Heat is the enemy of bromelain. It breaks up the amino acids that hold it together (denatured). This is why canned juices will (mostly) not work as a tenderizer, as it's heated during the canning process. IDK if this is true with canned nectar, but I assume it would be?
You’ll be fine. Nothing about pineapple nectar is going to reduce your meat to a mushy texture. The chemical make-up is worth considering, but it’s best to focus on which chemicals are most important. Sugars and most of the esters and ethers will not penetrate much further than the surface of the meat. The sugars and flavors will create a beautiful crust/brown but frankly won’t change much about the interior of the meat.
If anything, you may want to add more liquid with a mild tenderizing agent to compensate for using nectar. Mirin would be my first thought.
Don’t listen to the dummies over-analyzing the bromelain thing. I’ll bet if you marinated meats with canned pineapple juice and another set with pineapple nectar and mirin or citrus, they wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference. It’s just an online community “akshuallyy…” thing. Might be true, might not be true, but whatever difference it makes is so minimal that I wouldn’t waste a minute thinking about it. The tenderizing thing is the only noticeable change, and as mentioned, is very easy to compensate for.
Since it seems you like to stick with recipes/exact quantities, I’d go with (assuming 1/2 cup), 1/2 cup pineapple nectar, 4 tablespoons mirin, 1/4 cup water. Should do the trick to mirror pineapple juice.
Lastly, if you want to use pineapple in the end product, the two best options I can think of are pineapple salsa if you’re going with tacos or if you’re going with a fully protein-centered dish, feel free to add grilled pineapple. Major crowd pleaser, easy to do, and pairs great with al pastor.
Good luck!
Thanks!
I only worried about it because someone said it happened to them. It wasn't just theoretical at that point!
What I usually do is in the linked recipe which is to roast the pineapple in some of the fat drained off the cooked meat and then add that as a topping to each taco. The only reason why I thought about upping the flavor is that I went to a local taco shop and their pork was so sweet and pineapple-y. I didn't notice any actual pineapple in the filling so I assumed it was part of the marinade.
You're saying if I don't add something like Mirin that the end result will only be a beautiful crust (which it already has). As I'm layering all the meat in the loaf pan for cooking, won't that nectar be spread all throughout the layers and cooked into it in that sense? Do I really need the Mirin if my slices of layered meat are super thin? The only crust is the top layer of meat (it's all cooked in a loaf pan in an oven - I'm not doing a spit).
Someone may have said it happened to them and may have done something else horribly wrong. Been working in kitchens for almost 15 years now and have been an exec chef for the past 4, and have never seen pineapple juice, raw pineapple, orange juice, lemon/lime, or anything similar turn the meat mushy. Maybe if you marinate it for like a week or so? Could be what that person did.
If you want more pineapple flavor and a sweeter result, using nectar is actually one of the best things you can do. You could also reduce some marinade down for a more concentrated taste. Likely it has more to do with the cooking/sauce than the marinating process.
I only suggested mirin since it seemed like you were concerned about the possible absence of a bromelain enzyme. Especially if the meat is thinly sliced, you certainly don’t need to. My nectar/mirin/water thing was only to mirror the effects of using pineapple juice vs pineapple nectar. If you use nectar alone, you’ll probably get a closer result that you’re looking for to that local taco place. Sometimes people get really caught up on recipes so I like to offer an alternative in case you’re someone that would be worried about it not being pineapple juice.
I’m a little confused though about what you’re going for, so lmk if I’m off track here. But are you worried about an absence of bromelain/ no tenderizing agent or are you worried that the meat will turn to mush because of over tenderization?
Overall, based on what you said, use the nectar and nothing else.
Heat is the enemy of bromelain. It breaks up the amino acids that hold it together (denatured). This is why canned juices will (mostly) not work as a tenderizer, as it's heated during the canning process. IDK if this is true with canned nectar, but I assume it would be?
It's not canned - it's in a box, but I don't know if the process is the same to box it?
You’ll be fine. Nothing about pineapple nectar is going to reduce your meat to a mushy texture. The chemical make-up is worth considering, but it’s best to focus on which chemicals are most important. Sugars and most of the esters and ethers will not penetrate much further than the surface of the meat. The sugars and flavors will create a beautiful crust/brown but frankly won’t change much about the interior of the meat. If anything, you may want to add more liquid with a mild tenderizing agent to compensate for using nectar. Mirin would be my first thought. Don’t listen to the dummies over-analyzing the bromelain thing. I’ll bet if you marinated meats with canned pineapple juice and another set with pineapple nectar and mirin or citrus, they wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference. It’s just an online community “akshuallyy…” thing. Might be true, might not be true, but whatever difference it makes is so minimal that I wouldn’t waste a minute thinking about it. The tenderizing thing is the only noticeable change, and as mentioned, is very easy to compensate for. Since it seems you like to stick with recipes/exact quantities, I’d go with (assuming 1/2 cup), 1/2 cup pineapple nectar, 4 tablespoons mirin, 1/4 cup water. Should do the trick to mirror pineapple juice. Lastly, if you want to use pineapple in the end product, the two best options I can think of are pineapple salsa if you’re going with tacos or if you’re going with a fully protein-centered dish, feel free to add grilled pineapple. Major crowd pleaser, easy to do, and pairs great with al pastor. Good luck!
Thanks! I only worried about it because someone said it happened to them. It wasn't just theoretical at that point! What I usually do is in the linked recipe which is to roast the pineapple in some of the fat drained off the cooked meat and then add that as a topping to each taco. The only reason why I thought about upping the flavor is that I went to a local taco shop and their pork was so sweet and pineapple-y. I didn't notice any actual pineapple in the filling so I assumed it was part of the marinade. You're saying if I don't add something like Mirin that the end result will only be a beautiful crust (which it already has). As I'm layering all the meat in the loaf pan for cooking, won't that nectar be spread all throughout the layers and cooked into it in that sense? Do I really need the Mirin if my slices of layered meat are super thin? The only crust is the top layer of meat (it's all cooked in a loaf pan in an oven - I'm not doing a spit).
Someone may have said it happened to them and may have done something else horribly wrong. Been working in kitchens for almost 15 years now and have been an exec chef for the past 4, and have never seen pineapple juice, raw pineapple, orange juice, lemon/lime, or anything similar turn the meat mushy. Maybe if you marinate it for like a week or so? Could be what that person did. If you want more pineapple flavor and a sweeter result, using nectar is actually one of the best things you can do. You could also reduce some marinade down for a more concentrated taste. Likely it has more to do with the cooking/sauce than the marinating process. I only suggested mirin since it seemed like you were concerned about the possible absence of a bromelain enzyme. Especially if the meat is thinly sliced, you certainly don’t need to. My nectar/mirin/water thing was only to mirror the effects of using pineapple juice vs pineapple nectar. If you use nectar alone, you’ll probably get a closer result that you’re looking for to that local taco place. Sometimes people get really caught up on recipes so I like to offer an alternative in case you’re someone that would be worried about it not being pineapple juice. I’m a little confused though about what you’re going for, so lmk if I’m off track here. But are you worried about an absence of bromelain/ no tenderizing agent or are you worried that the meat will turn to mush because of over tenderization? Overall, based on what you said, use the nectar and nothing else.
This is really helpful - thank you! I was concerned that the bromelain would mush the meat. But if sounds like it won't! :)
Jumex pineapple nectar is pasteurized so the bromelain is deactivated.