Page 85 - Summer2008

even the toughest cuts of meat into wonderful izing meat. This includes pounding meat with a Producing
roasts. No matter how lean your roast may be, meat hammer, using a larding needle, and using
this technique ensures a beautiful cut of beef that a blade-type tenderizer. Pounding beef brie y, and preparing

is juicy, pink in the center, and absolutely deli- taking care not to cause loss of juices or atten- grass-finished
cious. And the best part is that overcooking the ing too much, can be done prior to marinating beef seems
beef is just about impossible. The meat insulates to help with tissue breakdown.
itself: super-slow roasting dries the outside of Larding needles used to be typical kitchen to be a
the roast and locks in the moisture, enabling the hardware from the time when lean, economical continuous

meat to cook in its own juice. The avor will be cuts of beef were supplemented with strips of lard learning
extra beefy, but be patient. Super-slow roasting or other pork fat products in slow cooked dishes.
takes a long time. Servings vary, depending on Piercing the meat with the larding needle itself experience
the size of the roast. helps to break apart connective tissue, while the for all those
fat insulates lean meat and lubricates and coats it who choose
1 beef roast, such as London broil, top, during cooking, adding extra avor to the meat

bottom or eye of the round, or sirloin juices. to participate
Herb rub of your choice Blade-type tenderizers are sometimes in this

recommended by farmers selling grass-nished adventure.
Rub the roast with the herbs of your choice, beef as a means to sever the connective tissue in
wrap loosely in plastic, and allow to sit at room all sorts of cuts, from steaks to roasts. The Jac-
temperature for 2 hours. card meat tenderizer is one of these devices, and
Preheat the oven to 250°F touted as “the secret” behind the tender steaks
Place the meat in a small roasting pan, at upscale restaurants, where, presumably, the
insert a meat thermometer, and cook for 30 “Prime” beef of the nation ends up. The principle
minutes. Turn the oven heat down as low as you of tenderizing is simple: numerous razor-sharp
can (most modern ovens do not go below 170°F, blades are pressed into the meat against the grain
but if yours will accurately go as low as 150° or to cut the connective tissue into small sections
160°F, so much the better). Continue cooking the that will yield to the bite.
meat until the thermometer registers between
120° to 125°F. As a guide, gure about 1 hour HONING A CULINARY ART

and ten minutes per pound of meat at 170°F. Producing and preparing grass-nished

Remove the roast from the oven, tent beef seems to be a continuous learning experi-
loosely with foil and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. ence for all those who choose to participate in
Carve into very thin slices to serve. this adventure. Like anything that is done well,
superior results come from constant investiga-
MECHANICAL TENDERIZING tion, trial and error, and keen attention to the
Besides kitchen-aging of meat, use of details. We can be grateful to the passionate
marinades and slow, low heat cooking methods, farmers who enrich our lives with nutritious
there is also the mechanical approach to tender- food. Our reward is in the eating!
REFERENCES
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004
Cookwise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed, Shirley O. Corriher, William Morrow and Company, 1997
Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking, Hervé This, Columbia University Press, 2007

The Science of Cooking, Peter Barham, Springer-Verlag Press, 2001
The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, Shannon Hayes, Eating Fresh Publications, 2004
Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal, Joel Salatin, Polyface Inc., 2007
http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/meat_quality/mqf_stress.html
http://www.naturalhub.com/buy_food_meat_tenderness.htm
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0856.html
http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/faq-grass-fed-beef.asp
http://www.askthemeatman.com/usda_beef_quality_grades.htm
http://www.bbqreport.com/archives/barbecue/2006/03/02/understanding-the-usda-beef-grading-system.

SUMMER 2008 Wise Traditions 83