I’m a vet, and when I was in school, one day in our nutrition class the professor laid out all sorts of food — dry, canned, treats, BARF, you name it — and encouraged us to try some (except the raw diet of course). I was pretty bold with the dry foods and the treats, but I’m not sure I tried any of the canned food.

Veron – did you take those pictures? If so, nice job, they are fantastic.

Now you know why I buy thick-cute maple smoked bacon.

OK, I’m salivating. Where’s mah drool bucket?

Also, dry pet food pretty much tastes like meat flavored cereal.

The pork I had in southeast asia was about as far away from American factory pork as you could get. You didn’t feel gross or guilty eating pork fat there.

And Sorcha – Pork Loops! I’m crying! Great way to start the day (!)

Bob, I think the key is to slice thin before marinating, as is the case with both kalbi and bulgogi. That way the marinade achieves maximum penetration before the surface becomes mush. Korean BBQ meats are usually marinated for a couple of hours, and mushiness never seems to be a problem. Maybe pear doesn’t actually have any tenderizing properties, and it’s the brining with soy sauce and sugar that makes the meat tender?

Thanks for the more detailed info on Enzymes. I keep hearing “You could use Papaya or Pineapple, but it doesnt yield great results” and though Ive never done it myself I could see why that is. Plus how many dishes could you use a papaya “marinade” with? not alot I dont think.

As far as Brines and Cures go, Im a huge fan of them.. if theyre done right. Small items like chicken breasts I think benifit most from a quick brine (Size dictating time in brine and all that) But I really really enjoy a nice ham brined… so moist and juicy and flavorful…

Salt will tenderize meat a bit if it is allowed to penetrate. Sugar will promote more tender meat by interfering with coagulation during cooking. Of course, to do that it they must be inside the meat.

It doesn’t matter how the salt and sugar gets into the meat btw. You can convey them with brine, a dry rub or if you are into drama you can boot it in with a syringe.

But then I suppose most cooks don’t carry works in their tool kits, now do they?

Proteolytic enzymes are a problem because they are very effective at breaking down tissue and begin their job as soon as they come into contact. And if they are in a brine or rubbed onto the surface they will tend to break the surface proteins down too much while you are waiting for them to penetrate. So for enzymes to be effective your really need to inject them. But even then they will make mush around the injection site. To my knowledge no one has come up with a way to use enzymes that produces an aesthetically pleasing result. Even Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer sucks (I believe it contains bromelin)