5 Best Meat Tenderizers for Chicken
Chicken is one of the highest-used meats for cooking. It is delicious and savory and there are so many recipes available for using chicken. It is also an affordable option for cooking gourmet meals that do not disappoint your taste buds.
Have you tried a meat tenderizer yet? Meat tenderizers thin the meat, softening the meat as you go.
The tenderizing of the meat provides you with many benefits, such as cooking versatility, easier chewing, and easier digestion for your body.
Tenderizing your chicken allows you to do multiple types of things. You can pound it out to make chicken fried chicken or use the tenderizer to flatten it so you can stuff it.
You can also simply tenderize your chicken to help it cook evenly or for the health reasons we mentioned before.
Tenderizing chicken should be a fairly simple task. In order for it to be simple and work properly, you need a quality tenderizer that will perfect the tasks that you might desire for your chicken. Not every meat tenderizer is created equally.
We know that choosing just the right product can often be taxing and overwhelming. It may take days of sifting through research and reviews to find the best fit for you.
The good news is we’ve done all of the work for you! We’ve put together a guide that features the 5 best meat tenderizers for chicken and we’ve broken out all of the need-to-know details.
Keep reading to be in the know and be one step closer to finding your best meat tenderizer.
The 5 Very Best Meat Tenderizers for Chicken
Here are our top picks for the very best meat tenderizers to use on chicken:
| Rank | Product | Best Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | NEW OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer | Smooth and rough sides for different functions |
| 2. | Jaccard Supertendermatic 48-Blade Tenderizer | Sharp blades for cutting tissue |
| 3. | KitchenAid Gourmet Meat Tenderizer | Made of lightweight but durable aluminum |
| 4. | KEISSCO Reversible Meat Tenderizer | Ergonomic design |
| 5. | XSpecial Meat Tenderizer Tool | Ultra-thin chef's knife design |
Read about their pros and cons below!
1. New OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer
The New OXO Good Grips meat tenderizer wins our best overall pick for its ability to tenderize quickly and easily with a great design and an even better price tag.
Your chicken will be perfectly set for your cooking needs with this handy tool.
Key Features:
- Smooth side and textured size
- Contoured handle with a soft grip
- Dishwasher Safe
Whether you’re looking for a pounding tool or a tenderizing tool, this tool is the best for tenderizing your chicken and it’s super affordable. It’s designed for easy simple use. It’s not overly heavy or awkward to hold and use.
The comfort grip enforces a non-slip technology so you can quickly pound out your chicken and move on to the next step of your cooking pleasure.
This particular gadget boasts “meat tender as butter” shedding light on the quality of this tenderizer.
Pros:
- Lightweight and easy to use
- Does not slip, regardless of wet or dry hands and surface
- Superior design at an affordable price
- Great for chicken, nuts, and other meats
- Dual sides to allow for flattening and/or tenderizing
Cons:
- The head is a bit small
- Challenging to clean
2. Jaccard Supertendermatic 48-Blade Tenderizer
If you’re looking for the ultimate tenderizing tool with no concern for flattening or pounding, you should take a glance at this Jaccard Supertendermatic.
This tool is designed specifically with tenderizing in mind and is quite a handy option for your chicken.
Key Features:
- 48-blade tenderizer tool
- Razor-sharp blades
- Measures 5 5/8 inches by 4 1/8 inches
The handle and exterior of this tool are made of ABS plastic. There are 48 blades, each of which is intensely sharp.
The blade design allows you to create pockets in your chicken so that your chicken will heat evenly and be tender when you’re ready to serve.
This particular style of meat tenderizer is extremely popular with seasoned chefs and is used often in professional cooking environments. It is noted to reduce heating times by almost 40%.
The tool does not come with instructions to reference, so it may take some practice to familiarize yourself with it for the best results.
Pros:
- High-quality tenderizing tool at a reasonable price point
- Extremely sharp for ultimate tenderizing results
- Includes a protective cover for the blades
- Consumer-tested to ensure quality
Cons:
- Difficult to clean and difficult to reassemble after cleaning
- The holes do not always line up with the blades, rendering it ineffective
3. KitchenAid Gourmet Meat Tenderizer
The KitchenAid brand is well known for its ability to render useful kitchen utensils and this one certainly meets their usual standard of quality.
They’ve perfected the handled meat tenderizer with this design, providing style and quality in a useful tool.
Key Features:
- Dual-sided head for tenderizing or pounding
- Aluminum materials for lightweight and durability
- Easy to clean
This meat tenderizer will be the perfect tool for your chicken recipes. It is both an affordable and quality gadget that you will not be sorry you invested in.
This meat tenderizer is available with a black-embellished handle.
This sleek tenderizer looks great, feels great, and works great. The handle also includes a hole to allow you to hang for storage if you prefer. The tool is 11 inches long and the head is about 3.42 inches wide.
Pros:
- Textured on one side, flat on the other
- Soft-grip handle allows for comfortable use
- Versatile and affordable superior quality tenderizer
Cons:
- Must be hand washed
- Almost too lightweight to handle safely
4. KEISSCO Reversible Meat Tenderizer
If you’re looking for the best of the best or the high-end meat tenderizer for your chicken, look no further.
We’ve got you covered with the KEISSCO Reversible meat tenderizer.
This meat tenderizer is designed to offer professional quality and is a bit more expensive as well.
Key Features:
- Ergonomic overall design
- Reversible head for pounding or tenderizing
- Dishwasher safe
This tool is one of the most snazzy-looking meat tenderizers you will find. It has a unique style with a head that screws on and off.
One side has sharp teeth for tenderizing your meat while the other side offers a smooth flat surface for flattening or pounding out the meat.
This tool is a bit on the pricy side, but it certainly does not disappoint in delivery. This is designed to be stylish, useful, and durable all in one.
This is a classic example of “you get what you pay for”, in which you will get the quality you are paying for.
Pros:
- High-quality chrome-plated zinc
- Comfortable handle with a uniquely designed head
- Head is removable and replaceable so you can switch to whichever side you need at the time
- The teeth are sharp, setting this tool apart from other dual-sided tenderizers
Cons:
- While it is promoted as dishwasher-safe, it is more durable when washed by hand
- A bit on the pricy side for a meat tenderizer
5. XSpecial Meat Tenderizer Tool
If you prefer the handheld tenderizer with sharp-bladed teeth compared to the tenderizers with a handle, here is another great option for you.
The XSpecial meat tenderizer tool could be an extra special kitchen addition for tenderizing that chicken.
Key Features:
- Available in either black or white
- 48-bade stainless steel tenderizer
- Dishwasher safe
This meat tenderizer tool boats of 48 razor-sharp blades that perfectly tenderize your chicken and other meats, prepping for marinades, BBQs, and tender deliciousness.
This tenderizer provides ultimate tenderizing possibilities at an affordable price point.
The tenderizer was designed with professional chefs in mind. It sports an ultra-thin design that is easy to use so you can quickly tenderize your meat and move on to the next step.
The design offers a button that makes detaching and cleaning very simple.
Pros:
- Tenderizes without damaging the meat
- Reduces overall cook time by approximately 40%
- Superior design and quality
- Easy to clean and reassemble
Cons:
- Meat should be flattened prior to tenderizing, requiring another tool
- Can get hung up on thick slabs of meat
Related Questions
We hope that you have found this guide to be both helpful and informative as you seek out the best meat tenderizer for chicken. Many of the tenderizers shared above are versatile and will work well on other meats and substances as well.
We invite you to take a look at our questions and answer section for any other curiosities you might have!
If I Use a Tool That Only Tenderizes, Do I Have to Flatten First?
If you choose one of the bladed tenderizing tools, it is recommended that you pound out or flatten the meat prior to tenderizing the meat in order to experience the best results.
While you can tenderize without flattening, you might experience jamming or uneven results.
Should I Purchase a Tool That is Dishwasher-Safe?
This decision is entirely up to your personal preferences. You can effectively clean a tenderizer tool with hot water and soap. However, often the tools have sharp blades you must be very careful when handling.
You also may prefer a dishwasher-safe tool because the dishwasher can withstand much hotter water for sanitizing.
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