tenderize

verb (used with object), ten·der·ized, ten·der·iz·ing.

1. to make (meat) tender, as by pounding or by a chemical process or treatment.

verb

1. (tr) to make (meat) tender by pounding it to break down the fibres, by steeping it in a marinade, or by treating it with a tenderizer

v.1733, from tender + -ize. Specifically of food, recorded by 1935, originally American English. Related: Tenderized; tenderizing.