Batali's Big Knife

November 2, 2007 2:59 PM

What is the big knife called (and where can i buy it) that Mario Batali uses sometimes on Iron Chef America?

It is a very large knife, sort of like a cleaver but with a rounded point, and it has a green handle. I don't remember which battle it was used in, but it can be seen during the opening credits/intro montage on recent battles. I believe Alton specifically called it out by name once, but I can't rememember the exact name. Something with letters and numbers, like EX-50, but I don't think that's it. Thanks!

posted by rorycberger to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

This interview suggests that while Mario likes Sabatier knives, the knife you saw may be a hop knife that was inherited from his grandfather.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:06 PM on November 2, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks, but I don't think that's it. It looks like a modern knife, the kind you might see at a restaurant supply store, and it's not shaped like the hop kinves you linked to. Picture a big cleaver (maybe 8 or 10" long blade that is 4-6" tall) with a big rounded tip. The top is flat.
posted by rorycberger at 3:14 PM on November 2, 2007

They are available in oriental grocery stores and oriental restaurant supply stores. I've heard it called an oriental butcher knife or big knife.
posted by misspat at 3:34 PM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Could it be a Sanelli?
posted by zamboni at 3:39 PM on November 2, 2007

Santuko?
posted by kuujjuarapik at 3:41 PM on November 2, 2007

I'd lay a big bet on it being the Wok Knife from zamboni's link. A fine-looking knife. I'd love to have one myself. Quite a bit cheaper than the comparable Henckels I got as a present some time back.
posted by jamjam at 3:50 PM on November 2, 2007

Response by poster: Hmmm, the handles on those Sanellis looks right, but none of those are it. It's sort of like the Wok knife, but with a tip like the butcher's knife or slicing knife. It's definitely not a santuko.
posted by rorycberger at 3:59 PM on November 2, 2007

Best answer: Here's more Sanelli knives, I'm guessing either the Heavy knives of the Pig skinner
posted by pupdog at 4:08 PM on November 2, 2007

or the, that is
posted by pupdog at 4:08 PM on November 2, 2007

judging from your description, it might well be a nakiri; which is a Japanese style vegetable prep knife. Japanese style knives are getting to be in high fashion these days for chefs, thanks to their superior edge retention and thin profile as compared to German or French style knives (the trade off is that they are slightly more brittle overall). Nakiri are great little knives for quick chopping - very nimble. They usually have a slightly rounded tip as shown in this knife but their profiles may vary.
posted by cubby at 4:10 PM on November 2, 2007

well, i should have read closer -- i haven't ever seen a nakiri with a green handle before. still, they are nice knives.
posted by cubby at 4:13 PM on November 2, 2007

Santoku. It's san-fucking-TOKU, not "santuko." I don't know why this is such a common mistake, but it drives me crazy.

sorry for the mini-rant. pet peeve.
posted by dersins at 4:17 PM on November 2, 2007 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: pupdog, I think you are right, it's the Heavy Knife. Cool, thanks everyone!
posted by rorycberger at 4:17 PM on November 2, 2007

Nice hissy fit, dersins. I thought it was santoku, but the website I linked to convinced me I was wrong.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 5:31 PM on November 2, 2007

Dersins, I suspect America's inability to spell/pronounce "santoku" comes from an unconscious belief that a word that sounds like that must be treated as being Italian. : )
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:34 PM on November 2, 2007