Buying Guide: What to Look for in the Best Meat Tenderizer
When you set out to find your ideal meat tenderizer, a checklist of all the qualities you want in your kitchen gear comes in handy.
We made a note of what you should look for and what you should avoid when purchasing the best meat tenderizer.
Ergonomic Design:
Irrespective of which style of meat tenderizer you opt for, your pick should be smartly engineered. Whether you go for a tenderizer hammer or stamp, make sure that the handle gives you a secure and comfortable grip.
Take the Chef-Master Meat Tenderizer Tool for instance. It offers a rubberized grip that reduces fatigue and gives you more control over the gear. OXO Steel Dishwasher Safe Meat Tenderizer is another unit that we felt really comfortable working with.
Leifheit Pro Line Meat Tenderizer Tool is shaped to complement your palms, also allowing you better control.
Then comes the devices that reduce your physical work almost down to zero. Rollers are great if you do not want to stamp or pound, but make sure that you don’t get a unit that jams easily or feels stiff.
Weston Manual Heavy Duty Meat Cuber Tenderizer is a great roller meat tenderizer that you can rely on. No wonder this made it to the top spot!
Numerous Blades:
If you are planning on bringing a needle meat tenderizer home, don’t shy away from buying one with numerous blades.
Generally, chefs recommend the units with 48 blades, such as the Jaccard 48-Blade Meat Tenderizer and KLEMOO Meat Tenderizer Tool.
With a lot of needles at work, tenderizing your steak is faster, easier, and more effective.
Safety:
When razor blades and moving tools are involved safety becomes an issue. Make sure your meat tenderizer is safe to use.
The tool must employ some measures to keep sharp edges covered. The Chard MT-108 Meat Tenderizer has a plastic cover that keeps you protected from its moving roller.
Make sure the stamps have protective caps as well so that the needles are not exposed.
Low Maintenance:
Look for dishwashable meat tenderizers. Manually cleaning bits and pieces of meat is a messy business that you should avoid.
Most of our top listers including the KitchenAid Gourmet Meat Tenderizer are dishwasher safe.
Another great idea is to choose a tool with a non-stick, food-repellant pounding surface. The OXO Steel Dishwasher Safe Meat Tenderizer has one. Trust us when we say this, this feature is a lifesaver.
Compact and Easily Stored:
This is a meat tenderizer and not your griddle grill or patio cooler that will adorn your patio or something while consuming significant storage space. So keep it simple and compact.
Sturdy units pose as a storage problem and with all your other kitchen gears to accommodate, you don’t want that!
Look for tenderizer mallets with hoops to hang close to your workstation, such as the Rösle Stainless Steel Heavy Weight Meat Tenderizer.
You can also go for compact units that easily fit your spatula drawer like the WMF Meat Tenderizer.
FAQs: Your Most Frequent Meat Tenderizer Questions Answered!
Tenderizing meat to prepare the perfectly flavored and cooked meat dishes is an art. It’s only natural that you have a handful of queries about a tricky thing like this. We answered the most frequently asked ones.
01. When should I tenderize meat?
You should tenderize meat cuts before you:
- Prepare tough cuts of steak
- Broil meat
- Fry meat
- Cook flavorful delicacies
Meat is tenderized to:
- To embed or infuse flavors of spices
- To even out uneven cuts such as chicken breast
- To loosen up meat with high connective tissue density before cooking
- To make meat easily chewable and digestible
02. What is the best way to tenderize meat?
The best way to tenderize meat is by using a mechanical meat tenderizer. Wrap your cut in a wax paper or plastic wrap and pound it lightly or simply pass it through a roller meat tenderizer. You can also stamp it with needle tenderizers.
03. Does meat tenderizer really work?
It does!
Meat prepared using a meat tenderizing tool is often more flavorful, chewable, and easily digestible. They are never undercooked and bring the best out of your recipes.
04. What is the quickest way of tenderizing meat?
The quickest way of tenderizing meat is to use one of the best meat tenderizers in the market and to employ some simple tips.
Tip 1: Marinade it beforehand.
Tip 2: Add a bit of salt beforehand.
05. Why is my steak tough and chewy?
If your steak is tough and chewy, we have news for you.
Good News! It is Meant to be Like This!
Steak can be prepped on different levels. Rare and medium-rare varieties are meant to be tough and chewy. So, if you have ordered one of these varieties, don’t worry.
Bad News! Meat is not Well Tenderized!
If your steak is chewy while it is not meant to be, then the meat has not been well tenderized, and it’s time that you switch to one of the best 14 meat tenderizers that we filtered out for you amidst the vast jungle of kitchen gears in the market.
The Tender Parting
Now that we have poured out all ouR meat prepping wisdom and showed you the ins and outs of the best meat tenderizers in 2020, it’s time to say bye-bye.
Let us know which awesome kitchen gear you decided to pair up with. Till then, Adios fellow meat lover!
