43 meat tenderizer recipes

A trail-worthy chili made from beef jerky, chili powder, cumin seeds, and oregano simmered low and slow until the jerky rehydrates and turns tender. No fresh meat or refrigeration needed.

Authentic Upper Michigan pasties filled with ground beef, potatoes, rutabaga, onion, and carrot in a tender, chewy suet crust. Cornish-style meat pies from the UP, just like the miners made.

Budget-friendly turkey drumsticks browned and braised low and slow with poultry seasoning until fork-tender. Just 5 ingredients and a couple hours of hands-off cooking for juicy, fall-apart meat.

Prime rib roasted in a rock salt crust that seals in every drop of juice, producing fork-tender, deeply seasoned meat. A showstopping Old English technique you crack open with a hammer.

Mandarin Cornish hens: small game hens roasted and basted in a bright orange juice glaze for tender, citrus-kissed meat and burnished skin. An elegant, simple main with one bird per person or to share.

Chicken Alla Spina braised with red wine, onions, and oregano in a roasting pan. An Italian-American one-pan chicken dinner with tender meat and a savory wine sauce for sopping with bread.

Braising can turn a tough piece of meat into a tender, fall off the bone, comfort food. I can think of no better example than the classic dish osso buco, made from veal shanks.

Traditional Mexican barbacoa: whole lamb slow-roasted in a maguey leaf-lined earth pit for hours. This ancient communal feast from Mexico City feeds 24 and delivers smoky, fall-apart tender meat like nothing else.

Rendang is the legendary Indonesian beef curry: chunks of beef slow-simmered in spiced coconut milk and tamarind until the sauce reduces almost dry and the meat turns fork-tender. Deeply fragrant and richly spiced.

This is a favorite dish of my family's, especially on holidays like Easter and Christmas. Most people cringe at the idea of eating a cow's tongue, but actually the meat is very tender, and even if you have to close your eyes and plug your nose to try it, please do. I guarantee it won't be what you expect!

Mary Rogers's sourdough biscuits use an overnight starter sponge for a tender, tangy biscuit with a soft crumb. A pioneer-style overnight rise that beats any quick biscuit hands down.