Kitchen Mallets Are Great Tools

It’s funny how something can sit in a drawer for years, used regularly, but not so frequently that it’s kept in sight. Then suddenly, it’s the topic of a couple of conversations, causing you to stop and re-evaluate its importance. This happened to me recently concerning kitchen mallets, mallets are great tools.  An old friend, long involved in the cooking arena, confessed he had never used one, and a relative, who is an avid chef, and very utensil oriented, gave me a blank stare when I suggested he use one for nut chopping.

My mallet was part of a gift set of wooden kitchen tools, and I confess that for years it stayed in the box. In those days, I only knew that a mallet made the grid markings on Swiss steak; that the pounding softened the sinews and tenderizes the meat, but I don’t use that cut, much less make it. However, everything changed when boneless chicken parts became popular and changed even more when I became interested in stuffing and rolling loin roasts. The mallet earned a permanent home in a top kitchen drawer and a place of respect among my utensils.

Boneless chicken parts, especially skinless ones, have a tendency to puff and curl when cooked. Often they brown around the edges and/or on one side before they are cooked through. Placed between two pieces of plastic, light pounding with the flat side of the mallet, breaks down the fibers and allows the meat pieces to stay flat in the pan. It also gives them a uniform thickness for even cooking, improving the taste. It enlarges their size too, making for a prettier, more important presentation. The same is true of slices from a roast like a loin, yielding pieces that resemble medallions.

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To prepare a stuffed loin roast, slice the meat lengthwise, almost through. Do the same with each half. Pound the meat until it presents a somewhat even surface and lays flat. Place the stuffing halfway across one side, down the length of the roast. Roll from the long side nearest the stuffing. Tie the roast, and cook seam side down in the pan.

The cross-hatch side of the mallet can chop nuts, make breadcrumbs and crumble cookies for crusts. It’s wise to do these chores with the foods in a plastic bag. The pieces will scatter. I prefer the wooden mallets to the metal ones for home use. They’re lighter, simpler to handle, and easier to control the force of the blows. You don’t want to pulverize the meat, just level it. Of course, if you don’t have a mallet, a rolling pin, or even a large can or bottle can do most of these jobs, and hitting nuts with a can bottom will chop them but having just the one tool that will do all these things close at hand is a big help. For a very small investment, I really advise anyone who prepares any of these foods to get a mallet. You’ll be glad you did.