tender meat

Meaning

This phrase describes meat that is soft, easy to chew, and gentle to cut, usually because it has been cooked slowly or is a high-quality cut. It is the opposite of 'tough meat,' which is hard and difficult to chew. It is a highly positive descriptor used in restaurants, recipes, and food reviews.

Examples

• Slow-cooking the beef for six hours resulted in incredibly tender meat.

  Slow-cooking the beef for six hours resulted in incredibly tender meat.

• This steak is so good; it is the most tender meat I have ever had.

  This steak is so good; it is the most tender meat I have ever had.

• Using a marinade helps to break down the fibers and make tender meat.

  Using a marinade helps to break down the fibers and make tender meat.

• The chef is famous for serving tender meat that melts in your mouth.

  The chef is famous for serving tender meat that melts in your mouth.

• If you overcook the chicken, it won't be tender meat anymore; it will be dry.

  If you overcook the chicken, it won't be tender meat anymore; it will be dry.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ This steak is very soft and easy to chew.

  ✓ This steak is very tender.

  While 'soft' is grammatically okay, 'tender' is the specific culinary term used in English to describe high-quality, easy-to-chew meat.

• ✗ The pork was cooked so well, it was very weak meat.

  ✓ The pork was cooked so well, it was very tender meat.

  'Weak' is never used to describe the texture of food. 'Tender' is the correct opposite of 'tough'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Cooking the beef slowly on low heat guarantees ___.

  💡 Meat that is soft and easy to chew.

  Show answer

  tender meat

• I prefer ribeye steak because it always turns out as ___.

  💡 Soft, high-quality meat.

  Show answer

  tender meat