meat hammer

saw a thread about a good and proper meat hammer and i know a guy that forges hammers. thought to my self why not see what you guys like. he is a forgign wiz but not much for finishing knives (loves making tools )

what makes the most proper food hammer? weight, face size knuckle clearance

 

I am a big fan of this style, what I use. This or a small sauce pan. Pounding and flattening out meat is not about hammering or force. It's actually a gentle process. The hammer shaped ones I use for nuts.

 

I don't like the ones with the criss cross teeth pattern as they seem to remove and collect what ever is on the surface. The one I used that I liked was a round disc about a half inch thick and maybe 4 inches in diameter with the handle coming out of it as if it was an axle on a wheel. I think it was stainless. The edges were rounded over a bit so that it didn't cut into the meat. It was not a traditional hammer really but the edge was great for tenderizing and the flat part of the disc was good for thinning.

sort of like this one.(guess I should have just gotten a pic) http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Stainless-Steel-Grip-EZ-Pounder/dp/B00004UE7C/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AQ5EFMM1RB7E0X8R78Z

 

Much, much prefer this style of pounder- espresso tamper and Parker 51 for scale.

 

That's the ticket. That's the first I've seen like that. The others I have seen that are similar have the head as reversible with spikes sticking up to gnaw on the bottom of your hand or the head is not integral and there's a joint for collecting bacteria. Where'd you source this?

 

Sheesh, a supply place in northeast NJ. I will look around for their card.

 

That was Jim's nickname in high school.

 

:k

 

Found it - http://www.bridgekitchenware.com/

 

interesting the maker does alot of rustic work and JP. style forgign hammers. i ll have to see how hard it woudl eb for him to make something like those stamper styled ones

i was thinkning about something in a KU finish to make them a bit different then wahts out there

 

Sounds really cool!

 

If I'm not using a small saute pan I'm using a big tamper like Jim showed. I have one at work but not at home.

 

The interesting thing is you use almost no force at all, just lift and drop an inch or two. Any force at all and you blow up whatever you are thinning or flattening. the face is slightly concave.

 

my thought is kind of like an over sized chasing hammer with a small tamper on one side and a larger one on the other

 

Bridge Kitchenware used to be on the East side of Manhattan near the 59th St. bridge. The owner, if he's still around, is a really surly old timer-- all business-- but I always liked him. They had a terrific selection.

 

I started the thread on the other forum, and I really like this idea Butch. Thanks for getting this going. It seems like there is a big gap in the market for a quality meat hammer.

 

Their claim to fame was Julia Child was a regular.

 

i ll be talking to sam the hammer man tomorrow at a hammer in/ gettogether

 

huw if i could have posted over there i woudl have but im now going to run with this to see what i can come up with

 

Awesome, looking forward to seeing how this progresses