As a home cook, it’s good to peek around the kitchen and check out your work area every so often. What really needs to be there? What “sparks joy,” in the words of Marie Kondo? What should be 86ed for practicality and space reasons? Kitchen gadgets and appliances that aren’t used often and take up a lot of space come to mind. Utensils can quickly fill up drawers, and the meat mallet is the worst. Also known as a meat tenderizer, its a culinary hammer with a flat side and a toothy side. Its helpful for food prep, but unfortunately, it consumes essential real estate in the kitchen.
Ree Drummond, better known as “The Pioneer Woman” and the queen of cozy comfort food, has come up with ways to flatten meat without using this awkward tool. There are other ways to pound and tenderize meat in less physical ways. Maybe the mallet doesn’t seem useful anymore, but there will be times when a recipe calls for you to pound out meat. If you don’t want to keep a meat mallet on hand, here’s why and how you should learn the other method.
You don’t need fancy kitchen tools to get deliciously tender beef. With a few common household items, you can mimic the tenderizing effect of a meat mallet and transform tough cuts into fork-tender perfection.
Why Tenderize Beef?
Tenderizing makes beef easier to chew by breaking down the tough collagen fibers that make meat chewy. Methods like pounding physically shorten the fibers while enzymes in a marinade chemically break down the proteins.
Cuts from well-used muscles, like chuck roast and flank steak, benefit the most from tenderizing. Even pricey steaks can use some extra TLC to reach their full tender potential.
Tenderizing Without a Mallet
You don’t need to run out and buy a meat mallet. These 7 common household tools will get the job done:
1. Rolling Pin
A rolling pin is the natural stand-in for a meat mallet Choose a heavy pin without ridges or grooves Gently pound the beef to break down fibers without smashing the meat,
2. Wine Bottle
A standard glass wine bottle works surprisingly well as a makeshift meat tenderizer. Turn the bottle on its side and use the bottom to gently pound steaks chops etc. The broad surface prevents bruising.
3. Heavy Book
Flattening beef between two sheets of plastic wrap with a heavy book is an old-school hack. Use a large textbook or thick cookbook to supply even pressure and protect hands
4. Measuring Cup
For small cuts like cubed stew meat, put in a sturdy glass or plastic measuring cup and tenderize with a spoon or meat tenderizer tool. The cup contains the meat while allowing pounding.
5. Cast Iron Skillet
Place beef in a plastic bag then gently pound with the bottom of a cast iron skillet. The broad flat surface tenderizes the meat without damaging it.
6. Hammer
In a pinch, a regular household hammer can tenderize beef when used carefully. Place meat in a sturdy plastic bag and lightly tap to break down fibers. Don’t go crazy or you’ll smash the meat.
7. Canned Goods
Heavy canned goods like large cans of tomatoes make a perfect meat hammer replacement. Wrap meat in plastic and lightly pound with the flat bottom of cans. Turn cans parallel to the grain to flatten without tearing.
Other Methods to Tenderize Without a Mallet
If pounding isn’t your thing, try these methods:
-
Marinate beef in an acidic ingredient like wine, vinegar, yogurt or fruit juice to chemically tenderize.
-
Coat with a powdered meat tenderizer containing enzymes that break down tough fibers.
-
Slice meat across the grain as thinly as possible to shorten the muscle fibers.
-
Slow cook tough cuts like chuck roast and brisket using moist heat methods until fall-apart tender.
-
Grind beef into hamburger or finely mince for stir fry. Small pieces won’t need as much tenderizing.
When Should You Avoid Tenderizing Beef?
-
Delicate cuts like filet mignon and sirloin don’t need aggressive pounding. They have little connective tissue.
-
Pre-cubed stew meat should be seared then gently simmered in liquid to melt collagen and turn tender. Pounding could make it mushy.
-
Ground beef for burgers should be handled minimally to avoid compacting. A marinade is a gentler option.
-
Overly pounding steaks can result in unappealing texture. Go easy with a mallet or bottle.
Get Tender Beef Without the Mallet
With some clever improvising, you can mimic the meat-flattening effect of a mallet to get tender results from all your favorite beef cuts. Try out these mallet alternatives and say goodbye to chewy dinners for good.
Why and how do you need to flatten meat?
You can break down tough muscle tissue and make the meat softer by tenderizing it. This can be done with a tool or an enzyme. Some cheap cuts of steak should be pounded to make them taste better, but other meats need to be pounded too to get a thin, even-cooked cutlet. Food Network says that beef chuck, bottom round, London broil, brisket, flank steak, hanger steak, skirt steak, and tri-tip are all better when they are tenderized.
You can start off by placing your meat between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap — this is a non-slip, mess-proof surface for the pounding. Ree Drummond told Delish in an interview that shell “use anything as a mallet,” including her cast iron skillet, a rolling pin, or even heavy cans. Some of the recipes on her website recommend using the heel of your hand.
No matter how you smash, don’t do it on a countertop or cutting board that is too soft and could break. Also, try to avoid pounding near kitchen hazards, like lit stoves and knives. There is a meat tenderizer in the Ree Drummond cookware line if you want to add it to your collection.
How to tenderize steak without a mallet
Can you use a mallet to tenderize meat?
The oldest, easiest, and most obvious way to tenderize meat is to pound it into submission. Use a mallet or cover it in saran wrap and thump it with a rolling pin or a heavy skillet. When should I use a meat mallet? This method is best if you plan on frying or sautéeing quickly, but it isn’t recommended if you want to use the grill.
How can you tenderize meat?
Acids like lemon juice, wine, vinegar, beer, and soda can help tenderize meat by breaking down proteins. Buttermilk and yogurt can also tenderize meat to some extent due to their acid components. Don’t forget the power of marinades in tenderizing meat.
How do you tenderize flank steak with a mallet?
To tenderize flank steak using a mallet, cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap on a stable work surface, such as a cutting board, and use a meat mallet with a coarse side to pound the steak with a good amount of force.
Do you need a meat mallet?
And when Chicken Piccata, Jagerschnitzel, or Minute Steak are your goal, chances are high you’ll be missing one of these: a meat mallet, or meat tenderizer, depending where you grew up. Meat tenderizer or meat mallet. Many recipes call for pounding pieces of meat thin for quicker, more even cooking. No meat mallet? No problem.