Bear Paws Meat Handling Claws Review

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I've been eyeing these Bear Paws since last grilling season. I laughed when I saw Alton Brown whip them out on Cutthroat Kitchen, called only "claw hands". I don't understand why one chef on Cutthroat Kitchen didn't buy the second paw to really hinder the other chef. With that said, this was a fun item to review.

If you've never seen these before, Bear Paws are hard plastic meat shredders you hold in your hands and then attack a whole chicken or pork butt to make pulled chicken/pork with. It looks really fun to play with, though you have to be careful and not let the kids tinker with them as toys, as they are sharp and can really hurt someone. They can also be used to lift whole turkeys and chickens out of the pan with.

Just about all the other reviews of these I've seen talked about using the Bear Paws for making pulled pork. I'm sure they work great at that. One thing they are advertised to do is to use them for tossing salad, with ease. So, I attacked a bowl of salad with them. Literally.

I first cut up some lettuce. I did not use the paws to tear apart the head of lettuce, though I suspect it could do the job. I added some broccoli, cut up strawberries, and added some lamb for good measure. Baaaa. I then put the claws on and mixed up the items in the bowl.

For the relatively small bowl I had, the Bear Paws were probably overkill. However, for a much larger (metal) bowl for a large barbecue, I can envision these being very useful to mix up the salad, without getting your hands dirty. With one exception. I kept stabbing the strawberries with them. I can't imagine these doing well with most any berry, but for a typical salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, the paws should do well at mixing.

While I didn't try them with a pork shoulder/butt or anything hot, these things are rated to 450 degrees. Smoked meats shouldn't be that hot, but better to have the higher temp rating than needed. I can easily envision myself stabbing with one hand and pulling the meat apart with the other. We'll have to try that over the summer, and perhaps I'll report back on that finding.

I like the idea of the claws and will see how frequently they get used. If your kitchen is tight on space, there might be a concern there. However, for the right person/situation, these claws can be very helpful.

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