If your meat is too lean, chances are it will be tougher than well-marbled beef. Make sure the meat you buy is labeled Choice or Prime. If it's not, it's a lower grade. Also, don't keep flipping steaks & just turn them once with tongs & don't pierce with a fork.

An acid such as vinegar or lemon will help soften it some. Pineapple juice with pork is a good tenderizer, too. Some think it's heresy to marinate a good piece of beef. I eat a lot of steak & occasionally I like a different flavor. Here's a marinade I like from Craig Claiborne.

DANIEL BOULUD'S MARINADE FOR BEEF (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or green onions
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 TBL red wine vinegar
1 1/2 TBL olive oil
1 TBL minced garlic
1 TBL cracked or coarsely ground pepper
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients in a flat dish & add meat, such as flank steak. Let stand 30 minutes, turning the meat occasionally. Cook the meat.~~

Thanks Ginger. That marinade sounds good and I have all the ingredients. I've thought about trying a private meat shop as opposed to our grocery store for better beef. Does anyone do that?

Here is a 'rub' that I put on London Broil:

Ground Blk Pepper
1 t garlic salt
1 t onion powder
cayenne to taste

After it's grilled and thinly sliced, I top it with this Blue Cheese Butter and let it melt through. Tastes GREAT!

3 T Blue Cheese
2 T butter
1 t fresh chives
(all mixed together)

That butter is right up my alley. It wouldn't hurt to check out another meat supplier. I suspect that's your problem, not your cooking.

That nutritionist that I like made this on her show today and they really looked/sounded good. Next time I go to Sam's will get some lamb chops. I've had good luck with their meat.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lemon, zested (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 (4-ounce) lamb loin chops, trimmed of all visible fat

In a small bowl stir together the first 7 ingredients. Put the lamb chops in a sealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over them. Move the chops around in the bag so the marinade coats them well. Marinate for 1 hour.
Grill or broil the chops for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Have you tried bashing it with a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin? That helps, but it also thins out the meat - good for things like Wiener Schnitzel. If you still want the meat thick, try any of the following methods:

SUBSTITUTES FOR MEAT TENDERISER:
Soak meat first in vinegar for 1 hour.
OR
Mix equal parts of vinegar and cooking oil and rub into the meat. Leave for 2 hours before cooking.
OR
Splash meat over with lemon juice.
OR
Marinate meat overnight in a little wine.
Stand steak in a mixture of 3 tablespoons salad oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar for half an hour, turn steak over and leave another half hour. Then cook as usual.
OR
Rub lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce or French dressing over the steak about an hour before cooking.
OR
Marinate in a mixture which contains pawpaw flesh or chopped pawpaw leaves for no longer than 2 hours, or the surface may become mushy. (Pawpaw contains a strong, natural tenderiser called papain.)
OR
To tenderise meat, cover it with slices of kiwifruit for about 10 minutes.

Daisy...are these for real?? What's 'pawpaw'? That's what our Grandchildren call my husband!!!

I'm not really a cook; I just play one in my kitchen... so you may be getting some strange questions from me.

Here it's papaya which contributes an ingredient in meat tenderizer which I think is papain or something like that if I remember correctly.

It was papaya when we lived in Hawaii too, Ginger and I really did enjoy the papaya there. Have never been successful in getting one nicely ripened here in the US. We get them from Mexico but they don't seem to be the same.

Pawpaw in Australia, papaya in America. Tropical fruit.

Don't like it myself. I reckon it stinks to high heaven! But where I live, almost every garden has at least one pawpaw tree.

And yes, my hints ARE for real.

Here is a link that might be useful: pawpaw

Mmmmm, I love Papaya. I have heard before that pineapple and papaya are good to use for tenderizing meat. My neighbor often used the juice of one or the other on pork and beef. I remember him telling me once that you can't let it marinate too long or the meat will turn to mush.

I had a friend who used to chew on papaya pills as a digestive aid, they tasted so good to me.

My, my.....the things we learn here!!

Our steaks turned out ok....It wasn't because of the tenderizer though. My husband still needs to learn how to GRILL!! (smile)

I buy leaner cuts on sale, slice into serving size steaks for one -- drizzle with Worchestershire Sauce and allow to marinate while thawing.

The "commercial" meat tenderizers are based with papain so it makes complete sense that Daisy's recipes would work very well.

Here is a link that might be useful: What is Papain?