Useful Tools: Meat Tenderizer Hammer

Imagine my horror at watching my best friend retrieve a rubber mallet from the garage to use for pounding steak and chicken flat!!! Guess what one of her Christmas presents was this past year?

Useful Tools: Meat Tenderizer Hammer

Some chicken recipes call for chicken to be "pounded flat" and they may not tell you how or why you're supposed to accomplish this mysterious feat.

The "why" of it is that a thinner piece of meat will be tenderized and will also cook faster. Perhaps the recipe also calls for the meat to be stuffed, which will be facilitated by a thinner form to work with.

The "how" of it is you simply place the meat on a thick cutting board, cover it with plastic wrap to prevent splatter, and you pound the heck out of it with a wooden, rubber, or metal kitchen hammer. Here are some of your options:


IN STORE:
KitchenAid Meat Tenderizer – Black at Target $15.19

ONLINE:
Black-Handled Meat Tenderizer (9-in.) Good Grips by OXO

Meat Tenderizer Gadgets by Anolon

Aluminum Meat Tenderizer with Wood Handle by ABC Valueline

Calphalon Meat Tenderizer**

Meat Tenderizer sale price: $7.50 (reg. $17.95)

Mario Batali Meat Tenderizer $8.99 at Target.com




**this was the one I got for my friend!

NOTE: the photo at the top is one that is in my kitchen drawer—it belonged to my Grandma—and I still use it to this day.