Recipes

[depglass]

I lost the thread.  Please see my post on needle meat tenderizers.  

Edit:  Yikes, I'm really losing it.  I was looking for this thead in Kitchen and that's where I put my post on needle tenderizers.  

[Zhills]

This type (described by depglass) is what I use.  

It also works after the meat is cooked!  Does a great job!

Clean by swishing in a cup of hot soapy water.  Points are covered for storage.

[camelot]

A good cut of meat should not need anything to  "soften" it. Go to a great meat market and talk with the butcher. 

There are different qualities of beef to choose from. Google for details:

Eight beef quality grades: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Cutter & Canner.

[ahoymate]

Buy a better quality/grade of meat. ITA about not needing anything to "soften" a piece of meat. The better the quality this isn't necessary.

[jannabelle1]

T-bone steaks are generally a good cut of beef and are tender. But - sometimes you get a tough one, and that doesn't mean that the other ones will be tough as well. When you use the term "brine" (which I see used her a lot), I'm assuming you're using a marinade. One of the easiest and flavorful is to use worcestershire and garlic powder, coarse salt and pepper for a couple of hours. Another good marinade is a brand called Allegro (in your grocery store).

I've never "pounded" a steak or cooked them in a pressure cooker! Lawd have mercy! Ha! My dad was a meat cutter and he would have had fits if I ever did that! BTW, t-bones and porterhouse should be fairly thick steaks. Don't buy them if they're thin because they tend to get over-grilled and then are tough. Steaks need a hot grill and a short searing time on both sides so that the center is pink and juicy.