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I just read today that Kiwifruit is used to tenderize meat. I wanted to make some fruit chutney anyway, normally I'd go for mango, but why not use kiwifruit fruit this time?

I read that the actinidin is responsible for this process but as far as I know it is denaturized cooking the Kiwifruit, thus I need the raw Kiwifruit.

So how should I prepare the raw Kiwifruit and the meat (I wanted to use chicken), how long should I let the meat marinade and how should I cook or fry the meat afterwards?

Dacio
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Baarn
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    As this is my first question here and I normally don't cook (talking/writing) english, feel free to edit the question if I got some words/tags wrong. – Baarn Jan 03 '13 at 20:45
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    Freeze the kiwi. When rock hard, beat the heck out of the chicken with it. – Chris Cudmore Jan 03 '13 at 21:08
  • OK, I suppose I got my vocabulary wrong here… :P – Baarn Jan 03 '13 at 21:10
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    @ChrisCudmore before or after butchering? – JoeFish Jan 03 '13 at 21:29
  • @Informaficker no, it's a very well-formed question. Better than many from native English speakers that I've read. Chris was just being a little silly. – JoeFish Jan 03 '13 at 21:41
  • Yes. I was just being goofy. Nothing wrong with the question. – Chris Cudmore Jan 03 '13 at 21:50
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    +1 for referring to "kiwifruit" rather than "kiwi". The former is a fruit, the latter a native New Zealand bird. "Kiwi" is also a colloquialism for someone from New Zealand. – Nicholas Mar 05 '13 at 09:36
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    @Nicholas in Germany the fruit is called Kiwi. However, using ChrisCudmores suggestion it doesn't even matter which one of the Kiwis you use to tenderize the meat, as long as it's frozen. – Baarn Mar 05 '13 at 21:47
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    @Informaficker it would be a crime either way if you froze a kiwi. Which would be worse depends on which (human) kiwi is frozen, I admit. – Nicholas Mar 06 '13 at 09:33

7 Answers7

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Yes Kiwifruit contains Actinidin, which is a great meat protein tenderiser

But it tastes crap, it is not a good accompaniment for meat, especially chicken. It is way too sweet tasting, sort of like serving chicken with fruit jam (preserve), if you like that, go for it!

TFD
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    @TFD- Pork is often served with sweet sauces or fruit. Besides- isn't it illegal for you to speak badly of kiwi fruit? Don't you lose the ability to vote or something? – Sobachatina Jan 03 '13 at 23:07
  • @Sobachatina Yep, lots of fruits go well with meats, but not usually very sweet or sweetened fruits. What Kiwifruit, some idiot imported a Kiwifruit disease, all our vines are dead now. Back to sheep – TFD Jan 04 '13 at 01:25
  • In the discussion I read on http://www.thekitchn.com/tip-tenderizing-11683, the author speaks of cooking Korean short ribs. She says, kiwi is rubbed into the meat right before it is dipped in the sauce, so there's no marinating time specified. – Tatiana Racheva Nov 27 '13 at 23:44
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It's a great steak tenderiser, if you mix with some garlic, wasabi/pili-pili/chili and worcestershire also a great marinade.

Most important part is to tap it dry from the kiwi (mix) within 45 minutes and dry the steak well before baking. Otherwise it will make your steak have sandy texture.

Franklin
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Without supplying a recipe, my best suggestion would be to blend/puree the kiwis with whatever other seasonings you would want to accompany the chicken and then split that amount in half. Use the first half to marinate the chicken (I would go for overnight at most) and then use the other half to cook into a chutney or glaze to get the nice rounded flavors that come from cooked fruits.

I think it would be a nice glaze with some spice added (cayenne, habanero, serranos) and some other aromatics.

Brendan
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A friend if mine used 3 Kiwi fruit to marinade some venison and it turned it into mush overnight, I believe the formula is 1 Kiwi per 5 lbs of meat.

Jason
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  • This is similar to what I read elsewhere (http://www.thekitchn.com/tip-tenderizing-11683). The author suggests 1/2 of a kiwi per 3-4 pounds of meat. – Tatiana Racheva Nov 27 '13 at 23:40
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Kiwifruit can be used for tenderising all meats but from what I have read you only leave it for one hour before cooking...otherwise you end up with mush...overnight may leave you with a chicken protein shake

user17070
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Cut a fresh kiwi in half then rub on both sides of steak or pork. Put in the fridge for no more than 1 hour. Rinse and pat dry. It is so tender and juicy. No need to buy any more expensive cuts of steak I use the cheapest and it works every time.

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Kiwifruit is the best marinade for lamb - mix with sugar and spices add chilli mash or blend then apply cover with cling wrap leave overnight . It lasts wella ndtastes great - oh you need to add some finely chopped mint too

user18947
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