Experimenting with pineapple juice

[The_Kapn]

Originally Posted by caliking

I may be wrong, but if you use canned juice, I don't know if you still get the tenderizer action. The enzymes may beinactivated by the heat f the canning/pasteurization process. I think the tenderizing action only comes from using raw pineapple or its juice.

What he said!

Also, there are folks on the WWW that will declare that their way is the only way.
If that were true, there would never have been any progress in BBQ.
Improvements come from folks who are open minded and willing to experiment, even when others blast their ideas.

So--go ahead and try it if you wish.

I would be interested to see the results.

TIM

[j20832]

Originally Posted by Wampus

The only experimenting with pineapple juice I've done was on NYE a few days ago when I mixed with ice and Malibu Rum and drank it. It sure was GOOD but I don't think it did anything to tenderize my meat.

I believe that is called a "poor man's pina-colada" (seriously, not making that up or trying to be humorous).

With regards to the brisket experiment, people use pineapple a lot of the time making teriyaki beef dishes, so why not brisket? My only concern would be the same as injecting with a papain tenderizer (which has been brought up before) and that is, you don't want to end up with mush. Maybe in a hot and fast application to lessen the time for the enzymes to work? As has been said, go for it and please report back afterwards, it's your meal and your money, so give it a shot!

[Ole Man Dan]

My partner is from Hawaii and he uses lots of pineapple.
He uses it in all kinds of pork smokes, some Chicken too.
I've never had it in Beef, just in Butts and Hams.
Kind of an Islander taste. Different, but good.

I second the idea of mixing Pineapple, Coconut milk, and '151'. Very good.
(Ya gotta do something while the meat's smoking)

[martyleach]

You could also simply use a diluted mixture of Bromelain, which is the enzyme in the pineapple that causes the tenderizing. It is quite available online and is used in many of the available meat tenderizers you would get at the grocery store. This way you don't get the pineapple flavor...

I would try injecting immediately before smoking. For more information on Bromelain see below.

bromelain, a natural mixture of two proteases (protein-digesting enzymes) found in pineapples. They discovered that bromelain is quite effective at dividing proteins such as the collagen in meat.
Although bromelain is found in every part of the pineapple, it's most plentiful in the stem. Most commercially grown pineapple is sliced, canned or juiced. The remains are rich with this corrosive substance, which is then extracted.
Bromelain works in these capacities due to its ability to separate amino acids. Amino acids are organic compounds within living cells. Amino acids join by forming peptide bonds, a link that connects one amino acid's amino group with the carboxyl group of another amino acid. When amino acids join through peptide bonds, they form proteins. These proteins then carry out numerous functions in the structure and operation of cells, tissues and organs.
The compound separates the all-important peptide bonds that link the proteins in collagen. Since the collagen gives the muscle tissue its shape, once it's broken down, the muscle tissue begins losing firmness. If you left meat for a day or two covered with bromelain, it would be noticeably mushy, so much so that you wouldn't want to eat it. When used shortly before cooking, however, bromelain efficiently softens the steak for chewing, but leaves it firm enough to enjoy its taste. The enzymes are neutralized by heat of about 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius), so they stop working once cooked.