Tenderizing Experiment Gone Wrong: Steak

 Where to begin?.....Well we were watching YouTube videos on steaks and the different ways to tenderize them. The particular video we watched showed how to tenderize cheap steaks cuts using a whole pineapple. So I famously said "Hey, I can do that." So Briguy picked up a cheap eye round (the kind you use for a roast) and a pineapple and left me to my devices...So the next day I began my experiment during which I encountered several "road blocks".

 First, was finding the proper food processor size and its attachments which got misplaced during the move. Then came the pineapple which started off well.  I cut the top plant part off, then cut the pineapple into acceptable chunks to be pureed...or so I thought...I spent the next half hour or so pureeing pineapple. Not my finest hour...should have taken it as a sign to not continue but I decided to persevere.  Poured the pineapple puree into a bowl, with 1 1/2 inch steaks I had cut and let them marinade in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Proceeded to then take the steaks out which at this point looked more like pink uncooked fish in color than the beautiful red steaks I had before marinating. Which is a good sign that everything was going to plan. Next step was to rinse and dry them off thoroughly to stop the pineapple enzymes from continuing to tenderize the meat. 

Briguy suggested instead of cooking them in the pan (or grill) that I try to sous vide (su-veed) them with our Joule. This usually is a great idea because the Joule constantly regulates the temperature of the water in which a vacuumed sealed food item can be placed in to cook. Depending on the cut thickness and the rarity you desire can cook from an hour to hour and a half or longer without overcooking. In this case longer was good option since I was waiting for hubby to come home so all that needed to be done was brown the steaks in hot pan with oil.  

So having decided that was the perfect plan of action I seasoned the steaks with kosher salt, ground black pepper and garlic powder; finally adding them to an open zip lock back which was then added to the Joule water to vacuum seal them then zip the bag shut and let them cook. Hours pass, the streaks come out looking like cooked chicken. It was a little unnerving but Briguy insisted it was normal due to the marinating. He threw them in a pan and browned them and served them up with mashed potatoes with butter. 

They looked and smelled good. So he waited til I took the first bite which always happens no matter who cooks. So I did....well folks the pineapple definitely worked. The steak was extremely tender and had great flavor from the sous vide allowing the seasoning to really penetrated the cuts of meat. But the outside texture of the steak....was horrid. It was not exactly slimy, more like if you had done breaded pork chops but the breaded part got soggy... It was gross, and I felt terrible since I'm a big steak fan. 

In hindsight: What I think went wrong was cooking it in the Joule. Because if there where still pineapple enzymes on the steaks after the thorough rinse I gave them then they just continued to break down the steak while it cooked. My husband said next time we will pan fry it or grill them. I told him I don't think I'll be able to enjoy another steak from sometime. This experiment is going to take awhile to get over. 

P.S. He didn't even try it...Lucky him....