Customer Reviews

OXO Good Grips Meat Pounder

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this when my old fashioned mallet-style pounder finally died (the head flew off the stick after years of making chicken piccata). This one works great and has a comfortable grip. I like to use it for "chopping" chocolate that is going to be melted - just put your bar of ghiradelli or sharffen-berger in a ziploc bag and smash away. no melting on your hands and no messy chards of chocolate all over your counter.

I was looking for a pounder to help flatten chicken breasts (the have a habit of being really thin in one place and really thick in another). After a fruitless search in various cooking stores, I found this. I chose this one over the plain pounder just in case I would want a tenderizer. Boy am I glad I did.

With very little wrist movement, the tenderizer's weight flattens and tenderizes chicken with almost no effort (try that with one of those lightweight wooden ones).

The large flat section takes just a little more effort (still very little) to make your cuts thin and even.

Definitely one of the best things I have bought for my kitchen in a long time. I highly recommend it.

I have to say, I have been needing a meat pounder for a long time and this one is great. I used it on chicken and it did a great job with very little effort on my part. Plus is was very easy to clean, just some soap and water. I am very pleased with this item!

Although he did not mention the brand name or model name, on one of his shows where he was talking about flattening meat out, Alton Brown talked about the different kinds of meat tenderizer mallet type tools that you can use, and this is the one that he recommended.

The good: It looks nice

The bad:
1) It is not dishwasher safe. Finish flakes off and aluminum corrodes after only a few washings.
2) The handle is too short to use for pounding on it's side.
3) Prolonged use inflicts pain on your hand while pounding using the large round surface. Our hands don't work well as hammers.

I would not recommend this particular model to anyone.

I've used it to break up chocolate, crush tortilla chips, and pulverize eggshells (for the garden). In fact, for everything except pounding meat. But I'm sure it will do a great job at that when I get around to trying it.
It's got plenty of heft, a comfortable handle, and just feels well-balanced.
Another OXO triumph.

I have bought a couple of different types of tenderizers or smashers but this one is designed well you don't have to compensate for angles lets say your using a pan or tray with a side wall the hammer style will not allow you to strike the meat flatly or if like me you have large hands I can't tell you how many times my knuckles got tenderized before the meat did most hammer style tenderizers don't have an allowance for large hands holding the tool so as you strike the meat you more than likely will bang your knuckles first which absorb the blow more than the meat will.
This tool also has a larger surface area and more weight than most hammer types this will allow people to use less force when using the tool also I was able to flatten some chicken breasts much easier and quicker using mostly the weight of the tool and a little auxilliary power from me, and the breasts pounded out to about a 1/4" thick perfect for rolling up and stuffing with any filling.
One suggestion I would make would be to use a zip-lock type of bag sealed with a little extra moisture not dry this will allow you to control the mess if any also the liquid helps to reduce friction when pounding and flattening the meat and will also make handling raw chicken safer to prepare not too mention a perfect way to introduce a marinade to the meat with out dirtying a bowl.
All in all I'm very pleased with this item and will be using this on many cooking projects.

Standard mallets work, but put a tremendous amount of stress on your wrist every time they hit. The design of this one redirects the stress from your wrist to your hand, so your joints won't take a pounding.

The grippy, soft oxo rubber handle is thick and easy to hold, and the rubber extends past the handle onto the base, where it creates a nice base for your hand to rest on while absorbing shock. The weight of the solid aluminum base is all in the base, which keeps it from wobbling during the swing. All in all, a very well thought out design and good reason to toss the old fashioned wooden mallets you may be using now.

I've used mine for pounding chicken breasts flat. Just put them on a cutting board with plastic wrap over them, and pound them into an even thickness. This makes the cook more quickly and evenly. No more thick spots or parts that lift off the pan and undercook, or thinner spots that overcook.

Works really well for pounding garlic flat, too. Just peel the clove, put it on a cutting board, and give it a good whack with the smooth metal bottom. It's food therapy!

I generally like Oxo products, but the non-stick surface on the Oxo Good Grips Meat Pounder is flaking off the surface. The design is good, but the material is not acceptable.

It was good while it lasted. I've had this piece for three years and was surprised yesterday to find the silver paint (which I didn't realize was paint) chipping and peeling off, nearly falling into our food. Naturally, no one wants to eat paint -- and it could be toxic. The item promptly went into the garbage. It's not as functional as more traditional, hammer-style mallets, so I'm glad I have a chance now to buy a better one.