The 4 Finest Meat Tenderizers of 2023

It’s all the time irritating once you work laborious on certainly one of your favourite recipes (like my yummy Air Fryer Breaded Cubed Steak, for example), solely to search out out the meat has come out  robust and chewy. It positively takes away from the meal, which is why I all the time hold probably the greatest meat tenderizers in my kitchen. 

Meat tenderizers assist  break down the bonds between the protein in robust cuts of meat, bettering the feel and making it simpler to chop and chew. Sure tenderizers can even assist pound meat to a constant thickness, making certain a good prepare dinner.It’s a useful software to maintain in your assortment, and I take advantage of mine on a regular basis  for recipes like  my cozy Skillet French Onion Hen. 

Should you’re on the lookout for the perfect meat tenderizers, I’ve put collectively an inventory of my favourite choices. I’ve personally used a number of of those instruments, whereas  others are extremely rated amongst patrons and cooking execs. Maintain studying to find my high picks!

My Prime Picks

1. What’s in My Kitchen: OXO Good Grips Bladed Meat Tenderizer – $22.95 at Amazon
2. Finest Mallet: KitchenAid Connoisseur Meat Tenderizer – $13.99 at Amazon
3. Finest Price range: OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer – $11.99 at Goal
4. Finest For Marinades: Jaccard 48-Blade Meat Tenderizer – $23.02 at Amazon

Critiques of The Finest Meat Tenderizers

1. What’s in My Kitchen: OXO Good Grips Bladed Meat Tenderizer

Once I must tenderize a tricky steak or prep a bit of meat for marinade, I all the time attain for this bladed tenderizer from OXO Good Grips! It has 50 sharp, angled blades that simply lower by way of a few of  the hardest slices of protein—all you must do is place it on high of the meat and push down. It has a non-slip grip for security, and I really like that it locks closed to ensure the blades don’t unintentionally come out whereas it’s in storage. 

Not solely is it simple to make use of however this tenderizer is a breeze to scrub, too.. You may pop it on the highest rack of the dishwasher, which is right due to all these tough areas between the sharp blades (ouch!). 

The one draw back is that it’s not the perfect for pounding out thick cuts of meat — I’ve discovered {that a} mallet-style tenderizer is far more environment friendly for that job. 

The Specs

• Kind: Bladed
• Dimensions: 2.8 x 4 inches
• Dishwasher-Secure? Sure, top-rack solely
• Materials: Chrome steel

The Execs

• Sharp blades to tenderize meat
• Compact design
• Dishwasher-safe
• Locks closed for security

The Cons

• Not the perfect for pounding 

What Others are Saying:

The OXO Good Grips Bladed Meat Tenderizer was named the perfect bladed meat tenderizer by Meals Community. 

Purchase the OXO Good Grips Bladed Meat Tenderizer: 

2. Finest Mallet: KitchenAid Connoisseur Meat Tenderizer

For recipes like my gentle and yummy Air Fryer Hen Milanese, you must pound the hen into a skinny, even layer, and a mallet tenderizer like this one from KitchenAid is ideal for the job. This widespread meat tenderizer is created from light-weight solid aluminum and appears like a small hammer. One aspect of its head is flat for pounding out meat, and the opposite aspect has small spikes for tenderizing. 

I really like that this  software is snug to carry, and in contrast to bladed tenderizers, it can be used for different cooking duties, reminiscent of cracking nuts, crushing ice, or smashing peppercorns. It’s a flexible choose that’s impressively cheap, too! Simply remember the fact that it could possibly’t go within the dishwasher, so that you’ll must fastidiously wash it by hand after utilizing it on any form of uncooked meat. 

The Specs

• Kind: Mallet
• Dimensions: 9.45 x 3.4 inches
• Dishwasher-Secure? No
• Materials: Forged aluminum

The Execs

• Cheap 
• Snug deal with
• Twin-sided head
• Versatile

The Cons

• Hand wash solely
• Not the perfect for marinades

What Others are Saying:

The KitchenAid Connoisseur Meat Tenderizer has a 4.8-star ranking from  greater than 21,000 critiques on Amazon.

Purchase the KitchenAid Connoisseur Meat Tenderizer: 

3. Finest Price range: OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer

This small mallet-style tenderizer is a good selection when you’re procuring on a funds or solely want a meat tenderizer for infrequent use. It has a dual-sided head with one flat edge and one spiky edge, and whereas the top is pretty small, it has a metal core that helps you generate extra energy. The mallet’s deal with is wrapped in a smooth, non-slip materials that’s simple to carry, even when your fingers are moist, and the tenderizer is dishwasher-safe for hands-free sanitizing after you’re performed cooking. 

Nonetheless, its spikes are pretty small, so it’s not essentially the perfect software when you’re prepping meat for marinade or working with an extra-thick lower. 

The Specs

• Kind: Mallet
• Dimensions: 9.7 x 2.4 inches
• Dishwasher-Secure? Sure
• Materials: Metal

The Execs

• Cheap
• Simple to scrub
• Snug deal with
• Twin-sided head

The Cons

What Others are Saying:

The OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer has a 4.8 star ranking from greater than 5,000 Amazon critiques. Plus, Meals & Wine gave it the title of finest meat pounder and Severe Eats named it the perfect mallet-style meat pounder.

Purchase the OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer: 

4. Finest For Marinades: Jaccard 48-Blade Meat Tenderizer

Once you’re making a recipe like my Garlic-Lime Marinated Pork Chops, a bladed tenderizer like this one will poke holes within the meat, permitting the marinade to soak in higher. This Jaccard Tenderizer has 48 sharp, double-edged blades that get deep into any lower of meat, and it may be washed on the highest rack of the dishwasher, serving to to sanitize the blades after use. 

This tenderizer comes with a protecting cowl for storage, however resulting from its bladed design, is best suited to pink meat than it’s for pounding out thick hen breasts. 

The Specs

• Kind: Bladed
• Dimensions: 4.5 x 6.2 inches
• Dishwasher-Secure? Sure, top-rack solely
• Materials: Metallic and plastic

The Execs

• Sharp, double-edged blades
• Creates deep holes
• Consists of cowl
• Simple to scrub

The Cons

• Not good for pounding
• Considerably laborious to press

What Others are Saying:

The Jaccard Meat Tenderizer has a 4.8-star ranking from greater than 7,000 Amazon critiques. It was additionally named the perfect bladed meat tenderizer by The Spruce Eats. 

Purchase the Jaccard 48-Blade Meat Tenderizer: 

Different Meat Tenderizers to Think about

Weston Meat Tenderizer and Cuber

Should you often prepare dinner large batches of meals this huge unit will enable you shortly tenderize giant portions of meat. It has 31 blades, and all you must do is feed the meat into the highest and switch the crank deal with—no guide pounding required. The Weston Tenderizer can be used to make dice steak, however it’s fairly giant (and expensive), so it is perhaps outsized for on a regular basis family use. The Weston Meat Tenderizer and Cuber is out there at Amazon for $129.99.

Gorilla Grips Heavy Obligation Meat Tenderizer

That is one other widespread mallet-style meat tenderizer that you could be need to think about on your kitchen. It has a dual-sided head for pounding and tenderizing, in addition to a non-slip deal with that is available in a number of colours. The mallet could be cleaned within the dishwasher, but it surely’s pretty light-weight, so that you do must put in somewhat further elbow grease when utilizing it. The Gorilla Grips Heavy Obligation Meat Tenderizer is out there at Amazon for $13.40.

Norpro Grip-EZ Tenderizer

Some cooking execs swear by the Norpro Grip-EZ Tenderizer, which has a novel short-handled design. Its spherical head is 3.5 inches in diameter, overlaying extra space with every pound, and its tenderizing spikes are additionally longer than many mallets. You too can flip the top over for a flat pounding floor, however the deal with design isn’t as ergonomic to make use of as different mallets. The Norpro Grip-EZ Tenderizer is out there at Amazon for $26.58.

Aliglow Meat Tenderizer

The Aliglow Meat Tenderizer is an affordable mallet with a traditional double-sided head. Whereas it’s a widespread product, it’s on the smaller aspect. Moreover, the software should be hand-washed, so that you’re in all probability higher off placing your cash towards one of many different choices highlighted above. The Aliglow Meat Tenderizer is out there at Amazon for $9.89.

Williams Sonoma Reversible Meat Tenderizer

This meat tenderizer from Williams Sonoma has the identical design because the Norpro, with a brief deal with and reversible head. Whereas the top has a 3-inch diameter for extra protection, the deal with isn’t non-slip, and the tenderizer is pretty expensive in comparison with most different choices. The Williams Sonoma Reversible Meat Tenderizer is out there at Williams Sonoma for $42.95.

Why You Can Belief Me

I’m Gina Homolka, the writer and recipe developer right here at Skinnytaste. My purpose is that will help you create lightened-up variations of your loved ones’s favourite recipes with out compromising taste, and I like to prepare dinner with seasonal, complete meals, together with all kinds of meat. On the location, you’ll discover numerous recipes that use beef, pork, and hen—in addition to different protein sources—and a meat tenderizer will assist take your cooking to the subsequent degree. 

I’ve personally used a number of of the meat tenderizers included on this record, and the OXO Good Grips Bladed Meat Tenderizer is certainly one of my favourite grilling instruments. For the merchandise I haven’t been ready to make use of myself, I relied on rankings from a whole lot of dwelling cooks, in addition to critiques and testing from different cooking professionals at trusted publications across the web. 

All the things to Know Earlier than Shopping for a Meat Tenderizer

What to Think about Earlier than Shopping for a Meat Tenderizer

There are a number of various factors you’ll need to have in mind as you’re purchasing for a meat tenderizer, together with the next issues:

Fashion: There are two important kinds of meat tenderizers that you simply’ll discover at present: mallets and bladed tenderizes. Mallets are usually cheaper, they usually usually have a two-sided design that makes them efficient for each pounding and tenderizing meat. Bladed fashions, however, have sharp blades that poke holes within the meat, which is nice for marinades and significantly robust cuts of protein. 

Measurement: Meat tenderizers are available in quite a lot of totally different sizes, from small mallets you could retailer in your utensil drawer to freestanding crank-operated fashions. Should you’re solely cooking for one or two folks, a small tenderizer will probably be effective, however anybody who cooks in giant batches could need a bigger model to hurry up the method. 

Cleansing: As a result of tenderizers are used immediately on uncooked meat, it’s essential that they’re totally cleaned between every use to take away any probably dangerous micro organism. Because of this, you’ll probably need to search for a product that’s dishwasher secure. 

How Do You Tenderize Meat?

To tenderize meat, begin by laying it on a steady work floor. Should you’re utilizing a mallet, you’ll be able to cowl the meat with a bit of plastic wrap to attenuate the mess, then use the spiked aspect of the mallet to hit the meat. Begin on the middle and work your means towards the perimeters, and don’t pound so laborious that you simply flatten the meat. Should you’re utilizing a bladed tenderizer, skip the plastic wrap and work immediately on the meat’s floor, urgent the blades down into the meat to create evenly spaced holes.

How Do You Tenderize Stew Meat? 

For recipes like Beef Stew, many individuals like to make use of cheap stew meat, which may typically be robust and chewy. Nonetheless, you don’t want to make use of a tenderizer to get the stew meat properly tender. As a substitute, the hot button is to prepare dinner your stew for a number of hours on low warmth, which can break down the collagen proteins, giving it that melt-in-your-mouth texture. 

What Does Tenderizing Meat Do? 

When you might have a tricky piece of meat, reminiscent of chuck steak or brisket, the meat itself has quite a lot of faculty protein in it—that’s what makes it robust and chewy. Once you tenderize a majority of these meat, whether or not with a mallet or blades, it helps to interrupt down a few of these proteins earlier than cooking. This makes the meat extra tender, simpler to chop, and simpler to chew.  

Does Vinegar and Salt Tenderize Meat?

There are a variety of various methods to tenderize meat—together with a number of choices that don’t contain pounding it with a hammer. Brining meat in salt is a surprisingly efficient solution to make it extra tender, and it could possibly additionally assist enhance the flavour of the meat, as properly. It’s truly a key step in my Air Fryer Hen Sandwich recipe! Vinegar can be used for tenderizing, because of its acidic nature, however you don’t need to use an excessive amount of or your meat could tackle the style. 

The Finest Meat Recipes

When you put money into a meat tenderizer, you is perhaps stunned at how typically you attain for it whereas cooking. I pull mine out virtually each time I prepare dinner a lower of meat, whether or not I’m grilling steaks through the summer time or pounding out hen for a tasty schnitzel. Listed here are a number of of my favourite recipes the place a meat tenderizer will turn out to be useful: 

Costs have been correct at time of publication.