Tips & Tricks #1 - Poor Man's Filet Mignon 

hey buddy I watched this video and thought you were crazy but I'm a believer now I'm so glad I found your video ... thanks for the tip works great and I mean great

What a charismatic gentleman, i hope he doesnt abuse his children or something sinister

Poor man's steak: Beef flavored ramen packet

I'm watching this 12 years later and still looks like one of the easiest ways to tenderize cheap beef. I can't wait to try it on the top round steak and mock tender steak I have.

early cro magnon discovering how to preserve meat

He looks like the one villain from toy story

Hi there Jack. Chef Dean here, the reason that this works, is that the salt breaks down the connective tissue in the meat. Just a thought for you, next time, salt both sides of the meat and go for between 2 and 3 hours per inch of meat. Basically what you are doing is dry aging the meat. Coat both sides in a good thick layer, stick it in the fridge, pull it our and let it come to room temp before you rinse it. Pat the meat dry and then let it rest about 15 minutes while you spice it up. Then BBQ the steak, you won't believe your mouth. Give it a shot with the same cut of meat and you won't believe the difference.

SCIENCE EXPLAINED... In table salt (NaCl), the SODIUM (Na), is what muscle cells use to relax! So when an animal dies and no more sodium is available to make the Myosin release from the Actin (the microscopic anatomy of a muscle cell) the muscle freezes in a tensed position. This is how Rigor Mortis occurs. By covering the beef (Muscles cells) with Salt (NaCl) you are allowing the cells to relax post-mortem thus tenderizing the meat! Soy sauce should also do the trick!

I have seen that trick for tenderizing steak before. It looks so simple and easy. Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work.

The salt draws the moisture out through a process called osmosis. Essentially, the water in the cells of the meat will cross the membranes to go to the area of higher concentration of solutes (in this case the solute is salt, but a solute is anything that will dissolve in water). The salt also denatures proteins in the meat (the same thing that goes on when meat is cooked), making it more tender - the salt is doing the equivalent of if you slow-cooked the steak, except without the heat.

This method is called "Dry Brining". You can use it on any meat or poultry. It works better if you salt both sides and all around the pieces. Frankly, you do not have to use as much salt as he does. 10% of what he used will give equal results. You can also add flavor (rosemary, thyme, whatever you like) to the meat first, then salt it if you like.

Thank you Jack for the video. I will try this method. Enjoyed your production style too and especially leaving out the canned background music!

your wife has been lying to you. That's no inch and a half.

why this works: A polypeptide is a complex chain of amino acids and a protein is a complex superstructure of polypeptides. The structure of proteins is dependant on two things, 1- hydrogen bonding with water molecules, 2- electrically charged interactions with other ions called polar interactions. Salt is made of charged ions (Na+ and Cl-) so they only form polar interactions while removing water. this greatly disrupts the protein structure. Most animal proteins are at their most stable state at room temperature when they're left alone so when you add salt the proteins will change shape and structure because there's less water and more ions and the meat will soften.

Salt breaks down proteins, so does acid. So you can do this with pineapple juice, and soy sauce. All of which come out differently in texture and taste.

Great method this works on the crappiest steaks... amazing that just letting salt sit on a steak for 30 mins to an hour completely changes the texture.. just be sure to wash it off & pat dry so you don't get a salt bomb steak. I find you don't need to season with salt after this.. just some pepper, butter, garlic and herbs.

The salt draws out the moisture. If you let the steak sit overnight, the moisture will be reincorporated back into the steak. As you saw, after just an hour, you could pour off steak juices; there goes flavor and tenderness.

Just tried this with two 3 pound London Broil cuts, and it turned out pretty damn well. Granted, it wasn't Steakhouse tender, but close, and my god did it turn out well. I would absolutely 100% recommend.

the shoulder steak you are cooking there is as you said it a tough piece of meat. its meant more as a roasting meat but not to be fooled there. also you have what is considered to be the second most tender piece of meat on a cow with the section of whats called a mock tender or flatiron steak. it is the piece that has the grissle running through it you take that whole piece of meat off the shoulder clod and separate the grissle from the meat and instantly that 1.99 a pound piece of meat turns into a 7 or 8 dollar a pound piece of meat so that's another way for the veiwers to save some money look for whats called a flat iron steak. buy a shoulder clod for a cheap price then learn where the flat iron is on it and separate the two cuts save a ton of money and get a great steak and a really good roast in the process.

Caught your show 11 years later but this is important to me and thank you for making this video. Tomorrow I will be cooking a cheap steak and will do your method. Can't wait. Thank you again. Take care

What you are doing with the salt is called Koshering, kosher salt is the best for it because it's super coarse but also hollow, so it holds more moisture

I had a piece of roast that was cut like a steak. It was pretty much the worst possible piece of meat for steak. I tried this and, aside from a couple of areas that were too sinewy to get to the meat, it was great. My only complaint was that it was a bit on the salty side because I used Montreal Steak seasoning, which added more salt. But it was very tender and had great flavor. Thanks for sharing this one! Can't wait to try it with a decent cut of meat.

my parents & grandparents did this back in eastern europe ( germany/ ukraine) during ww1&2 cause they had no refridgeration, they did it with wild game, fish basically to preserve their food, before it was cooked, they also would wrap their foods in burlap,cotton sheets whatever was available, bury it in the earth about 4 feet down, cover with stones & during winters they would put ice in the ground to use during summer months, my grandpa said if you put ice blocks in earth about 5 or 6 feet they wouldnt melt, i remember during the 1970’s going to my grandparents house they would stil cover in salt before they cooked fish meat, by then they had a fridge 👍🏻, beautiful memories

I used regular salt iodized on chuck steak it turned out really great thank you for making this video it’s my first steak and everyone was surprised it was chuck steak so tender

I usually use lime juice on my steak for the same reason(coat both sides and let it marinate in the fridge for 20-40 minutes)works great!

Those cuts of meat actually looked pretty good lol. I bet they are not $2 per pound any more. You cant even buy neck bones for that much any more here in Florida.

These steaks look delicious and you guys do no research before commenting. 1. These steaks are rare to medium-rare; not blue (extra-rare) and not raw. 2. The technique used to tenderize meat has been used forever. Kosher salt is coarse and draws water out through osmosis. It also relaxes muscle fibers, making it softer. 3. That's not blood; it's water. All the blood's been drained out of meat before you ever see it. The water is red because it contains proteins contained in the meat. That's the "juice" everyone is always talking about. 4. That steak won't be salty because kosher salt is too coarse to penetrate into the meat easily.

This was the best video on getting a crappy piece of meat to be eatable. Direct, to the point and very easy to follow. Great side by side comparison with and without tenderizing.

Never conducted a test! I use sea salt to season both sides and refrigerate overnight. Remove next day. When steak is about room temperature I cook it. (Bobby Flay) However, I don't use anywhere near that much salt and didn't realize it tenderizes the meat. Now I'll try your method and let you know.

people thinking the steak was bloody, it aint, thats Myoglobine rather than hemoglobine, Myoglobine is a binding protein found in the muscle tissue. :P

My grandma and I, who are well known for experimenting in the kitchen in our family, have tried this with normal salt but did it twice as long. While cooking the steaks didn't really look different from the control one we put on the grill too but you could definitely notice a difference in the meat once it's side by side and in your mouth! I can only confirm this :D

this made cheap steaks taste like they were tender prime cuts, amazing technique!

This actually works even better if you put the meat on a bed of salt in the pan and then put salt over top of it

Very informative thanks. I find salting both sides and letting rest 2hrs gives me best results. Works wonders on a cheap cut of steak.

I stumbled upon this sort of trick trying to get my excess steaks to freeze better. I put salt in a baggie with water. Then just soaked steak in brine briefly, then dumped out water. Left one in fridge and marinated in soy sauce with pepper and garlic. I grilled as usual and was amazed at how tender it was. So one can soak in brine for same effect using much less salt.

Back in the 1950s, the rage was Adolph's Meat Tenderizer, which main ingredient is salt with a pineapple enzyme called bromelian that breaks down protein.

At 4:35 he made a salt owl 🦉

Cooks Illustrated did an article on salt brine, and they describe the change to the meat. The salt "denatures" the fibers of the meat (at the outside layer of meat). This essentially "tangles" the meat fibers and makes the outside layer resistant to allowing the moisture of the meat to flow out of the meat while cooking. The moisture which oozes out while salt is on is minor compared with the moisture which evaporates and drips out during cooking. This changed meat fiber will be resisting having more moisture taken out during cooking in heat.

What you did is called dry brining. Try adding herbs to the salt for better flavor.

Thanks for the video. We tried your method on t bone steaks today . They were tender and the best steak my husband ever cooked on the grill

Morton’s ice cream salt works really well too I’ve tried it on plank steak and it came out amazing

the process of osmosis drains the moisture from the streak and the result is similar to a dry age process which intensifies flavours as well as tenderize the meat

The technique is called "brining". I do it for my turkey on Thanksgiving. The moisture and juices are pulled up from the meat and absorb all seasonings on top, then the juices is released back into the meat.

I recently have been dry brining my steak. I put some lime juice & kosher salt (not as much as you) on both sides of steak, and put on rack over night in fridge. Take out hour before searing. Baste with butter, garlic & rosemary.

Hey Jack, Ken from Bolivia. Here we have grass fed beef but no meat is aged here. When I have a tough cut of meat I liquefy a papaya then put the meat in a Zip bag and fill with papaya juice. Leave in fridge over night. Next day wash off all papaya juice and season meat as you want. The meat will have no papaya taste but will be very tender. Just a tip. Regards.

Thank you for sharing this great cost saving tip with all of us.

if that beautiful piece of beef is low quality for you, then you dont want to know what kind of steak im eating :(

Great videos i really enjoy them keep up the incredible work

They look great. I will try this next. Thank you for sharing this video.

Salt is sodium silicoaluminate, sodium thiosulfate, and potassium iodide these chemicals help to release enzymes that break down the proteins in the meat these proteins are what make up the molecular structures in the meat fibers. when these fibers are broken down they allow moisture into those particular fibers which are now opened. Because the fibers are opened and the juices are allowed to flow through the fibers better the meat becomes more tender. Or that was how it was explained to me. I have also tried mixing up a sea salt , water, liquid smoke, and Worchester sauce mixture and marinating. I like doing this because it infuses the meat with a deep smoky flavor throughout the meat and tenderizes it at the same time. Might want to try it sometime.

Here's a tip from someone that cooked for a high end restaurant in a professional setting. If you have a bulk-foods membership (like to costco). You can buy entire tenderloin cuts for 12.99 /lb! That's 10$ cheaper per lb than filet. Of course you'll have to trim it, take off the chain (which can be used for philly cheese steaks), but you can get 8 8oz filets and around 10 medalions for roughly 70$. This means you get about 10 meals and 2 philly cheese steak meats for about 6$ per meal. THATS RIGHT, FILET FOR ABOUT 6$ PER MEAL! So next time you want to splurge and go out, save it. You can be eating filet twice or three times a week for a month! (What we get at restaurants is literally the same tenderloin that you can buy uncleaned at Costco. But we charge upwards of $30 for that $6 piece of meat.)

Just finished this. I also found the result much saltier than expected (and yes, I used coarse kosher salt), but in reviewing the steps, I think I made a major mistake in that I didn't THOROUGHLY rinse off the meat. I ran it under cold water until all the visible salt was gone, but I didn't rub the steak to make sure all the salt had washed off. Will try this again later.

I found this very interesting and I am going to try it. Thank you for the video. I am going to watch more of your videos. With the corona virus keeping me house bound I think I will enjoy learning different methods of cooking. Thank you and be safe.

Did he just put an advertisement in the middle of his youtube video?

JUST tried tried IT on this THICK cut of London Broil...JUST became a new subscriber...it worked thanks 4 the tip😉

i tried this earlier tonite and yes it worked well and the cheaper n.y. strip from supermarket came out very tender, just be careful seasoning with salt before cooking. thnx jack.

Paw Paw/Papaya powder, or even fresh Pinapple break down the connective tissues of the meat and give you a much better job than dry brine. Specially because you`ll have control over the salt added to your steak.

I think the effect is called osmosis. Basically, salt draws the moisture to it. You get the same effect when you drop salt on a slug. It is also why people salt the roads when it snows.

My girlfriend broke up with me, I'm here watching random videos on youtube to cope with it. So far, I started with watchin people high on bathsalts act like zombies, then i ended up on watching people take care of wasp hives in houses, now im here

got a sirloin and not cheap anymore as all beef has gone up but still affordable on sale.. salted both sides and cooked it in 2 hours.. very delish and tender. I never seem to get a tender sirloin when I buy at store but oh you go to a rest. and pay and yup tender it is.. Just like this! Saved me $$ thanks..great video

Gotta try this out! BTW you have a very good broadcast voice.

In the islands we use fresh papaya the milky stuff from the papaya to tenderize our meet...you using salt is very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing your video.

dont use regular salt as it gets into the meat as it falls apart. only course salt

Hello friend look your recipes was nice. Easy to catch and follow. Thanks for sharing

Thanks great video, I have heard that baking soda has similar results, and is the treated steak a higher salt content after? I need a lower salt diet?

Tried the sauce as sls gift. It's amazing Jack..

It's called "osmosis". Drawing the water out breaks down the cell walls. It's also called "corning".

I just watched your video you solved my problem thank you so much ❤

Great video. I have a question. Do you really leave all that salt on the meat? I thought you are supposed to wash off the salt and dry before cooking.

I work as a meat cutter in a grocery store with almost 8 years experience 1. This is most commonly refereed to as arm steak, swiss steak, and occasionally cross rib steak. 2. no cut of meat is garbage - you have to know what the muscle is used for to determine the best possible doneness, tenderness and flavor. muscles that are more used (such as shoulders, legs, etc.) tend to be tougher and require tenderizing or less doneness. think about human and animal locomotion to determine whether that meat will be tender or not. 3. most of the time when you go to your average grocery store (not a butcher shop) they wont have the clod heart with the charcoal attached. see the larger circular portion that has a small line running through the middle? That is the clod heart, and the other piece attached it it is the charcoal. 4. you can accomplish this same effect with as much as a tablespoon of salt spread over the whole steak. 5. too many variables here - did you put the steaks in the fridge covered or uncovered while they were waiting with the salt on? once that meat reaches 41 degrees Fahrenheit it reaches a perfect environment for bacteria to grow, gross. this experiment also needs to be done in a much more temperature controlled environment such as an oven - not on a grill where the lid is opened and closed several times etc. you mentioned "seasoning" on the "untreated" steak. what seasonings? was there any salt applied to the "untreated" steak before after or during the cooking process? 6. how in the hell did you get fresh arm steak for $1.99/lb. ??? average price for that is at least $7.99/lb. my guess is either its standard grade beef, or the guy who weighed it up for you gave you a special deal (which is just wrong)

Liked the video I'm gonna do that from now on but you lost me when you said your gonna grab some A1. Does anybody else out there like the taste of steak? It's not chicken or pork, steak actually HAS flavor there is no need to drench it in sauce.

Great video. Can you these kinds of results by cooking in the kitchen - using a pan, or toaster over?

Im going to try it👍ill let you know! I liked your video it wasnt long drawn out like some other people’s videos it was pretty descriptive👍

That cut of meat is also called a shoulder roast/steak

that intro was probably the best thing i have ever seen in my life and i almost broke my computer hitting subscribe after i saw it

I’ve done this before and it does help get a nice salting deeper into the meat. After I do this I don’t use any seasoning with salt or it will be over salted

After watching this very informative video I became a subscriber and have the highest alerts set. I really love learning new stuff like this. KUDO'S!!

Sounds great this is how I do my steaks always works even soak chicken or pork in salt water and see the difference

Jack, you have no idea how hungry I got watching your video...geez & it's only breakfast. I'm gonna have steak & eggs! Thanks you're awesome. Have a Happy Father's Day! 👍

Enjoyed the presentation. Thx

I did this but coated steak all sides (used about the same quantity of salt just spread it around to cover), Worked great as Jack demonstrated...

Tried this, did everything you said, and all I got was a salty, rubbery, inedible mess.

Jack, enjoyed the video. I'm a total believer since I've done a similar process for a while now. I love the flavor of top sirloin but it tends to be tough sometimes so I lay a piece of plastic wrap on my counter and cover it amply with salt. Set the steak on top and cover the top amply with salt. Wrap the steak tightly with plastic wrap and put it in a vacuum bag where I suck all the air out. Put it in my crisper for a day or two and it's ready. I either eat it then or freeze it for later. Comes out nearly Filet Mignon tender with way more flavor. Thanks for the video. I'll be watching more of yours.

It is August 19, 2022. Google recommended your video and wow!! I don’t know how I didn’t find you years ago. Your video is as great now as it was 12 years ago. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️❤️ 🤗 🤗

Nice show but I have a Question= Have you tried salting it on Both sides ? Like - Double impact ?

To answer some queations. I have been teaching pro cooking classes for about 10 years now. I am also an engineer and scientist. This works because of active diffusion and osmosis. The salt is basically unraviling the proteins, essentually breaking them down. This "tenderizes" the meat. You can do samething with papiya seasoning. The liquid part on top of the steak is called the pelicale. You do not need to rinse the steak under water. This washes off the pelical which is what will "carmelize" over high heat. Plus it is FULL of meaty flavor. The best salt to use is kosher

Thanks again for your time and great video keep up the great work.

Hi Jack, Best steak ever to prepare is one teaspoon powdered mustard and 1 bottle of beer and add 1 tsp of lemon. Let stand in fridge for at least 6 hours but overnight is the best. The flavor is awesome, the steak is tender and your taste buds will ask for more. This will tenderize any round steak you throw at this concoction. Please don't forget the salt and pepper.

Wow, something I can answer. The salt draws out extra water from the meat, which will make meat tough (try boiling a steak, you get the idea),and it denatures protein bonds in the muscle relaxing them.

or you could ask the 18 year old at kroger to run it thru the meat tenderizer and in 10 minutes it will be tenderizer and re wrapped for you and it's ready to go with millions of little holes in the steak.

@jack You can do the same thing by blending pineapple (skin and all) and allowing that to break the proteins down.

Very interesting. Is there a reason that you only salted one side? Just wondering. Thx

Can I just clear up a minor confusion? Jack, you said to use 'sea salt or kosher salt'. In fact your salt doesn't have to be either of those. The thing that's important is that your salt is course ground -- it can be kosher, from the sea, or plain salt with a course grind. (That's likely to be cheaper, too).

Great video. I am going to try. Wondering if I should salt on both sides?

So basically, he's dry aging the meat. Needed more salt, to do both sides, and to leave it sit longer. That cut of meat should have been about 2-2.5hrs. salt breaks down the connective tissue, which is why you have separation. Did this once with a decent cut, it was like butter.

my man just rinsed the salt off and added more water to the meat, brilliant.

Thank you so much for the cooking tip! Now that meat is getting more expensive, this is a great way to buy cheaper cuts and still be able to eat it. It has been getting painful when eating tough cuts and I thought I might have to go vegan!!!

The proteins are long strands of amino acids, and what the salt does is it starts to break these long strands into shorter strands, thus the meat is more tender as more of the strands are broken

This worked fine. I really liked this solution. It tenderized the meat and since I actually used Kosher salt and rinsed it after the allotted time, the meat did not get ruined. Follow directions people! Kudos to those with constructive comments below. They really helped put the process into perspective.

I was watching this video and then my neighbor came and we watched it together. He said that this video changed his life and touched his heart. I then went and rented a projector in a big field and my entire town watched it and it changed their lives too. We all are so grateful.