WineLovers Discussion Group

I've been tempted to buy one of these for a long time and finally found one in a local store for $20.00 the other day.
Deni
I'm planning on using it tonight on some chuck roast - probably on the grill. Does anyone have any experience with these and any tips?

This might produce good results, but seems to take all the fun out of bashing something

Howie Hart wrote:I've been tempted to buy one of these for a long time and finally found one in a local store for $20.00 the other day.
Deni
I'm planning on using it tonight on some chuck roast - probably on the grill. Does anyone have any experience with these and any tips?

Looks to me like the...er...pardon the expression, housewife version of the commercial "needled" beef. This is a process where thousands of needles pierce the less tender cuts (and often more expensive cuts of lower quality carcasses). I don't like it. Creates a multitude of holes for juices to escape the meat. Bash it if you must tenderize. Although chuck roast, a very flavorful cut, needs only braising and the right cooking time to be scrumptious.

ChefCarey wrote:...I don't like it. Creates a multitude of holes for juices to escape the meat. Bash it if you must tenderize. Although chuck roast, a very flavorful cut, needs only braising and the right cooking time to be scrumptious.

Chef - I started reading your book the other day and I knew that if you responded to this post you wouldn't approve. That being said, I have 3 pieces of chuck, about equal size, so I'll try some both ways - tenderized and not. I'll let you know how I make out.

I got side tracked last night and didn't get the grill fired up. However, later in the evening, I prepared the 3 pieces of chuck. They are about 1-1/2 inches thick. Two pieces I treated with the Deni, and one I left as is. I coated all three pieces with Chef Carey's dry rub. However, before wrapping them in plastic wrap and returning them to the fridge, I cut off one piece of the Deni treated, about 4" x 6" and grilled it on the George Foreman grill for about 8 minutes, then, unplugged the grill and let it sit in the grill for 5 minutes. I'm guessing this was about 10- 12 oz. and the amount of juice that ran out of the grill into the dish that comes with the grill was much less than I would normally accumulate from grilling a 1/4 lb. burger. I was surprised at how good it turned out. The grilled chuck was very tender, juice and probably one of the best steaks I ever cooked. I agree with Chef Carey that chuck is a great piece of meat for braising, and I love Pot Roast. And past experiece with grilling chuck was disappointing - the flavor was there, but it was always very tough. However, I was quite pleased with the results and will fire up the grill tonight for the rest of the meat.

Howie - how did the tenderizer experiment turn out? I was eye-ing one of these things in a recent "Chef's" catalog, and would like to know what you thought.

"Yum" or "Yuck" in my wine parlance?

Sue W wrote:Howie - how did the tenderizer experiment turn out? I was eye-ing one of these things in a recent "Chef's" catalog, and would like to know what you thought.

"Yum" or "Yuck" in my wine parlance?

YUM!
I was going to post the results when I got around to cooking up the chuck roasts, but everything went against trying to cook 8 steaks all at once until last night. Last week I tenderized the 3 roasts, and cut off a piece, which I cooked on the George Foreman grill as reported above. All the meat was dusted with Chef Carey's dry rub, re-wrapped and put back in the freezer. I took them out to thaw Sunday morning, to have for dinner Sunday night when my son's girl friend was to fly in from Florida. However, her plane ended up being grounded in Pittsburg, so last night, I cut the roasts into 8 steaks and cooked them on the charcoal grill. The flavor was excellent, as I love chuck, and the results of cooking med-rare were very good - although there were still some grizzly parts, in general, the meat was very tender, juicey and flavorful. Better than many steaks I've had that are considered better cuts. These were on sale when I bought them and would probably have made pot roast, but its just not pot roast season - more of a January dish. I was quite pleased with the results and the family enjoyed it.

Howie Hart wrote:

Sue W wrote:Howie - how did the tenderizer experiment turn out? I was eye-ing one of these things in a recent "Chef's" catalog, and would like to know what you thought.

"Yum" or "Yuck" in my wine parlance?

YUM!
I was going to post the results when I got around to cooking up the chuck roasts, but everything went against trying to cook 8 steaks all at once until last night. Last week I tenderized the 3 roasts, and cut off a piece, which I cooked on the George Foreman grill as reported above. All the meat was dusted with Chef Carey's dry rub, re-wrapped and put back in the freezer. I took them out to thaw Sunday morning, to have for dinner Sunday night when my son's girl friend was to fly in from Florida. However, her plane ended up being grounded in Pittsburg, so last night, I cut the roasts into 8 steaks and cooked them on the charcoal grill. The flavor was excellent, as I love chuck, and the results of cooking med-rare were very good - although there were still some grizzly parts, in general, the meat was very tender, juicey and flavorful. Better than many steaks I've had that are considered better cuts. These were on sale when I bought them and would probably have made pot roast, but its just not pot roast season - more of a January dish. I was quite pleased with the results and the family enjoyed it.

I am somewhat surprised that the meat was juicy, I must admit. I'm glad for you. However, there are some parts of the chuck that are much more tender than the rest and you can actually grill them. So , this was *almost* science.

I shy away from the tenderized cuts of meat. Costco was my first experience with a flank steak that had all those needle holes in it. Did not like the results and other cuts have disappointed, as well.
I much prefer to braise, or marinate when needed.

Actually, they're not really needles, but "V" shaped, pointy, sharp blades. After using the Deni, the cuts in the meat aren't really visible.

Howie Hart wrote:I've been tempted to buy one of these for a long time and finally found one in a local store for $20.00 the other day.
Deni
I'm planning on using it tonight on some chuck roast - probably on the grill. Does anyone have any experience with these and any tips?

Funny. I was watching "Emeril Live" the other day and Emeril specifically recommended using one of these to tenderize cheaper cuts of meat for use in roulades, braciole, etc. But it was, I believe, a Jaccard. Don't know if he was just plugging the product or giving a serious tip. Thinking about it, what's the difference between pounding a slice of flank steak into submission and stabbing it to death? The whole purpose is to break down the tough tissues anyway.