Mock Tender Steak Is Actually Tough – Here's How To Tenderize It

Mock tender steak is one of the more confusingly named foods. The moniker's not actually misleading like Welsh rabbit (aka rarebit), which is toast with cheese sauce. Nor is it off-putting like a toad in the hole (sausages in Yorkshire pudding). However, it raises the question, what's in the stuff? Mock turtle soup, after all, isn't made with turtles because no-one eats real turtle soup (or turtles) anymore now that many species are endangered. Is mock tender steak intended for vegans? Nope, since it turns out that the "steak" part is real. It's beef cut from the cow's shoulder. What this meat isn't, though, is tender.

Why is "tender" in the name if the steak is so tough? This lean cut, it seems, is shaped like a tenderloin and was named for this resemblance. Once you start leaving off the "loin" part of the word, confusion is bound to ensue. At least the name lends irony to the fact that mock tender steak needs to be tenderized before you can eat it. This is typically accomplished by braising the beef in liquid to add much-needed moisture.

If you're bound and determined to pan-sear or grill your tenderloin look-alike, there are a few steps you need to take. For starters, whack the crap out of it with a meat mallet or hammer (if it's the same one you use to drive nails, first wrap both head and steak in a few layers of plastic wrap). After the steak's been flattened, it needs to be marinated.

If you've purchased a mock tender steak, particularly if it was labeled chuck tender (which is another name for the same thing), you might have been under the misapprehension that you scored a great deal on a tenderloin. Now that you know the nature of your bargain buy, though, you needn't be disappointed as long as you pick the right recipe. The best method for cooking mock tender is braising, so you could swap it into a recipe for sirloin tip roast or short ribs cooked in beer or red wine. You could also use the meat in a stew, although it helps if the stew contains tomatoes, wine, or another acid to aid in the tenderizing process. Try using mock tenders in this beef bourguignon recipe.

If you don't want to go the stew route, though, you'll need an acidic marinade to take on those extra-tough "tenders." Our three-ingredient steak marinade would be perfect, as it combines balsamic vinegar with oil to help the meat retain what moisture it does have and soy sauce to provide salty flavor. We also have a London broil marinade that uses both red wine and lemon juice along with oil and assorted seasonings, or you could borrow the lime juice marinade from our arrachera tacos recipe. Whichever one you choose, that mock tender is going to need an overnight soak or it may make a mockery of your attempt to eat it.