Have you had situations where the meat has been dry, hard, and not flavourful at all? What about those pork tenderloins that you were serving with Chantilly to go with it? Why is so much food left behind, especially the beef jerky? Aww, don’t you worry! While it can happen to anyone, the best home chefs and professionals realize the value of tenderizing the meat.
If you have little time on hand or have a tough piece of meat, using a meat tenderizer is the solution for making the meat soft and juicy. You cannot be waiting to tenderize the meat by marinating it overnight. A meat tenderizer’s prime aim is to prick the meat to make way for marinades and oils to enter the deep layers of various meat cuts. This makes them moist, soft, and juicy while cooking. So if you are thinking about which one to buy, read our in-depth reviews for the five best meat tenderizers and choose one that best suits your needs.
Best Meat Tenderizers
| Image | Best Meat Tenderizers | Rating |
|---|---|---|
 | 1. OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer | 99% |
 | 2. JY COOKMENT Meat Tenderizer | 96% |
 | 3. Weston Manual Meat Tenderizer | 92% |
 | 4. Jaccard Meat Tenderizer | 89% |
 | 5. Norpro Meat Tenderizer | 85% |
Want to learn more?
Here are our best meat tenderizers’ reviews:
1. OXO Good Grips Meat Tenderizer
Cooked meat could spoil your meal unless it has been tenderized by juices or marinades, offering you a succulent piece of meat in every bite. Here is a traditional meat tenderizer and pounder, just like the traditional mallet.
This meat tenderizer is for any user who can lift this lightweight tool. But do remember to keep this out of reach of children who could hurt themselves playing with it. The dual-purpose tool has a flat side which is used to flatten any roughly cut pieces of meat. The textured side is used for tenderizing the meat by pounding the meat so that when your loved ones bite into mouth-watering, juicy, and succulent cheeseburger or pork tenderloins, they are smiling with joy.
This unit has to be hand-washed only. It is not dishwasher safe. It is made of rust and corrosion-free material, forged and then polished for your use.
Why do we like it?
- Easy to use
- Wash only by hand in warm water
- Safe grip handle
2. JY COOKMENT Meat Tenderizer
Having guests coming over at short notice? No problem at all. With the JY COOKMENT’s meat tenderizer, having succulent pieces of meat like a burger or pork chops and more can easily be managed in a matter of minutes.
With this manual meat tenderizer, you can manage small and large cuts of meat with juicy marinades to follow. Simply impress the equipment’s each of the forty-eight stainless steel needle blades into the meat a few times. This pressing makes way for juicy marinades to be absorbed as the meat fibers split open. As you pull out from the meat, the stainless steel blades quickly retract and free the meat.
Cleaning the 304 stainless steel food grade blades is easy by soaking them in a hot soapy water solution. Many users prefer to put it in the dishwasher’s top drawer, but professionals prefer to use the former method. Some users mentioned using a bleach solution to sanitize the blades and the unit, freeing it up of all microbes and bacteria.
This unit has been designed with a thought to the user’s convenience with a sturdy handle; it can be used by both the left and the right-handed people. It comes with a clear plastic cover over the needles.
Why do we like it?
- Made from non-toxic, FDA compliant materials
- Dishwasher safe
- Ergonomic handle for a safer grip
3. Weston Manual Meat Tenderizer
No more hard work of pounding meats! Cut out all the thudding noise of a mallet-type meat tenderizer. Use the Weston manual meat tenderizer, which works effortlessly. Now roll meat between two cylinders that act as pressers. These pressers have thirty-one stainless steel needles to work the meat to smoothen and soften it out.
Made from a sturdy aluminum cast construction, it has a heavy-duty base to take on a load of consistent pressure of meat cuts. A crank handle pushes the meat through the pressers. Meats can efficiently be maximized to increase the effectiveness of the marinades in making meats juicy and succulent.
The package comes with two C clamps to mount the unit on a counter. The entire unit comes apart for easy cleaning-up. The pressers are coated with a food-safe coating for increased hygiene levels. The stainless steel blades prevent rust and corrosion. The best part is that this unit has stainless steel combs to prevent the meat from jamming up while being pressed.
Why do we like it?
- Has a food-safe coating
- Includes a pair of tongs for your safety
- One-year manufacturer’s warranty
4. Jaccard Meat Tenderizer
One of the best manual meat tenderizers, this unit by Jaccard has 45 super sharp stainless steel blades. You can easily pierce them by just pressing the unit down into the meat. The meat fibers are cut and stretched for easy absorption of your favourite marinades.
Stainless steel prevents corrosion and hence rust staining. This makes the unit durable. With a weight of 0.661 lbs (300 gms) and a dimension of LxWxH of 4.5 x 6 x 2 inches, this is comfortably portable. The compact unit takes minimal space for storage in your kitchen drawers or cabinets.
This meat tenderizer reduces cooking time by 40%. Marinades reach the deep layers of meat tissues easily and make them succulent for the diner. A home chef and professional surely will enjoy cooking with this meat tenderizer rather than the traditional mallet-type meat tenderizer.
Cleaning it is very easy. You can easily disassemble the top part to access the stainless steel blades/columns to clean them thoroughly. While You can wash it in the top rack of the dishwasher, most users prefer to soak the blades in a warm soapy water solution to remove meat strands. Remember to use anti-cut gloves like Kevlar as the stainless steel blades are pretty sharp.
The stainless steel blades are protected by a durable and light cover (included) when not tenderizing any meat for your safety.
National Sanitation Foundation approves this handheld tenderizer.
Why do we like it?
- Easy to operate, clean, and maintain
- Limited lifetime warranty
- Cover included to cover the blades
5. Norpro Meat Tenderizer
Since its inception in 1973, Norpro has always stood for quality and performance. This Norpro meat tenderizer is your companion for cooking when working on beef, pork, ham, or bacon, and more. This unit operates with the heavy-duty springs controlling the mechanism action.
When used, this meat tenderizer breaks the meat fibers using the twenty-four stainless steel blades that are the primary workhorses. Once the fibers are broken up, absorption of marinades is faster and deeper into the meat’s tissues. This enables the meat tissues to soften when cooked, creating succulent burgers, kebabs, or more.
Though dishwasher safe, cleaning this unit is as easy as soaking it in hot soapy water. Some users of this meat tenderizer prefer to soak it in a hot soapy water solution for some time. After that, they use a scrub pad to remove any meat tissues that may be left behind. Some users prefer to soak it in bleach solution for a few hours to sanitize and ensure that all microbes and bacteria are killed. This step prevents contamination of meat from the next batch when used subsequently.
Its dimensions are 7.5″ x 2″ x 2″ (LxWxH). It’s a compact manual unit, and it is easier to store it in your kitchen cabinet.
Why do we like it?
- Easy to use and clean
- A simple unit
- Stainless steel blades
Meat Tenderizers Buyer’s Guide
After you have read our in-depth reviews on the five best meat tenderizers, buying one should be easy. To add value, here are some essential factors that you must consider to ensure you get the best meat tenderizers.
Material
Meat tenderizers have a part of them that are usually made from metal or plastic. This area pricks/ perforates the meat pieces to ensure that the meat’s hard fat and sinews are broken to let them absorb juices and marinades. These parts are sturdy for cutting into the meat.
These could be manual or semi-manual, like a meat blade. Look for ones that You can open up to clean the equipment of the meat strands. You should be able to sanitize the unit after each use when cleaning. This prevents any microbes and bacteria from contaminating the next piece of meat being worked upon.
Ease of cleaning
Most non-electric meat tenderizers can quickly be soaked in hot soapy solutions and be sanitized before being put away for storage. Some products are not meant for dishwashers. Read the instruction manual before you use the equipment.
Safety
Manufacturers consider your safety in many ways.
Cover/ guard: For meat tenderizers with needles or blades, opt for one that provides a cover when it is not in use. This will prevent anyone from getting a cut when you store the tenderizer in the kitchen cabinet/drawers.
For the manual and mallet-shaped tenderizers, ensure they are stored safely to avoid falling on anyone’s feet and causing accidents.
Retractable blades: Most tenderizers with blades or needles come with a retractable system. The tenderizers are equipped with a spring mechanism in the handle that lets the blades be pulled back when not in use.
Lock: A few units have a lock on the handle that needs to be opened before you can engage the blades/ needles.
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