Meat mallet 101…

Call it what you will: meat mallet, pounder, or tenderizer. I have a 4-sided one that is about 30 years old. I have a flat pounder that I never use for meat but as a hammer.

It’s part of my Italian tool kit, which contains a pounder, a butter knife, duct tape, and zip ties. That’s what my dad called it, but I have to tell you this tool kit is very useful.

I admit that even though I had a 4-sided mallet, I never used all four sides. I never even thought about them until recently.

I become a better cook every day and love to share everything I have learned or taught myself with you. If only I learned these things decades ago.

Every kitchen needs to have a meat mallet, whether you are a vegetarian or vegan. Their use is not limited to only meats.

You can use a mallet to crush garlic, nuts, and olives to remove pits, peppercorns, potatoes, rice, lemongrass, cardamom pods, crackers, cookies, or candies. Pretty handy, right?

I wanted to attempt to make braciole, Italian stuffed meat that is braised in tomato sauce; again, I watched a video on how to make it and how to pound the meat with a mallet properly.

I felt stupid; I didn’t know how to use a mallet properly. You learn by doing, so that’s what I did. The braciole came out good! 100% better than my previous too-tough and thick version

Last Saturday, I wanted to make stuffed pork tenderloin. I remembered what I learned from the braciole and took photos as I went along.

Sam was visiting for the weekend, taking a class, so while he and Marty were out of the house, I prepped our dinner. This was perfect so I could spend more time with them instead of alone in the kitchen.

Knowing how to use a meat mallet is so much easier now. It’s all about using all 4-sides and letting gravity do the work—no more upper body workouts when preparing dinner.

The tenderloin opened like a book turned into this!

I removed the silverskin and butterflied the pork by carefully cutting it horizontally, like opening a book, making sure I didn’t cut all the way through.

Here is a video I watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQplmbaTzao

Next, I placed the open book on the cutting board and covered it with plastic wrap. I used side number one, then two, three, and the flat side. Gravity did the work.

The first pork tenderloin came out textbook perfect; the larger one I cut a little too far in the middle. Ugh! I repaired it when I used butcher’s twine to tie the stuffed tenderloin closed

The stuffed tenderloin in the distance looks like it did before I started, the front one not so much. 😕

I made a simple stuffing for the pork; you can use any recipe or boxed stuffing mix. I added cooked chestnuts since I have a few bags on hand.

The chestnuts gave the stuffing a delightful sweetness Marty and Sam couldn’t put their fingers on. I am so glad I tried this; now I’ll always put them into stuffing.

Ocean State Job Lot always has packages of cooked chestnuts at their registers. How random, right?

I always stock up on them since I use them for a pasta sauce with chestnuts and mushrooms and a dish called chestnut chicken.

I seasoned the meat with onion & garlic powder, kosher salt & pepper, and paprika, then put it into the fridge until dinner.

I popped the pork into a 400-degree oven and roasted it for about 30 minutes or until it registered an internal temperature of 145-150 degrees.

I also made garlic & parmesan sweet potatoes, a recipe Sam found turned out to be a keeper. Here is the link to the recipe:

https://www.eatwell101.com/garlic-parmesan-roasted-sweet-potato-recipe

The sweet potatoes didn’t turn mushy; you could remove them still “shingled” when plating.

A few green beans sauteed in butter, kosher salt & pepper rounded out the plate. Marty requested this meal that he loved for his birthday dinner next month. Yay!

Don’t let seemingly intimidating recipes, like braciole, dictate what you can make or not. Try it if you have never used a meat mallet or use it often. What else can I do with a mallet, you may ask?

Chicken that has been tenderized and pounded thinner is perfect for chicken parm, chicken marsala, grilled chicken, or breaded chicken cutlets for sandwiches. The same goes for pork or flank steaks. Trust me on this.

If you don’t have a meat mallet, they run from $9.99 to $30 at most stores or on Amazon. I recommend a 4-sided one, but the decision will be yours.

It will make you a better cook if it inspires you to become one like me. I always want to get better at everything I do, like dancing, gardening, drawing, and writing. I will never settle for “good enough.”