PAPAYA

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Tim Patrick

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 20, 2017
2
2
Newby here. First post.

We love fajitas, London broil and tri-tip roasts on the smoker. I have tried several tenderizers seeking perfection and someone told me about papaya. This fruit is loaded with papain enzyme, a natural protein breakdown agent.

I bought some skirt steaks and used a whole Mexican papaya for the marinade. I sliced it in long sections, peeled and removed the seeds and emulsified it in a blender with some soy and brown sugar. The recipe called for marinating the meat for a few hours. I did it for 24 hours. I rinsed the meat and seasoned as I normally do with a store bought seasoning blend. I put the steak on my Camp Chef smoke at 350° for 30 minutes. It was beyond tender as in fall apart tender.

You can also skip using the papaya fruit and use the peel/skin only. It needs to be finely chopped to the point of mush. Then place in a blender with some water.
 
Wow 24 hours, If I did that with fresh pineapple juice it would probably have turned to mush. Usually about 3 hours is my timing.
 
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Using the skin is of particular interest to me. Wonder how much skin is needed in a marinade to facilitate tenderness? I wouldn’t use the fruit due to sugar but love this idea.
 
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