The Underrated Fruit You Should Use To Tenderize Your Meat

When preparing meat, it's often important to tenderize it in some way, as certain cuts can have tough fibers that make it hard to chew. There are plenty of ways to do this, with some requiring a little more prep and others requiring a little more elbow grease. A marinade, for example, can be a great way to tenderize meat if you have the extra time. You can use a meat mallet on a steak, though it will require more energy depending on what you're cooking. If you're looking for an easy way to tenderize meat while also giving it some bright, acidic undertones, however, then you should try using kiwi.

Kiwis are subtropical fruits that originated in China and are grown throughout the world, though they're most commonly grown in New Zealand. They have brown, slightly fuzzy skin with bright green flesh, and they're known for being packed with nutrients, including vitamins C and K. However, kiwis also contain something known as actinidin (sometimes spelled actinidain), which gives this fruit the ability to make meat tender while keeping its integrity and texture.

There are two main ways you can tenderize your meat with kiwi — by marinating it or by using the kiwi skin. The reason these methods are preferred rather than slicing kiwi directly onto the meat is because the enzyme known as actinidin can easily have a negative impact if too much is used; it could turn your meat to mush if it's not used sparingly.

To avoid squidgy meat, you can instead remove the skin from the fruit. There is often a small amount of kiwi left attached to the skin during this process. Then, take those kiwi skins, and brush them along every part of the meat. The actinidin will be enough to trigger the tenderizing process, resulting in a perfect texture without much hard work.

Another option is to marinate the meat in a sauce or dressing made using kiwi. One option is to combine the kiwi flesh with a little olive oil and vinegar; the flesh is soft and can be mashed in your hands, or you can toss it in a blender. But be careful how much you use here; for a five-pound cut of meat, you should only need about half a kiwi at the most. Don't make a marination timing mistake, either; it only takes 15 minutes to work before it starts to break down the meat too much. Before cooking it, remove the excess kiwi and any moisture to ensure the meat gets a good sear.

Not all meat needs to be tenderized, but tougher cuts like beef brisket or chuck roast can benefit from a bit of relaxation. Tenderizing it means reducing the resilient connective tissue on the meat's exterior, which gives it a melt-in-your-mouth feel.

Actinidin, a cystein protease, works through a process called proteolytic degradation. Without getting too in the weeds with the science, the simplest explanation is that this process breaks down specific links within the tough meat proteins using water, which reduces those links to softer amino acids, thereby making it much more tender than when the proteins were in their original state. While green and SunGold kiwis both contain elevated levels of actinidin, the verdant variety generally tends to break down proteins more effectively.

Still, all you really need to know is that it works and also infuses some exciting flavor into the meat before it's cooked. Just make sure to use a small amount of kiwi to prevent ruining the texture.