Synonyms

tenderize

American

[ten-duh-rahyz] / ˈtɛn dəˌraɪz /

especially British, tenderise

verb (used with object)

to make (meat) tender, as by pounding or by a chemical process or treatment.

tenderize British

/ ˈtɛndəˌraɪz /

verb

(tr) to make (meat) tender by pounding it to break down the fibres, by steeping it in a marinade, or by treating it with a tenderizer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of tenderize

First recorded in 1725–35; tender ¹ + -ize

Explanation

In cooking, to tenderize is to prepare meat so it's more easily chewed, or tender. One way to tenderize meat is to roast it at a low temperature for a long time. There are many different techniques cooks use to tenderize meat. They might marinate it in an acidic liquid, pound it repeatedly before cooking, or brine it in a saltwater solution, for example. All of these methods result in a more tender piece of meat that can be cut and chewed easily. Any tool or substance used to tenderize meat is called a tenderizer.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023