The old stand-by was Monosodium Glutamate. Then, we were all told we ate too much sodium, so that became bad stuff. Even exposed in restaurant-cooking, fast-foods, etc. I note that commonly sold tenderizers now cointain Bromelain, a naturally-occurring enzyme found in pineapples. "Along with papain, bromelain is one of the most popular proteases to use for meat tenderizing.[8] Bromelain is sold in a powdered form, which is combined with a marinade, or directly sprinkled on the uncooked meat". From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromelain#Temperature_stability Purchased at retail, the "meat tenderizers" on the shelves are quite expensive, especially when one considers that the bromelain ingredient is listed last, thereby making it the scarcest ingredient in the product. Bromelain is sold in edible capsules, touted for "joint health", so it's likely not harmfull. I just ordered 180 capsules of 500 mg each for $16.00 from Botanic Choice, a source whose value I might also ask you about? Thanks. Frank
MSG isn't a meat tenderizer. It is a flavor enhancing salt of an amino acid glutamine. It makes your tongue more sensitive to tastes, thus makes food taste richer. Papain comes from (originally) papaya. You can just use a bit of fresh or frozen--not canned--pineapple as your tenderizer if you wish.
@Don Alaska I stand corrected. There was local hoopla way back when over MSG being used in chemical meat tenderizers, and it's sodium content was also mentioned. In a given weight of MSG, however, the sodium content is much lower than in an equal weight of sodium chloride, table salt. About 1/3 as much. Frank
MSG can cause erratic heart rate sometimes called A-Fib the real good meat tenderizer is papaya they use any part of the plant here it puts out a white liquid which dissolves sinew. It is also good for digesting system helping to get rid of logged meat in the intestine system. A great enzyme for digestion
My favorite Steak Dinner at Steer & Stein restaurant is "Country Fried Steak", made with Tenderized Choice Sirloin. I can easily cut and chew it, but I can't with the restaurant's most popular steak dinners, such as their Ribeye, no matter how it's cooked. My only knowledge of "tenderizing" a steak is beating it with a hobbed square hammer. Anyway, Country Fried Steak smothered with white gravy is tender and delicious! I usually have it with Mashed Potato with brown gravy, a salad with Bleu Cheese, and a Garlic roll, all washed down with a 32-oz. stein of beer! Hal, your friendly diner.
I don’t know what purpose you intend for the bromelain capsules, @Frank Sanoica , but I agree with Don Alaska that just using fresh raw pineapple is better than adding the powder. I have used both pineapple as well as papaya as a meat marinade and it not only does a great job of tenderizing the meat, it adds great flavor, especially if you happen to be BBQ’ing the meat afterwards. I guess if you don’t want the added flavor, then the powdered bromelain or papain would be fine. If you bought the capsules as a health supplement, then eating fresh pineapple really works great, too. It is very anti-inflammatory, plus it has a natural pain-killer. As far as the MSG, I have also read that besides the health side affects, it can also be addictive, thus causing you to crave whatever food that you are eating that has MSG in it. Since it goes by a whole lot of different names (some of which even sound beneficial), it can be hard to spot it in the list of ingredients. (Another reason not to eat processed foods) https://www.naturalnews.com/048414_MSG_side_effects_monosodium_glutamate.html
@Frank, you're a veritable fountainhead of information! I guess it's the Arizona climate and scenery.
@Yvonne Smith "I don’t know what purpose you intend for the bromelain capsules" Empty their contents into a small shaker-jar, sprinkle over the meat before roasting. Frank
@Hal Pollner I use this; 0% table salt, Potassium Chloride instead of sodium, AND added benefit of Potassium uptake, regulates heartbeat.
I find a soak in the thick buttermilk (https://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-bulgarian-buttermilk-82095) not only tenderizes, but with added herbs to it, also makes a fine coating to then dip into flour, and slow fry. Works on pork and chicken. Never tried it on beef.