Ways To Tenderize Beef Before Cooking?

The last time I cook beef which is like two years ago, the meat turned out all tough so I gave up on cooking beef totally.

A friend told me yesterday that by soaking the beef in soda water before cooking, it helps to soften the texture of the meat. As with marinating using red wine or lemon juice. By soaking it in soda water beforehand, does it mean before marinating or right before going into the pan?

Have anybody tried these suggestions before? Which is the most effective? or have you any to share?

meat tenderizer

it comes in powder form

you can rub some corn starch onto it to make it more tender and smooth

OR..

put a piece of saran wrap over it and pound it with a meat cleaver. this always works.

my sister in law uses pineapple juice...

koreans use pureed kiwi/pear to tenderize their bulgogi.

anything acidic so lemon juice marinade. or a corn starch slush.

don't overcook the beef you silly marshmallow

actually, i also don't like underdone beef :|

boiling beef is ok, cos it becomes softer after a while

if im frying, i usually have to watch not to overcook it or it will become like indian rubber.

i dont use meat tenderisers and i dont pound the beef. but you can use that.

you can soak the beef overnight in soy sauce/lemon juice/wine.

There are several ways, including all that soda stuff, but they're also very bad for you in the long run.

uhm i'm no food expert or anything (cause i dunno how to cook AT ALL! hehe)

but my dad told me once that to tenderize beef was to put beef in boiling water and then you just let it stay there until it softens (??) i dunno =____= puaha XD

apparently meat tenderizer is bad for u!??!?! according to my mum :/

Meat tenderizer is bad for you :/ But why won't you just marinate it? There are a lot of things you can marinate meat with and you can change it up to suit your taste. You can use most italian dressings to marinate your meet.

Also, salt breaks down proteins and the proteins are the reason why meat is so tough. When proteins start to break down, the meat becomes softer

This is a good site to check out It has diagrams and everything, haha.

http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/08/28/h...i-prime-steaks/

depends on the meat...but a MALLET! heh heh! ;D

anything acidic so lemon juice marinade. or a corn starch slush.

depends on the meat...but a MALLET! heh heh! ;D

those two work. soda works as well. my mom uses pepsi for some reason. she marinates it with oyster sauce and pepsi @_@ but its yummy!

Cut up Kiwis and mix it with the meat, then take the kiwis out.

It comes out sooo nice and soft.

Buy kobe/wagyu beef, as they are known as the most tender beef. But yes, corn starch helps.

beat it like it owes you money

usually i just marinate it in something...

but...i've also rubbed an egg on it too...and just mix the meat in with the egg, let it sit in the fridge for fifteen/thirty mins....and the beef is usually pretty tender..

depends on the cutof the meat, some cuts are just naturally more tender than others. Beating it is the best way IMO. unless you're planning to incorporate acidic taste in your dish then you can use acid base ingredient to soften them up ( takes a while and does not soften 100% ). Don't over cook it. Mid-rare to mid will not kill you. Braise the meat for hours and itll soften up like butttaaaaaaaa

some korean people add kiwi fruit to their bulgogi when cooking (in marinade)

it makes the beef extremely tender although i don't know how