How to Cook Pepper Steak Without It Getting Tough | Livestrong.com (2024)

FAQs

How to make pepper steak less chewy? ›

During cooking, aim to cook your steak medium-rare to medium – any more and you'll be left with a tough piece of meat. Turning it every minute or so will make sure you get a really even cook. After cooking, leave it to rest and rub with a little extra virgin olive oil or butter for an incredible, juicy steak.

Rest Your Steak: After cooking, let your steak rest for about 10 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the steak, ensuring a juicy and tender bite. Reconsider Your Cut: If you consistently find one cut to be too chewy, try switching to a more tender cut next time.

A steak can become less chewy by cooking it until it reaches an appropriate internal temperature, slicing it against the grain, and letting it rest after cooking. Additionally, choosing a cut of meat with a lower amount of connective tissue and marinating it before cooking can also help tenderize the steak.

Baking soda acts as a meat tenderizer by changing the physical composition of meat fibers. It raises the pH levels on the surface and makes it tougher (pun intended) for the proteins in the meat to bond.

The Aging. Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Aging is done by letting the meat sit (in very controlled conditions) for several days or weeks.

Sear 2-3 minute on each side, or until 130 degrees internally. Spoon melted butter over top of steak to keep it moist. Top steak with slice of compound butter & enjoy!

As well as acid, enzymes found in fruits like pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, and papaya disrupt the molecular structure of meat's connective tissue. Adding puréed fruit to your marinade turns tough and chewy meat tender and juicy.

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

Why does my steak come out tough? ›

Your overcooked steak is tough and chewy because of a lack of its natural liquid and fat, so here are some ways to infuse liquids and fats into your steak. Covering your overcooked steak with a thick sauce or gravy will help balance out the dryness and make up for its lack of flavor.

Perhaps the best choice on this list is a cast-iron frying pan or skillet, as they have proven superior when cooking steak. It comes down to substance, and once iron is heated, it stays heated throughout, and its dense nature means it will warm your meat evenly.

This Chinese Pepper Steak is crazy tender thanks to 1) slicing the beef thinly, 2) slicing the beef across the grain and 3) marinating the beef. The marinade is a very thick combination of soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch etc.

Cut It Across the Grain

One way to make tougher meats tender starts with your knife and fork (or on your cutting board). Cutting meat "across the grain" simply means cutting crosswise through the long muscle fibers in the meat. Breaking them up makes the meat more tender.

Avoid cooking them too long or they may become chewy. Instead, you want to get a good sear while still leaving the middle of the steak tips pink.