Reasons why the meat in hotels and restaurants is tender

I know you may have experienced this as well as I have after you had meat at your favorite restaurant or hotel in Diani Beach that was exceptionally tender and scrumptious. You decided to try out the recipe at home but didn’t taste as good and the meat was so tough your knife and fork appeared to be the wrong tools.
I am a meat lover and I have to confess that I kept trying out those recipes prior to discovering the technique I am about to disclose to you, the results were disastrous.

Roast meat should also be brined

Recipes containing red meat, white meat or even sea food are the order in most hotels and restaurants. Therefore in preparation the chefs go out of their way to ensure you – the customer enjoy the meal. You have to agree with me that additives like vinegar and various seasonings do the work partially in softening the meat to the fiber.
But ladies and gentlemen, there is another route that guarantees splendid results. Brining.
The definition given to the word brine by various dictionaries is:
Salt water for preserving: water containing a significant amount of salt, used for curing, preserving, and developing flavor in food

Brining Meat

It is that simple. However there are some steps to follow and time frame to be observed. First of, allow me to break it down for you.

When you cook meat it tightens as temperature increases thus squeezing out the juices and leaving you with some very dry and tough bites to grapple with.

Brining absorbs moisture into the meat’s protein structure and reduces the chances of the meat tightening together during high temperature cooking. Plus the meat gets internal seasoning from the salty water.

Chicken and pork usually become tough after cooking but brining can eliminate the problem. It even works wonders for game meat.

So, what exactly do you need to do?

1.    The best salt to use in this operation is kosher salt for the fact that it is free of additives although other alternatives are also suitable like canning salt available from supermarkets.

2.    The water has got to be cold before you add the salt. The amount of salt is determined by the meat because you have to cover the meat to the top for best results. Half a cup of salt will make a good solution with about five liters of water. If the solution doesn’t cover the meat entirely make additional solutions with equal proportions.

3.    You can add herbs and spices for flavor or you can substitute the water with pineapple juice for a different flavor. Sugar can also be added to the brine for flavor where ½ a cup will do for 5 liters,

4.    When adding spices it is okay to bring the water to a boil and adding your spices or even sugar then letting it cool down before dropping in the meat.

5.    Once you are done, you can set the meat in a cool place preferably in a refrigerator not leaving it for long to avoid over salting the meat. Tough meat and big chops should be given ample time for the solution to seep into the meat’s fiber. After the period sufficient for the tenderizing of your meat you can cook it as you please. Remember not to add seasoning to the meat if you did that during brining.

Tender meat takes time to prepare

You can now indulge yourself in the servings of tender and soft meat for your next meal.

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