Tough It Out

• Meat tissue is held together by connective tissue called collagen. Collagen is a fibrous protein, the most prevalent in the animal kingdom. Collagen can be found in skin, tendons, ligaments, muscles and other parts of the body. However, the more collagen, the tougher the meat. Meat from muscular sections of the animal, such as the leg or rump, contains a significant amount of collagen, and may require extra tenderizing to make it soft enough to chew.

Beat It

• Early forms of tenderizing meat called for pounding it with a mallet to break up the fibrous connective tissue. Puncturing the meat this way does tenderize it, but it also breaks up the meat's tissue, which makes it taste soft and mushy. This form is effective if the desired result is a thin, tender piece of meat, such as a veal cutlet used in wiener schnitzel or beef cutlet used for chicken-fried steak.

Heat It

• Heat is a natural tenderizer. Slow cooking at a low temperature above 160 degrees Fahrenheit helps breaks down collagen and converts it to a gel-like substance that incorporates itself into the tissue and produces fall-off-the-bone meat. However, cooking meat at temperatures below 160 F can cause meat to dry out and become tough. To effectively raise the interior temperature without overcooking the exterior, use a slow cooker on a low setting or roast in the oven at a low temperature for several hours.

Treat It

• Enzymes help speed up biological processes. In digestion, enzymes help other chemicals break down food. The human body makes its own digestive enzymes but they can also be found in some fruits. The same process that aids digestion works to tenderize meat. When applied to meat, enzymes go to work to dissolve some of the connective tissue without disrupting the juices. Thus, enzymatic tenderizing results in a juicier, more tender piece of meat.

  In a study conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, researchers found that meat tenderized with papain and bromelain, enzymes found in papaya and pineapple, respectively, tenderized meat more effectively than other enzymes but can over-tenderize and turn meat mushy if left uncooked for too long.