How to Tenderize Meat With Tea. Tea makes for a great meat tenderizer when other tenderizers are unavailable in your kitchen. Substitute tea bags for more expensive alternatives like red wine and use its naturally occurring tannins to soften meats and make them more palatable at dinner time.

Fill a pot with water and set on the stove. Set the burner so that the water in the pot heats but doesn't boil.

Spoon 4 tbs. of black tea leaves into the pot. Stir the tea leaves into the water to ensure that all tea leaves are moistened.

Steep the tea for approximately 5 minutes. Check on the tea regularly to ensure adequate heating for steeping. Increase the heat and add a few minutes to the steeping time, if needed.

Take the pot off the burner and strain the leaves from the water. Mix 1/2 cup of brown sugar into the water until it dissolves completely.

Unwrap 3 lbs. of meat and season it to taste using salt, onion, pepper and garlic powder.

Transfer the seasoned meat into a Dutch oven. Pour the water and tea mixture into the Dutch oven so that it covers the meat.

Cook the meat at 325 degrees F for about 90 minutes. The meat should be tender enough to slice with only a fork.