Cooking with Acidity

I have eaten a lot of meat in my day...believe me. I have eaten some AMAZINGLY cooked steaks, chicken, pork, and my most favorite classic meat, salmon. I have eaten python, all kinds of birds, rat (bread for eating, don't worry), tripe, chickens feet to name a few. You name it and I've probably enjoyed it. I have seen countless ways to tenderize meat. Taking out aggression on a hunk of meat is always classic. The most absurd technigue and I know everyone does it is what I like to call culinary acupuncture. Tenderizing the meat with needles until it looks like a heroine addict. Sure it turns out tender but it's more on the ground beef side.

Acidity is a VERY good tool for tenderizing just about every kind of meat with out beating the heck out of it until it's as flat as paper. "What's acidity?" you ask. No it's not something that burns through metal or cleans teeth. What I'm talking about is acidity we eat. Either in tomatoes, citrus fruits and my favorite is vinegar. All of these do a good job but vinegar is thee best. Lets say you want to marinate a steak or some chicken. Add a little vinegar to that marinade, NOT A LOT, just a little. We don't want to cook the meat while it's marinading. Also DO NOT use regular white distilled vin unless you know what you're doing, it's very strong and overpowering. Go for something less deadly like rice wine vin, balsamic or my ALL TIME favorite for just about anything acidic, Apple Cider Vinegar. The acidity in vinegars breaks down the muscle tissue which in turn causes deliciousness.

There are more ways to tenderize meat than even I know about but this "trick" has always served me well.

Remember...Cooking is Fun!