This Marinade Ingredient Will Also Tenderize Your Meat

Any home chef who's been cooking with meat for awhile knows that marinating the meat is an essential part of the process and can be the key to getting your dish right. It's not always a straightforward process, either. Paying more attention to the details can help you come up with a dish that's truly delicious and worth the time and effort.

One of the major advantages of marinating meat and vegetables is that your food is a lot more tasty thanks to the fact that it is exposed to so many flavors. Marinades can also provide much-needed moisture to your food and tenderize your meat. By the way, add-ons such as yogurt and milk make your marinade better and more balanced in terms of flavors. 

Marinating doesn't have to be difficult. You need to keep a simple formula in mind: use a nice mixture of oil, acid, and seasonings. Also, get ahold of a blender to make sure that everything is mixed properly. And yes, there are some creative hacks that can take your marinade to the next level.

Hear us out: try using a pineapple the next time you're marinating meat for extraordinary results that can make your dish taste remarkable. Redditors stand by this tip. "Pineapple juice actually works really well to help tenderize [meat] and add some sweetness," one home chef wrote. "Mix it 50/50 with some Indian yogurt and some salt and marinade for a few hours." A piece by The Daily Meal backs this theory and states that pineapple juice works well to tenderize meat thanks to the presence of an enzyme called bromelain.

To make a pineapple marinate, you simply need a mixture of crushed pineapples, soy sauce, honey, apple cider vinegar, ginger, cloves, and garlic for the perfect combination of flavors. It's best to let the mixture do its thing for at least 15 minutes before adding it to meat. For chicken, you need to let the meat sit in the marinade for four hours or a bit less. It can also be used for pork dishes as well. The result is a sweet and savory marinade that will make you gasp in delight.