Brining, marinating can help cuts

Boneless country beef ribs are a cut from below the ribeye. With the proper marinating and cooking techniques they can successfully imitate cuts of steak that cost three times as much per pound.


A nicely marbled ribeye needs no help being moist, tasty and tender, nor does a big ground-chuck burger or a fat bratwurst. But when you grill leaner meats, it pays to give them a little help. That means brining and marinating, and success is achieved by knowing how the process works.

Marinades are used to flavor and tenderize meat. Marinating means to soak meat, before cooking, in a liquid or thin paste that includes flavorings, oil and usually acid.

Oil lubricates the surface of the meat and prevents it from drying out during high-heat cooking.

The tenderizing action is usually performed by the acid, in the form of citrus juice, wine, vinegar or dairy products. Remember, tangy foods are acidic. A small amount of acid is absorbed into the protein structure and helps release tenderizing enzymes already within the cells.

Some fruits, such as papaya and pineapple, contain plant enzymes that break down the structure of protein fibers. These are used to manufacture commercial meat tenderizers. A small amount of these fruits in your marinade also can help tenderize.

Some marinades for tender cuts of meat do not contain acid and are for flavor only.

Be careful when you marinate, because too much of a good thing is bad. Too much enzymatic activity turns the protein into mush.

An overabundance of acid can cause the protein to shrink, or coagulate, which actually toughens the fibers and forces out liquid.

Also, unless you are making sauerbraten, the marinade should not be so acidic that the meat tastes sour.

Brining is used to add moisture and flavor to potentially dry cuts of meat, such as white meat poultry and pork loin. It does not tenderize tough cuts.

The science behind brining is that a higher liquid concentration of a mineral — in this case salt — will move into areas where it is less concentrated so meat cells will absorb a salty liquid, along with sugar and any flavors that it contains.

The cells swell with the moisture, and the meat is plumper and juicer after cooking.

Since brining does not affect protein fibers, it is effective on larger cuts of meat — such as whole chickens, turkeys or pork loin roasts — which must be allowed to soak for long periods of time so the brine can penetrate to the interior of the meat.

Smaller cuts like pork chops or chicken breasts need to soak only for a couple of hours.

Now let's talk grilling. Bringing steaks and chops to room temperature before grilling will not make you sick. Leaving meat at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking is perfectly safe and makes a very noticeable difference in the results of high-heat cooking methods like grilling.

Take it from a former line cook who has grilled and sliced innumerable steaks, chops, breasts and loins.

Cooking an ice-cold piece of meat on a hot grill or skillet is not the best idea.

What you get is a core of cold, rare meat in the center of the cut.

The longer the meat cooks, the smaller the rare portion becomes, until it may be a thin stripe or a pencil-sized round — but your meat is still well done on the outside and raw in the center, with nothing in between.

It's very difficult to achieve a nice crusty exterior with an evenly cooked medium center if you start with cold meat — and that's why so many inexperienced broiler cooks (and backyard grillers) accidentally overcook steaks and chops.

If you cook a piece of cold meat over high heat until the thin stripe of red is almost gone, once the temperature equalizes, the stripe is gone.

Let the meat come to room temperature in the marinade or brine, dry it gently with paper towels, rub it with a touch of oil or butter and sear it over very high heat.

Let it cook undisturbed until the outside is crusty, and only turn it once.

If you want it to cook further, move it to a cool portion of the grill until the heat equalizes and the center is almost done to your liking.

Watch carefully, because it won't take as long to finish as you expect. Take the meat off the grill when it is the slightest hair underdone and let it rest under a towel for three minutes before you cut into it.

The interior of your meat will be juicy and evenly cooked from edge to center.


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