Top & Best Meat tenderizer Review 2022 – How to Select Ultimate Buyer’s Guide
Top & Best Meat tenderizer: How to choose the best in 2022
Very welcome to mypricesaving.com. Today we are going to talk about the meat tenderizer, a very useful kitchen utensil to make the meat soft and well seasoned.
With the use of this device you break the fibers of the meat leaving it without nerves. The holes made by the blades or the cavities left by the piece are useful to make the seasoning better absorbed by the food.
The coolest thing is that the meat tenderizer serves for all types of beef (and chicken fillets), no matter the cut or even the thickness of the fillet. That is, the tenderizer will also help you when you are preparing meat for a barbecue. Let’s find out which one is the best?
First, the most important
- The meat tenderizer has a dual function: making the food softer by breaking the fibers through the blade and intensifying the seasoning by introducing it over the entire length of the meat.
- You find the meat tenderizer in several formats: double-sided hammer, one side smooth and the other with “little teeth”, in a round shape with rotating blades, crank tenderizer and cylindrical with blades.
- Usually the blades of these pieces are made of metal or stainless steel (the best option) and the handle is made of plastic or nylon.
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Ranking: The 4 best meat tenderizer models
Whether for everyday use or in preparing special meals, meat tenderizer is a tool that you need to have in your kitchen, because in addition to being cheap, it is useful for more than one purpose and very easy to handle.
And there are several models available, in different sizes, formats and price ranges. Therefore, we will present you the best models of meat tenderizer, one of each type.
Buying Guide
There is nothing better than eating soft, well-seasoned meat. For this you have two options: buy the noblest cuts or use a hand meat tenderizer, a cheap, easy and quick to handle utensil that leaves any meat juicy.
Next, we will give you tips so that you can choose the best meat tenderizer and thus impress your family and friends even more with that beautiful barbecue.
What is a meat tenderizer?
The meat tenderizer is an equipment that softens the steak through a roll of razors that pass through the meat and break its fibers, leaving the finer part.
To eat soft meat you do not need to spend money on the noblest cuts like steak and filet mignon, as there are several options to tenderize even the toughest meats.
There are thermal (heating or cooling the meat), mechanical (more about them below) and chemical (adding salt, baking soda or dairy) methods.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of meat tenderizer?
Among the advantages, we can highlight that the meat tenderizer, as its name suggests, makes the meat very tender. Not to mention that with it you can better season the different cuts.
You can use it with all types and cuts of meat. And the best, paying very little for it. Meat tenderizer is a very cheap tool.
However, the eliminated fibers remain on the blades of the utensil and need to be cleaned before you can continue working on the next piece. Keep in mind that the meat tenderizer must be sanitized at all times.
The domestic meat tenderizer is always manual, but there are several models, from simpler versions such as meat hammers (quite popular and relatively inexpensive) to more sophisticated models with crank and base.
Check out the advantages and disadvantages of meat tenderizer (regardless of type):
What are the types of meat tenderizer?
There are several types of meat tenderizers for manual use, and all have the same working principle (to break the fibers and ribs of the meat), but they are of different shapes and styles.
Meat hammer: It is the most traditional model. It has the shape and handling of a conventional hammer so you should hit the meat as if you were hammering a nail into the wall.
The meat hammer has two ends that can be: smooth on one side and edged on the other or edged on both sides (one thinner and the other thicker). The positive point of this model is the price, since it is the cheapest option.
But, with the meat hammer you need to do a lot of manual strength. This model is usually made entirely of metal or stainless steel or may have a plastic handle and a metal / stainless steel hammer.
Cylindrical or rectangular meat tenderizer: It has a set of pointed blades that penetrate the meat in a controlled and orderly manner through the way it is handled (as if you were “stamping” the meat).
You can adjust the height of the blades using a plastic insert. For thin cuts, leave only the tips of the blade visible and for meat with greater thickness, let the blades appear more.
Crank meat tenderizer: It is a model very similar to that used in butchers. The difference is that it is portable, smaller in dimensions, manual and the structure is nylon with metal.
This model consists of a rectangular stainless steel base to support the steak, it has two rolls that can be made of stainless steel, plastic or nylon material and that serve to soften the steak (just place it between the two pieces and turn the handle).
This softener has an adjustable height (from the vertical column) and is fixed to the table by two threadable screws. It has spiral springs that rotate the part when driven by the crank movement.
Circular tenderizer : Finally, the circular meat tenderizer can be of two types: full circle and split, with one side being the strip of sheets and the other side the support for placing your hands or only with the strip of sheets.
You can see how this model (the half circle) works in the video below:
How much?
The meat tenderizer is a very cheap tool: the conventional hammer-style model costs between R $ 20 and R $ 90, in a cylindrical or rectangular shape with blades starting at R $ 15 and the crank-driven model has prices starting at of R $ 100.
Where to buy?
You can find meat tenderizers in supermarkets like Dia and Extra, household goods stores like Camicado and Etna and in department stores like Americanas.
If you prefer you can also buy this accessory in online stores like Amazon, Mercado Livre and Shoptime. On Amazon, for example, you can find models of all types that exist, of various brands, colors and with very affordable prices.
Purchasing criteria: Factors to compare meat tenderizer models
There are several types of meat tenderizers that vary in shape, material and depth of the blade. Although they serve the same purpose, you can adapt better to one model than another. Therefore, when buying a meat tenderizer, note the following items:
- Types
- Weight
- Blade depth
- Materials
- Cable
We will explain each of the items mentioned above so that you do not have any doubts and be sure to choose a model of meat tenderizer for your kitchen
Types
There are meat tenderizers of various types: hammer, cylindrical (or rectangular) with several thin blades made of stainless steel, the hand-cranked and the round tenderizer.
The most recommended model varies according to your preference regarding handling, the depth of the blade (we’ll talk more about this in the next topic) and the amount you intend to spend on the tool.
Check the section “What are the types of meat tenderizer?”, Above, for more details on each one.
Weight
Before defining your choice, think about the weight of your meat tenderizer. Although it is a simple criterion, it can make all the difference in your day to day. Have you thought about choosing a meat tenderizer that is too heavy that will leave you in pain at the end of use?
The ideal is a light model, which gives you freedom to move without problems. That way you can put the necessary strength into each type of meat.
Run away from fabric softeners over 300 grams, they can become a real nuisance. Unless it’s a bench model, it needs to be firmer and heavier.
Blade depth
The depth of the blade will be a relevant factor if you are used to preparing meat of different thicknesses. For thinner steaks, any model will do, but if you like to prepare thicker cuts you will have difficulty using a model with short blades.
For those who usually prepare cuts with a thickness of two or three fingers, the most suitable model is cylindrical or rectangular with thin, long blades, as it will penetrate the meat better.
The crank-powered model is inadequate because the space between the two rolls that tenderize the meat is narrow, so thicker pieces do not pass through this space (apart from that it would be dangerous to break the equipment in the attempt).
And the other two models (circular and hammer) only soften the surfaces of the steaks, not being effective on very thick meats.
Materials
Meat tenderizers are made of different materials: most have a plastic or nylon base and steel or metal blades. The material used in the manufacture of this fabric softener may be more or less resistant.
For blades, undoubtedly, the best material is steel (mainly stainless), because in addition to being a material resistant to impact and moisture, it does not rust.
Cable
The cable also deserves attention. This is what you’re going to hold on to using your meat tenderizer. It can be from the material used in the fabric softener, these being a unique piece.
You even find wooden handles or plastic or silicone handles. To choose the best handle for your meat tenderizer, take comfort, ease of cleaning into account, if it adds weight to the product and if it is firm.
Watch out for wooden handles, they can proliferate bacteria if not cleaned properly.
Analyzing all these criteria you can choose the best fabric softener for your routine and need.
