Preparing meat to be really tasty, tender and delicious is not easy. Despite a lot of planning or hours of marinating, the result may not always be what we would like. And then we are disappointed. Because dried out and tough meat spoils the enjoyment of the meal. So how do you make meat as tender and tasty as a Michelin star restaurant?

The masters of the trade say there’s no need to buy the most expensive cuts of meat. Nor is it necessary to learn some complicated marinade to ensure tenderness. There’s even no need to prepare the meat a long time in advance. Just look among the fruit. It has an incredible softening power.

Just use the fruit

One specific fruit can help you prepare the meat. The proteolytic enzymes contained in the fruit play a major role in changing the texture of the meat. It allows the connective tissue in the meat to break down, and this leads to an exceptional tenderness in the meat. And which fruit are we talking about? You probably wouldn’t think of preparing meat with kiwi slices. You really only need a few slices placed on the meat before cooking.

━━ ( Source: Peter Bravo de los Rios /  Unsplash+ )

Natural marinade

Of course, you don’t need to prepare any marinade from the kiwi, you really only need to slice the fruit. However, the proteolytic enzymes in kiwi fruit act as a natural marinade, breaking down the tissue and making the meat melt on the tongue. It is important, however, to use kiwis correctly. It should be placed on the meat several hours before the actual preparation of the dish. However, it is important that the meat is not exposed to the kiwi for too long.

There is a danger that the meat will become too soft and fall apart during preparation. Tender cuts of meat usually require marinating with the fruit for as little as 30 minutes. However, it’s true that if it’s a really tough cut of meat, you can leave the fruit on the meat for up to 24 hours for a perfect result. However, you need to be really careful. So always think about what kind of meat you have available and choose the length of marinating time accordingly.

Similar function

Don’t have a kiwi at home and unfortunately you couldn’t find one in the store? That’s okay, because other fruits can help you just like kiwi. You can use mango or pineapple, or even papaya. You can add them to meat to create a marinade for neck steaks, pork loin or lamb shanks. It’s up to you which cut of meat you prepare. One thing is for sure. It will always be wonderfully tender just because of the fruit.

Actinidin in kiwi, bromelain in pineapple, papain in papaya and amylase in mango. Yes, the individual substances are different from each other, but all of these enzymes actually work similarly when consuming meat. Each of them breaks down the proteins in meat. Plus, the fruit also adds sweetness to the meat. And that adds to the savoury flavour of the dish.

Cultural traditions

Some may find the use of tropical fruits on meat quite strange, but in different parts of the world, it is quite common. It is even part of traditions around the world, depending on the type of fruit. In Southeast Asia, for example, they often marinate meat with green papaya. In India, they prefer the first fruit mentioned, the kiwi. For example, Bihari Kebab is prepared with it.