Salt is your best tenderizer.

Yes, but you’re overthinking it. The single most important ingredient for tenderizing beef is salt — and you don’t even need a liquid marinade.

Acid (vinegar, citrus, wine) does break down meat fibers, but it only works on the surface and can turn the outside mushy if you leave it too long. Enzymatic tenderizers like pineapple or papaya work fast but can turn beef into paste in 30 minutes. Salt actually changes the protein structure inside the meat, making it retain moisture and feel more tender after cooking. This is called dry brining.

If you want flavor and tenderness, do this: generously salt the beef (1 teaspoon per pound, kosher salt) and let it sit uncovered in the fridge for at least 4 hours, overnight is better. Then right before grilling, add your flavorings — garlic, pepper, herbs, a little oil — but don’t soak it in a sugary sauce that’ll burn on the grill. A marinade for flavor is fine for 30-60 minutes; a marinade for tenderness is mostly marketing.

Skip the bottled stuff. Salt first, flavor second.