The Best Meat Tenderizers for Every Home Cook

Our Top Pick

Rösle Meat Hammer

$45 $41 at Amazon $45 at Sur La Table $118 $58 at Macys

When it comes to kitchen tools, I look for three things: good performance, high-quality construction and easy maintenance. This mallet fills all of those criteria. It’s made of 18/10 stainless steel, the same durable material as my favorite pots and pans. The long handle gives this meat hammer excellent balance, and it’s heavy, but not so much that it feels unwieldy. One side of the mallet has a burled face for tenderizing meat while the other is smooth, ideal for flattening thicker cuts of meat as you would for German-style pork schnitzel. Even though the head on Rösle's Meat Hammer is on the smaller side, it was easy to pound chicken to an even thickness without tearing the poultry. 

The meat hammer weighs just under a pound, which we found very comfortable and efficient. And best of all, it’s dishwasher-safe, making it a snap to clean and disinfect after coming into contact with raw meat. While it’s definitely the priciest option on this list, it’s built to last and it shows.

The Details: 18/10 stainless steel; 11 x 2 inches; dishwasher-safe

Best Budget

KitchenAid Gourmet Meat Tenderizer

$22 $9 at Amazon $9 at Walmart $9 at Wayfair

If you’re looking for a simple, affordable meat tenderizer that still gets the job done, look no further than this one from KitchenAid. Constructed of aluminum, it’s lightweight but strong, and features a non-slip Santoprene handle for better handling. 

The gently angled head gives the mallet better leverage so you don’t have to work as hard to tenderize tough cuts (with the textured face) or flatten out meats (with the smooth face). Its shorter handle gives you more control and works well even for those with smaller hands. Even though it’s not dishwasher-safe, it’s still easy to clean by hand with warm soapy water.

The Details: Aluminum, Santoprene; 9.45 x 3.42 inches; hand-wash only

Best Mallet

OXO Good Grips Die Cast Meat Tenderizer

$18 $12 at Amazon $18 at Williams Sonoma $18 at Oxo

Built very similarly to the KitchenAid tenderizer with a double face and angled head, this mallet from OXO is just slightly longer and lighter in weight. One side of the mallet’s head is smooth, perfect for flattening flank steak for braciole or evening out a pork chop for quick and even cooking. The textured side works well to break up connective tissue, but unfortunately, it doesn't pierce the meat for marinade absorption. 

Its handle has OXO’s signature soft, nonslip grip, so my grasp feels secure even when my hands are wet. I really like its die-cast construction because it's very solidly built and can endure heavy use. While you’ll have to wash it by hand, it’s easy to clean, even between its teeth. 

The Details: Die-cast aluminum; 9.75 x 2.45 inches; hand-wash only

Best Bladed

OXO Good Grips Bladed Meat Tenderizer

$23 at Amazon $33 at Walmart $23 at Sur La Table

If you’re searching for a blade-style tenderizer, this option from OXO does an excellent job. It has 50 blades that easily perforate meat in one stamping motion, helping marinades penetrate better. 

The clear guard at the bottom makes it easy to see where the blades have already been. When the device is locked, the guard can also be used to gently flatten meat. I really appreciate the toggle lock, which keeps hands safe when handling and when it’s stored in the drawer. The rounded shape, light weight, and nonslip grip make it easy to hold. One thing to note is that it can be a bit tricky to clean by hand, but fortunately, it can go in the dishwasher on the top rack.

The Details: Stainless steel; 3 x 2 x 4.5 inches; dishwasher-safe

Best Versatile

Norpro 3-in-1 Meat Tenderizer

$22 at Amazon

NorPro's 3-in-1 Meat Tenderizer is the meat tenderizer that does it all: flattens, tenderizes, and helps with marinade saturation. One side is flat, useful for pounding cutlets for ​​chicken parmesan, while the other has pyramid-shaped spikes for tenderizing tough cuts. There’s also a removable tip with 20 spikes to pierce meat, creating channels for a marinade to soak right in. 

The flat side of the mallet was very effective at pounding out chicken breasts, however, the textured side of the mallet didn't perform as well as other tenderizers on our list. And though the prongs were very sharp and pierced the steak cleanly, they were so long that the meat had to be pulled off them every time. That being said, it’s a unique design that offers the most versatile performance of all the tenderizers we tested. We found this a bit tricky to clean by hand, but it wasn’t entirely a deal breaker given its usefulness.

The Details: Stainless steel; 1.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches; hand-wash only