On the morality of beating meat...

So, what do you think?

Should a tough piece of meat be hammered into submission or should it just be cooked more slowly? Could marinades help? How about abalone and the like? I think you pretty much have to pound some of them before you can cook them.

I've never used a chemical meat tenderizer (Adolph's?), so that whole concept's a new one to me.

but frankly, I think one can come up with a nice tender piece of meat and release a little tension as well by beating it. Right when you think you've let it all go...as Emeril would say...KICK IT UP A NOTCH! ;-)

the flavor?

Well, then, I'm off to kick notches and release some tension. :-)

then marinade like you'd serenade.

The heat of the meat is inversely proportionate to the angle of the dangle.
John
What the hell were we talking about again?

Never used Adolph's either but never wanted to...

Beef stew meat is generally pretty tough, cooking a stew slowly is the best way, but the meat derives its flavor from what it's cooked with (generally I find tough meat to be rather bland in of itself)

Marinating for a few days might help...I have a great recipe for chicken marinade including garlic, honey, beer, teriyaki, let it simmer a day or two and it is quite delicious, it just adds to the flavor...Beef, I don't know...I do think lemon juice or vinegar could help for the marinade, but don't forget the other ingredients for flavor.

Seafood is an area different, can't give any advice except do not overcook...Never have eaten abalone so I don't know about that one...but its definitely true about other mollusks.

Of course you can pound the hell out of your meat, I've eaten a few Cube and Swiss steaks that were tasty, but still tough...but then again, they were embellished with other flavors. Onion and mushroom gravy comes to mind...

I'm getting hungry now and it's almost 11 pm! Best stop here...

... lemon juice, vinegar, sharp wine, etc.

without cutting all the way through it.

marinate overnight.

Put it in the freezer until it's almost, but not quite frozen. Makes it easier to slice it thin.

Then beat the crap out of it. Beat it until you can almost see through it. Marinate at your discretion, and give it a quick stir fry with some vegetables.

You can get some mighty tender beef from the cheapest cuts this way.

mm

Like if you're the butcher and the shop catches fire! I hate when that happens, but in a case like that I think the thing to do would be to grab one's meat and beat it ASAP!

Most marinades do zip, zero, zilch and nada to improve or change the tenderness or texture of any meat. They improve the flavour.

Marinades that include fresh pineapple juice or fresh papaya juice, on the other hand contain a natural enzyme which will tenderise remarkably well. That enzyme and some amount of the fruit acids work to break down the protein chains which would otherwise solidify when cooking. It is the same enzyme which is extracted, dehydrated and sold in sold in commercial products designed to tenderise meats. For best results a marinade should contain high amounts of some type of oil or fat. The enzyme and acids will extract some amount of the moisture from the meats and fats in your marinade will help replace the moisture and improve the mouthfeel of your meat product.

One other marinade, which contains a different enzyme, - and a fierce one at that, yogurt. The difficulty with the yogurt marinade is that after 1 hours time your meat will be mush. The enzymes in active cultured yogurt are industrial strength and should be used with a light hand.

If you're economising with a tougher cut and you'd like improve the texture a bit:

I recommend beating your meat.

I also recommend jacquarding, http://www.smokeshack.net/faq.htm#What%20Is%20 but that is a tad extreme for most.

And finally, because it adds so much to the flavour, I recommend marinading in fresh pineapple or papaya juice.

Enjoy your meat.

with a big claw-tooth hammer, but it didn't seem to help much. It was still rubbery.

(I can't believe I just wrote that)