Recipe Station

1. Pound it out.

Pounding softens and tenderizes meat, making it easier to cut and eat. One of the easiest — and cleanest — ways to do this is to sandwich the meat between a couple pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it before cooking. A weighty kitchen mallet is typically the tool of choice. My favorite happens to be the Sur La Table Meat Mallet but there are plenty of other items, like rolling pins, saucepans, and skillets, that can get the job done.

2. Harness the power of salt.

We season meat with salt for more than just flavor — with tougher cuts, like choice steaks and roasts, it helps break down the proteins for a more tender texture. Instead of seasoning meat just before cooking, give it a generous coating of salt about an hour before you're ready to get started. Then rinse the meat under cool water, pat dry, and get cooking.

3. Use an acidic marinade.

For tough, thinner cuts of steak like skirt, hanger, and flank, and London broil, consider an acidic marinade for more tender results (and more surface flavor!). For a marinade to work its magic, it needs to contain acidic ingredients like vinegar, citrus juice, wine, yogurt, buttermilk, or even soda to break down the lean muscle fibers on the surface meat. This is best reserved for thinner cuts of meat since only salt has the ability to fully penetrate meat. To prevent the meat from becoming too mushy, do not marinate for more than two hours.

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