Meat Tenderizer Question

[kansas city boy]

Hi all,
I'm planning on smoking a brisket on Sunday. My neighbor swears by a seasoning called "meat tenderizer". He says to use it in conjunction with my rub and it helps to, you guessed it, tenderize the meat. The ingredients include salt, sugar and papain (?). I was just wondering what you all thought about this and if anyone else uses it. I don't want to add any unnecessary salt or tamper with the flavor of my rub, but I don't want to end up with a tough brisket like last time. I figure, if I follow all of the notes I've read here, I shouldn't need the tenderizer to tenderize. Thanks in advance for the input.

matt

 

[deejaydebi]

From Wikipedia:

Papain is a cysteine protease (EC 3.4.22.2) present in papaya (Carica papaya) which is useful in tenderizing meat and other proteins.

 

[squeezy]

I wouldn't put it on a brisket ... it would turn the outside to mush, salty mush.
just my opinion!

 

[bigal]

I totally agree w/Squeezy. I watched a steak comp on tv one night and they used meat tenderizer, so I tried it. I didn't use much and I smoked my steaks at about 275-300(grill marks don't do much for me, smoke does). The result was a thin layer on the outside of the steaks were mushy. The tenderizer went straight to the trash.

You can get fork tender brisket by just smoke'n it low and slow. 225* till internal temp hits 160-170, wrap in foil(not 100% needed), and take it to 200*. Wrap in foil and let rest for at least 1 hr. All meat temps taken in the middle of the flat.

Good luck.

 

[jts70]

Meat tenderizer will never cross the threshold of my house. Low and slow is all the tenderizer you need. This process allows the meat to break down and become tender. If you follow the info from this site , you willl end up with a tender brisket! Good luck KC and please let us know how it turns out!

 

[gypsyseagod]

what those guys said. also.. make sure you get a good brisket(be very wary of sale meats)

 

[peculiarmike]

Yeah, what all those guys said!
You should not ever need a meat tenderizer. Just do what you are supposed to do, then get that guy over, give him a taste and show him how it is supposed to be done. You can educate him a bit.

 

[gypsyseagod]

another lil' thing i do (you may or may not like it)is inject the brisket w/ balsamic vinegar the night before- it tenderizes a bit & tastes totally different than it smells out of the bottle-works great on ribeyes too.

 

[kansas city boy]

I think that's a unanymous consensus......Thanks for the input - I'll let you know how it goes.

Matt

 

[hhersh]

..........I inject my brisket with Tony Chacheres' Cajun Butter and it is not only tender and juicy but really flavorful...