Beat Your Meat And You'll Get A Juicy Reward!
Written: Jan 10 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lighter than an 'all metal' tenderizer, two sided head, solid investment.
Cons: Needs to be cleaned quickly and thoroughly to avoid contamination.
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a solid meat tenderizer for use on rough cuts of meat, check out the Tablecraft Meat Tenderizer.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Tablecraft Meat Tenderizer with Wooden Handle |
Over the past few years I have really grown to love barbequing. Anything from London broil to nice thick, freshly butchered steaks have simmered on the grill but from time to time I have to settle for cuts of meat that aren’t all that pleasurable to eat. Getting to the grocery store after the meat department closes or when there is a huge sale are often times the reasons I’ll pick up something that needs to get whacked around with a tenderizer. Until a few months ago I was a dedicated user of the Oxo tenderizer but wanted to try and find something that was a little less deadly in the kitchen. I have a pretty heavy hand when it comes to tenderizing and that usually means that the chicken breasts get pounded into oblivion. The breasts end up uneven which means some parts of the breast will cook quicker than others and result in dry or burnt sections.
Combing the aisles of my local Smart & Final I saw a large tenderizer that had a wooden handle instead of the ‘all metal’ kind that they usually have. The sticker on the shelf was peeled away so I tossed it in the cart and continued shopping thinking I’d check the price on it when I paid for my groceries. I completely forgot about having it in the cart and purchased it without even realizing it. Turns out this puppy was $11.99 but was on sale for $8.99, which explains why there were only a few left on the shelf. Figuring it was fate telling me to try it out, I pulled out the chicken breasts and starts pounding away. If you’ve used an all metal tenderizer you know the power that these things have – pull your arm back too hard to whack the meat the wrong way and you can and will ruin the cut of meat. Using this one was a little easier since it’s not nearly as heavy as the all metal one.
There are two textured sides to this tenderizer. The first side has 20 large grooves to it and is great for chicken breasts, flank steak, roasts and turkey breasts. This won’t tear up the meat as much as the smaller side but if you over do it or use too much force you could damage the cut. This is the side I use when making stuffed chicken breasts and I find that covering the breast with plastic wrap first helps me to get a nice even piece. The second side features smaller diamond shaped prongs [36] that will make the most awful cut of meat taste like a million dollars. I use this side for thick pieces of eye of round, round steak, pork and lamb chops, seven blade steaks and boneless chicken thighs.
One thing that is often overlooked with this tenderizer is the fact that there are two rounded sides that can also be used to pound out meat. These are great for fish, evening out lumpy chicken breasts and, in a pinch, crushing walnuts. The two flat sides are also perfect for crushing up thin bricks of chocolate, breaking up freshly dried spices, dried parsley bunches and garlic. To keep clean up to a minimum try crushing items inside a plastic bag.
The Downside
Since this is a combination of metal and wood you have to make sure that you clean it as soon as possible after use with meat and poultry. Anytime you are dealing with chicken and wood you have to make sure that you clean it thoroughly or risk having the wood become contaminated with the salmonella bacteria. I use an old toothbrush to make sure the groves are free of any small pieces of meat and leave it under a stream of hot water for at least 30 seconds after washing it with an antibacterial dish soap.
I’ve used this at least twenty times so far and the head is getting a little wobbly. I think part of this is due to the hot water I used to clean the metal and the way it is attached to the handle. Before I use it I always pull on the head a few times to see if it is still snuggly in place and I check the top part of the head to ensure that the metal spacer is still even with the wooden slats. The handle is cut into a “V” shape and the head is forced over it. Inside this “V” is a metal spacer that provides a certain amount of pressure to keep the head in place.
This tenderizer is pretty big so storing it might be an issue for those with small or jam-packed kitchen drawers. There isn’t a loop at the end of the handle so you can’t hang it. It measures out at a whopping twelve inches in length and the head is two and a half inches in height and depth and three inches width. I keep mine on top of the backsplash of the oven however it does tend to collect dust and dirt easily so I might have to try and find a more suitable spot for it.
The Bottom Line
So far this has been a great addition to my ever-growing collection of kitchen gadgets. Having two tenderizers might seem like a waste but there are some things that the metal one just wasn’t designed to do – like fish or break up bricks of chocolate. For $8.99 I was able to pick up a great kitchen tool that has impressed me [so far]. My only real concern is that the head continues to get a bit looser each time I use and clean it. I’m waiting for the day that I pull back to give a chicken breast a nice hard whack and the metal head goes flying over my should like something you’d see in a Jerry Lewis film.
As always, thanks for the visit!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
If you are looking for an “all metal” meat tenderizer check out the Oxo brand 9 inch meat tenderizer here http://www.epinions.com/content_54123466372
Recommended:
Yes
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