I never flatten breasts directly on any surface that cannot go into the DW immediately. I'm assuming you immediately sanitize your formica when the chicken is removed???

Breezy, have a plastic cutting board that I use, but it's on the counter top when I'm flattening/pounding the chicken breast.

I'm wondering if the force of the pounding will crack the stone.

I wouldn't do that directly on the granite, I'd use a board specifically desginated for raw meat...preferably non-wood.

Okay, I guess I phrased the question incorrectly. Will the force of pounding the meat on the cutting board, which is on the counter top cause a crack or fissure in the granite?

We, too, just transitioned from formica to granite, but haven't worried about pounding chicken breasts -- on a disinfectable (if that's a word) cutting board on granite -- because I just don't pound chicken breasts all that hard.

I used to until I realized that it really didn't require all that much force. The lighter touch also means no tears in the flesh (either the chicken or mine if a finger gets in the way). Sometimes I'll score parallel lines with a knife first in the thick part and that seems to make for less pounding.

A long way of saying that I don't think this should be an issue unless you use chicken breast pounding time to exorcise the day's frustrations!

Agree with kashmi-- I would not whale away on anything that was on my granite, but I don't need to whale away to flatten chicken.

(Why is that expression "whale away"? Or is it "wail away"? I don't know the derivation of either but have been saying it since high school.)

(Why is that expression "whale away"? Or is it "wail away"? I don't know the derivation of either but have been saying it since high school.)

http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhaleWailWaleWealWelt/jxxlw/post.htm

Can't answer the granite question, but I gave up pounding chicken breasts entirely and now butterfly them. For some reason I like the texture much better.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

I would have no hesitation to pound chicken
on a cutting board on my granite counters.

I don't stand on my counters -- but otherwise,
I don't baby them.

Thank you for the replies! I'll cross that potential issue off of my list. On my way, to Youtube, to look up how to butterfly a chicken breast.

The video I located still involves pounding. I guess it's known that I need a way to exorcise the days frustrations:)

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Butterfly Chicken Breast