For those consumers, who do not know what goes behind tenderizing the oft-advertised beef top loin steaks must get ‘jaccarded’. Jaccarded or needling meat is a technology developed by Jaccard in New York to tenderize rough cuts of meat.
This technology uses sharp and thin knives, of the shape of a needle to press against the meat, which cuts down its fibers leading to tenderizing the meat. These needles are available in a hand-held unit with 48 blades ranging from $20-$35.
Marc Bouchard of Hudson executive chef at Stellina Restaurant in Watertown points out towards the advantages and disadvantages of needling meat. The advantages cater to the latest consumer demand to deliver a tender and faster cooking meat, while disadvantage comes when the juices of the meats dry out in the needling process leading to a dry and bland meat.
It is surprising to note that the flavor trend is cut down when it comes to meat, as the consumers are ready to soak the meat in processed, artificial or curried flavors rather than allowing themselves to enjoy the succulent juices of meat. So just that shows that getting meat jaccarded takes out everything that a succulent steak stands for.
