The Butcher Counter Perk We Never See Anyone Take Advantage Of

If you already have a butcher — a dedicated animal protein professional who can answer all of your meatiest steak questions — then you've already outsmarted the pre-packaged mystery meat at the grocery store. A butcher can help you perfect your ground beef burger blend, detail the differences between a filet mignon and a chateaubriand, and sometimes even help you save a buck or two while improving dinner in the process. Requesting the butcher tenderize your beef before it's even wrapped and ready to go is the best way to combine those last two virtues.

Now, you aren't going to have those finer cuts smashed and bashed, or even most pieces of pork, poultry, lamb, and so on. But on days that don't exactly require expensive T-bones and porterhouses, a cheaper choice like a flank or skirt steak can be delicious with a little extra effort. Like, very little: All you have to do at this stage is ask the butcher to do the pulverizing, and they will do so with a good old fashioned mallet or even with a more modern mechanical device. The process will begin to break down tough fibers in either case, setting your meal up for a more yielding finish.

Once again, you really don't want to mess with those marquee meats, the likes of which stun at steakhouses. Tenderizing is more appropriate for items known to do a number on your molars. It can also be helpful when you know there won't be any time for a marinade, which also works to tenderize meat but takes a longer time.

Pounding something like chicken breasts for a Parm or pork for a tonkatsu is also typically an acceptable request, though we might advise minimizing special orders during the butcher's busiest times. And, while the most common tenderizing techniques you'll see at the butcher comes to physical blows, some neighborhood shops and even major retailers will also offer that other flavorful alternative, a marinade. They can arrange your goods in all manner of flavor amplifiers that contain the acid and other ingredients that can loosen up those chewier chops. Then all you really have to do to get dinner ready is take your meat home and turn on the oven.