy products, marinate overnight.



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I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. --Henry David Thoreau (Walden, 1854)

[Salmonsmoker]

Bowdad,

Thanks for the info. I had never heard of that idea or the rational behind it.....printed out of copy for my cooking note book. Will have to get some buttermilk and give it a try.

Thanks again.

ss

[Salmonsmoker]

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