Building First Batch Of Meat Tenderizing Mallets!

I needed Christmas gifts. I had a pile of Hard Maple scraps. What do you give the person who has everything? A giant wooden hammer to smash meat with.

The wooden Meat Mallet is a great kitchen tool. It flattens chicken breasts for schnitzel. It looks cool on the counter. And it's incredibly satisfying to hold.

Material & Tools

Hard Maple: You need a dense, heavy wood. Maple is non-porous (sanitary) and hard. Walnut is okay, but lighter. Oak has open pores (traps raw meat juice)—avoid it.
Router Table: For cutting the texture.
Lathe: For the handles (though you could use a spokeshave/drawknife).

The Build Process

Step 1: The Head

I laminated two pieces of 8/4 (2-inch) Maple to make a 4x4 block. I cut it to 5 inches long. This is a heavy block.

Step 2: The Face (Texturing)

One side needs to be flat (for pounding chicken). The other side needs a grid of "teeth" for tenderizing steak.

Jig: I set up a fence on the router table.
Bit: I used a 90-degree V-Groove bit.
The Cut: I ran the face of the mallet over the bit to cut a groove. I moved the fence over 1/4 inch. Repeated.
Rotate: I rotated the head 90 degrees and ran it again. This created a perfect diamond grid pattern.

Step 3: The Handle

I mounted a 12-inch maple blank on the lathe. I turned a comfortable ergonomic handle with a swell at the bottom so it doesn't slip out of greasy hands.

Tenon: I turned a round tenon on the top to fit into the head.

Step 4: Joinery (The Wedged Tenon)

This head will experience extreme violence. Glue alone is not enough.

I drilled a hole through the head.
I cut a slot in the handle tenon.
I applied glue and drove the handle in.
The Wedge: I hammered a Walnut wedge into the slot in the tenon. This spreads the wood, locking it mechanically into the head. It can never fly off.