When To Use Meat Tenderizer Hammer?

Last Updated on February 16, 2021 by SteakEat

Everyone loves a tender juicy steak that’s full of flavor and…easy to chew!

In this article I speak about when to use a meat tenderizing hammer, when NOT to use is and some of the alternatives you should consider.

Let’s get started.

Tenderizing Meat With a Mallet

The process of tenderizing meat is a simple reaction that breaks down protein molecules. Once these molecules are broken into smaller particles, your steak becomes far easier to chew.

Using a mallet is one of the several ways you can break down those molecules.

When To Use Meat Tenderizer Hammer?

Every time you are cooking a tougher steak! These steaks are cheaper cuts like – flat iron, tri tip, brisket, round and so on.

The Pros of Using Meat Tenderizer Hammer

There are not many but here are the main points:

• Meat becomes softer, thinner and easier to chew
• The cooking time is also diminished
• You can save money by buying cheaper steaks

The Cons of Using Meat Mallet

They are quite significant:

• Meat mallet is a hardcore way of tenderizing meat which breaks down its structure and affects flavor
• A lot of juices and moisture leaves meat during the process so the steak can end up dry and have less flavor

How to Use Meat Tenderizer Hammer?

Spread your steak evenly on a cutting board. Make sure it’s stable and doesn’t move around easily so you a less of a chance of hitting yourself with the meat tenderizer hammer!
Apply a few gentle blows over the entire steak. Then flip it around and repeat the process.

Meat Tenderizer Hammer Alternatives

There are two main alternatives to using a meat mallet.

First, you can use a stainless steel blade meat tenderizer. Using this kind of meat tenderizer is the best way of tenderizing cheaper and tougher meat. Here is the review of those best ones you should consider getting.

Second, you can use a marinade to tenderize your steak without using a hammer. Marinades help to add additional flavor and soften the surface of a steak. For best results, first tenderize your steak with the stainless steel blade meat tenderizer and then apply marinade. That way it would sink far deeper enhancing the flavor as much as possible.

See also:

How to Tenderize Rib Eye Steak Without a Mallet