The Secret Ingredient You Need For The Most Tender Meat

No matter what type of meat you're cooking, from the cheapest chicken thighs to the priciest cut of Kobe beef, all types of meat taste best when they're cooked to a state of melting tenderness. As some cuts of meat can be tougher than others, sometimes you might need to do a little work to tenderize your meat before you cook it. Tenderizing usually falls into one of two categories — either you beat it into submission with a mallet (also a fun way to blow off some excess aggression) or else you marinate it in something acidic (say wine or lemon juice) or enzymatic (papaya or pineapple juice). You can also make your meat more tender by cooking it low and slow or by cutting it against the grain (via SheKnows).

But if you're looking for an easy, one-ingredient method that will ensure even the toughest of meats will wind up fork-tender, there's one tenderizing trick that involves using something you might not have thought of: baking soda. According to Cook's Illustrated, baking soda's alkalinity raises the pH of the meat's surface, which in turn makes it more difficult for the proteins to bond. If we lost you at the science-y stuff, that's okay. Just trust us — the baking soda method really works to tenderize your meat, and it costs just pennies to try.