This Mason Jar Trick Is Perfect If You Don't Have A Meat Tenderizer

Cooking chicken can be the worst for both the experienced and novice chef. It's not easy to get this piece of meat both flavorful and tender. More often than not, chicken tends to be dry, leaving eaters feeling as if they are noshing on a piece of rubber rather than chowing down on a juicy, succulent, tender bite of this popular fowl. Chicken can cause quite the conundrum. As a lean meat, it is one of those healthy proteins most people want to incorporate into their diet. However, the complexity of the culinary challenges it can throw at you, may leave you wondering if it is really worth the trouble.

But don't lose faith in this poultry because the answer is yes, chicken is worth the trouble. Per Healthline, 80 percent of the calories in chicken are derived from protein, and at just 165 calories for a 3.5-ounce piece of the bok-bok, chicken is the perfect meat to add to a diet when you are nutrient conscious. But getting back to the preparing it perfectly issue, chicken doesn't have to be such a headache to prepare. Spoon University has shared the most genius trick with a mason jar to tenderize your chicken to get it perfect for cooking. In fact, this technique is worth trying on other meats as well.  

Per The Kitchen Chalkboard, to cook chicken properly, you need to cook it at a high temperature and in a relatively short period of time. However, they share that this can be a challenge when your chicken pieces are not even in thickness. Some of those thicker pieces are going to take longer to cook, leaving other pieces vulnerable to losing all their moisture. This is where Spoon University's mason jar trick comes to the rescue. 

If you don't have a meat mallet for tenderizing, raise your hand. Us too. But don't worry, you can use a mason jar, or pretty much any jar, to pound your chicken until it is an even thickness. To use this tried and true method for evening out your meat's thickness while simultaneously tenderizing it, the Tasting Table recommends wrapping your chicken in plastic wrap and then pound away with the bottom of the jar. The Kitchen Chalkboard says after you do this, you can return to your recipe and cook your meal as the instructions detail. The great thing about this hack is that you don't have to buy any new kitchen tools, and if it will work on tenderizing your chicken, it will work on other types of meat too.