Using Jaccard to make Sirloin Steaks for dinner

[bigabyte]

My Easter Basket this year had a new 48-blade Jaccard in it. Today I decided to try it out on some hand cut Sirloin steaks to see how well it worked at making tougher pieces of meat more tender, as it advertised.

I had a 14lb Sirloin Ball Tip Roast that had wet aged in cryovac for 3 weeks.

It needed some trimming, and there was a silverskin all over one side that I could trim off.

Here's what it looked like after trimming. There was an extra strip of meat attached that was not actually part of this roast, you can see it with the trimmings over on the right. On the tip, in the center, I cut out all the gobbledygook in there.

Then I made 6 thick slices. The 2 end pieces I will pack together to probably use for burgers or kebabs. For tonight's steaks, I used the center piece, or the one 4th from the left.

Here's the piece I'll use for my steaks. It's pretty substantial and would feed 4 hungry people. I could cook it up as one piece, but I want to do a side-by-side comparison of meat with the Jaccard and without.

It's the two boys and I for dinner tonight, so the most sensible thing to do is cut it into 4 steaks and use two similar pieces for the comparison.

I decided to use the two center pieces for the comparison, since they were similarly shaped, and since they were right next to each other, making for the fairest comparison possible from this one piece. So I took one of the center pieces and set it aside and pulled out the Jaccard.

I started with the Jaccard on one side...

...and then flipped the steaks over and used the Jaccard on the other side, but at a 90 degree angle from the way I used it on the other side.

I decided to go ahead and use the Jaccard once again on each side, just in case it needed more than one go per side. Then I seasoned them up and let them rest for a couple hours to come up to temp.

I started them with a sear on my Weber kettle. The tenderized ones are on the right, the non-tenderized one is on the left.

After searing both sides I moved them to the cooler part of the grill to cook until they hit 128 internal. Again, the tenderized ones are on the right.

Here are the steaks when they were done. The tenderized ones are on the right, and the non-tenderized is on the left.

This is how the steak that was tenderized with the Jaccard looked after slicing it.

This is the one that was not tenderized.

As for the verdict on the tenderness...

I honestly could not tell a difference and neither could the boys. I was very surprised because I figured this was an absolute no-brainer that it would make them more tender. However, if there was a difference, it was simply too small to notice.

I plan to use the Jaccard again. Next time I'll probably be more (shudder) liberal in my use of the Jaccard, probably hitting each side 4 or 5 times.

 

[landarc]

I think you should try it on a thinner cut of meat and go both directions. I still think you ate well.

 

[Code3BBQ]

Very nice.

 

[bigabyte]

I think you should try it on a thinner cut of meat and go both directions. I still think you ate well.

I went both directions, once each direction on each side, for a total of 4 passes. These were thick steaks though. I know what we ate, but kind of in disbelief about it. When using the Jaccard, I could see the meat flattening and widening out . I expected it to be more tender, but it simply wasn't. Oh well. That was just one go...and a first time at that!:becky:

 

[Phrasty]

Doesn't matter... Ate steak! :becky:



I hit it a bit more than that when I use mine. Really haven't used it in a while though. I dont use it much on steaks... I tend to use it more on bigger roasts. I find what I like most about it is that without the hassle of injecting it carries the seasoning deeper & faster than without... And thats always good right? :heh:

Food looks Great! :thumb:
Cheers

 

[cowgirl]

Looks very tasty Chris! I wondered how well those tenderizers work. Thanks for the post!

 

[landarc]

All I can say is, all this talk of tenderizing steak has me craving chicken fried steak with country gravy. I don't know if there is a food that makes me feel more guilty about eating that CFS.

 

[Phubar]

Nice experimenting Biggie!

 

[gtr]

I've always wondered about those thingees. Thanks for putting that up!

 

[frohe]

All I can say is, all this talk of tenderizing steak has me craving chicken fried steak with country gravy. I don't know if there is a food that makes me feel more guilty about eating that CFS.

Oh yeah. CFS smothered in creamy country gravy, coated with salt & pepper. Add some french fries and a big glass of iced tea. Mmmmm, good eats.:biggrin1::biggrin1::biggrin1:

 

[deguerre]

I can still get the same effect with a fork. (Besides, it's fun stabbing your meat...no, wait) I'm betting that if you do a comparison of tenderized vs not, if both were left in an overnight marinade you would tell the difference. Nice dinner!

 

[Grabnabber]

if both were left in an overnight marinade you would tell the difference.

That's the only way I bother to use mine.

I also pummel the living fark out of the meat with it- much more than once per side- it's almost therapeutic. Almost. :mrgreen:

 

[Arlin_MacRae]

Thanks for the share, bro. Not the results I was expecting as I read!

 

[captndan]

I think the only way you did not see a difference is because you started with a good piece of meat. The meat around here is tough as shoe leather. If we want a tender steak is drive 40 miles one way, pay $15.00 a #, or use the Jaccard. I like them.

 

[jasonjax]

I totally dig on my Jaccard. I use it for a lot of cuts of meat.

One thing I find it very useful for also is cutting down on marinade times. With a good amount of jaccarding (new verb?) the meat will absorb the marinade at a faster rate.

I typically use it on all the tougher cuts of meat, and as inferred above even on cuts you normally wouldn't consider a tenderizer necessary on such as a NY strip/ribeye if I am looking to add any flavor enhancement to it via a marinade.

 

[bigabyte]

Just a quick update. I made some chicken breasts tonight, and used the Jaccard the same as I did on these steaks. That is 2 passes on each side, each pass at a 90 degree angle from the other. Then I marinated the breasts for 45 minutes. These were noticeably more tender. So the tool does work. It might just require the help of a marinade if you only hit the meat with the tool a couple times.

Sorry, no pics tonight. Mostly because I didn't have an extra breast to use as a "control" piece. Everyone noticed a big difference in tenderness from normal though, so I'm pretty sure it made a difference.

 

[cowgirl]

Just a quick update. I made some chicken breasts tonight, and used the Jaccard the same as I did on these steaks. That is 2 passes on each side, each pass at a 90 degree angle from the other. Then I marinated the breasts for 45 minutes. These were noticeably more tender. So the tool does work. It might just require either the help of a marinade if you only hit the meat with the tool a couple times.

Sorry, no pics tonight. Mostly because I didn't have an extra breast to use as a "control" piece. Everyone noticed a big difference in tenderness from normal though, so I'm pretty sure it made a difference.

Thanks for the update Chris!

 

[frohe]

Just a quick update. I made some chicken breasts tonight, and used the Jaccard the same as I did on these steaks. That is 2 passes on each side, each pass at a 90 degree angle from the other. Then I marinated the breasts for 45 minutes. These were noticeably more tender. So the tool does work. It might just require the help of a marinade if you only hit the meat with the tool a couple times.

Sorry, no pics tonight. Mostly because I didn't have an extra breast to use as a "control" piece. Everyone noticed a big difference in tenderness from normal though, so I'm pretty sure it made a difference.

Like any other tool it takes times to learn how to use it to its best benefit. Having read many of your posts I have faith in you that you'll master this thing too.:razz:

 

[bigabyte]

Like any other tool it takes times to learn how to use it to its best benefit. Having read many of your posts I have faith in you that you'll master this thing too.:razz:

Thanks. I'm humbled that you didn't suspect I would use it to make something out of SPAM or McRibs.

 

[buffalotom]

Thanks for doing the testing. I have one and have used it for sirloins before and have not noticed a difference. I am going to try and use it on skirt steak. They are so hit and miss. I am betting it will make a big difference on the marinating.