Electric Meat Slicers

[mywhitedevil]

I obviously have access to a pro one at work, but I keep meaning to pick one up for the house. Just keep an eye out for restaurant closing or surplus auctions...seems like every auction I go to one is on the block. The Hobarts are the best in my experiance, but Berkel makes a very nice one as well.

[KitchenQueen]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.  of course, cheap and folding sound like scary but desireable traits.  My counter space is so limited...but I've regretted cheap tools before.  Does anyone alse have that Krups?  Or should I spring for one of the bigger guys?

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I've also had a Krups for years. I think it does a wonderful job.It also folds up and doesn't take up too much space.

[Hawthorne]

Isn't this wonderful? A couple of years ago I scored one very similar, and of similar vintage on eBay - we paid about the same, but had to drive from Portland OR to Everett WA to collect it - too heavy to ship!

My husband disassembled it, cleaned and lubricated it, and made a cabinet for it; it has to live in the basement, because my kitchen is way too small for it. I am under orders, more or less, not to acquire any more kitchen stuff, because I don't have space for it ... fat chance! lol!

I use it kind of cyclically - that is, sometimes long periods go by when I don't have anything to slice, but then suddenly I will have cold roasts and other slicables on a regular basis. Last year my German son-in-law imported a dry cured ham from home, and we sliced the whole thing on it.

It is wonderful to be able to put the whole tail end of the roast, or whatever I want to slice without having to cut it up - it will just have to go wherever I go from here on!

Lynn

Hopefully this will be a pic of mine:

[Chris Amirault]

Hawthorne, what's that triangular piece on the left?

[Hawthorne]

Hawthorne, what's that triangular piece on the left?

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That's the slicing width control - rather like yours, but as you can see, entirely exposed and a little more primitive. I suspect mine may be even older than yours, but still worked fine after my husband pulled it apart and cleaned it.

When my husband came in the other night to find out what on earth I was doing, I showed him your pictures, and he said that what we paid for this (plus a 12 hour trip and some rehabilitation) was $58 ... and after some thought, I realized that the $87 or so I recalled paying for something or other was actually a rather antiquated Cuisinart ... also too heavy to ship, but located more locally ... lol!

I was really thrilled to find that Hobart!

Lynn

[Della]

Santa brought the Chef's Choice 610 Premium Electric Food Slicer to our house this year and we are loving it. It is definately a "home use" slicer so not as fancy, stable, big or powerful as a commercial grade one but we are happy so far. We have just used it for roast beef and ham so far but the test will be the bacon the bacon we have curing in the fridge.

[Joisey]

You can find these on Craigslist sometimes, too. I got mine on there for 10 bucks. It's great if you're getting into smoking/curing and you want to properly enjoy the fruits of your labor.

[rgruby]

I mentioned this somewhere else on egullet, but I'll say it again: those with meat slicers looking for some more ways to use them should have a gander at Michel Richard's book "Happy in the Kitchen".

He's doing all kinds of wacky things with his slicer. For example, slicing an onion and using the slices as "pasta".

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

[Hawthorne]

I mentioned this somewhere else on egullet, but I'll say it again: those with meat slicers looking for some more ways to use them should have a gander at Michel Richard's book "Happy in the Kitchen".

He's doing all kinds of wacky things with his slicer. For example, slicing an onion and using the slices as "pasta".

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

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Will have to see if I can find this - though onions are kind of SOP for any slicing gadget you happen to have running aren't they?

Not sure about using them as pasta ..

I have found that the options are a little different with slicers which have smooth blades. I haven't arrived at a conclusion yet as to whether smooth is better than serrated, but they are different.

[maggiethecat]

Gawd, it's a beaut! Congratulations, Chris.

We received "Happy in the Kitchen" for Christmas and bought a household model (on sale for 69.99) a month or so later. It sits on the counter and we use it every day -- oddly enough, less on meat than on other stuff. Lemme see:

1) We cut in half, horizontally, a slice of seven grain bread from Whole Foods that was just a little too thick for sandwiches. That was so cool.

2)All onions get sliced on it -- forget the knives or mandoline. It was a fabulous timesaver when I prepared a gallon of onion soup.

3)Slicing corn off the cob.

4) My frozen shortbread dough -- perfect uniformity in thickness.

5) It made short work of a couple of zukes when I made the neon pickles from "Zuni Cafe."

6)It's great for chiffonades of stuff like ieberg lettuce.

7)I'll never make coleslaw without it again.

8)Cheese and salami, natch.

9)The leftover corned beef last week was sliced paper-fine -- a gorgeous plump pillow of pink between two slices of rye.

10) On a night when nothing was defrosted we ran a small piece of frozen flank steak through the blade. It was just flat-out great: tasty and so thinly sliced it couldn't be tough -- and it seemed like more meat by volume than it actually was.

11) This is big, folks, and it's happening in real time. We are attempting a Chicago Italian Beef sandwich -- the lean, dull sirloin tip roast has been braising for hours. We're pretty sure that the slicer will make all the difference. I'll report tomorrow in the Cooking forum.

[Chris Amirault]

Maggie, the household model of what, exactly?

[maggiethecat]

Maggie, the household model of what, exactly?

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The household model of your fab professional meat slicer. It's the "Waring Pro."

Here it is: my slicer

[maggiethecat]

Ooooh! Haven't done this yet but I will: slicing citrus fruit for marmelade.

[Marlene]

Maggie, the household model of what, exactly?

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The household model of your fab professional meat slicer. It's the "Waring Pro."

Here it is: my slicer

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this is the one we have and we love it.

[StevenC]

I'm shopping around for a meat slicer, and the choice has come down to two: the Chef's Choice Model 640 or, for twice the money, the Berkel Model 825E.

Can anyone give me advice? It's strictly for occasional home use--prosciutto, salami, and such. I'm wondering if there's a significant difference in their ability to slice thinly without mangling the meat, or if the Berkel is more expensive simply because it's designed for heavier use in restaurants.

Thanks in advance!

[SundaySous]

Yes you need one. You don't need to keep it on your counter but you need one.

Find a restaurant liquidator and buy one from them.

[StevenC]

Yes you need one. You don't need to keep it on your counter but you need one.

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I know I need one... I just can't decide which one!!

While it would be great to save money, paper-thin slicing is essential.

[UnConundrum]

Another vote for a small commercial unit. I love to make bottom rounds (now usually sous-vide) and then slice them down when cold for sandwiches, or make a gravy and hot roast beef sandwiches. They're just great.

[Sony]

OK, I need convincing one way or another.....

Picked up a Cucina Pro folding food slicer or clearance for $15. I can't seem to find any reviews online.....anyone have experience with it?

I like the idea of slicing my own meats for sandwiches, getting a thin slice on home-cured stuff etc., but up until now, I've survived quite successfully WITHOUT one. (I have a small food processor with a slicer blade for potatoes and vegetables). My kitchen is running out of shelf space.....

On the other hand, I figure that $15 is barely more than a new serrated knife from a kitchen supply store. And there's shelf space in other areas of my apartment.....

So, I think that performance is going in influence my decision. $15 could go towards something hat works better if this is a piece of junk. Before I give it a try myself....thoughts?

ETA: Link to what I bought: http://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-1710-Fold-...r/dp/B0009T00CU

Edited September 23, 2007 by Sony (log)

[Shane001]

If a person was in the market for a meat slicer,and was willing to spend between 2 3 hundred dollars,which would be the best for my money

I will be slicing meats,cheeses ,easy of clean up should be a factor

Thanks Shane

[Chris Hennes]

If a person was in the market for a meat slicer,and was willing to spend between 2 3 hundred dollars,which would be the best for my money

I will be slicing meats,cheeses ,easy of clean up should be a factor

Thanks Shane

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I spent $100 on eBay for this one:

It is way more than I need for home use in terms of power. It is also very quiet -- the biggest problem is that it is MASSIVE. I had to buy a cart to put it on (so tack another $100 onto the price tag if you will need to do that!). Cleanup is easier than I expected, but not totally trivial. It probably takes 5-10 minutes to wipe everything down. I count that as a bargain compared to the time it takes to hand-slice 10 lbs of bacon!

[jvalentino]

If a person was in the market for a meat slicer,and was willing to spend between 2 3 hundred dollars,which would be the best for my money

I will be slicing meats,cheeses ,easy of clean up should be a factor

Thanks Shane

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I spent $100 on eBay for this one:

It is way more than I need for home use in terms of power. It is also very quiet -- the biggest problem is that it is MASSIVE. I had to buy a cart to put it on (so tack another $100 onto the price tag if you will need to do that!). Cleanup is easier than I expected, but not totally trivial. It probably takes 5-10 minutes to wipe everything down. I count that as a bargain compared to the time it takes to hand-slice 10 lbs of bacon!

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I've been watching for one of these-it looks like you got a good deal! Do you know what wattage the motor is?

Thanks,

Jeff

[JMT]

You might want to make sure you can get replacement blades or can get them sharpened, some of those skicers have some integral sharpening system I think.

[Chris Hennes]

I've been watching for one of these-it looks like you got a good deal! Do you know what wattage the motor is?

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No idea, and it's probably a non-issue. I've sliced dense sausages, huge slabs of bacon, pork roast, etc. with no trouble at all, I don't think the blade even slows down. It has an integral sharpener, so that's no problem, either. This unit is designed for small-scale commercial operations, so the abuse I dish out is nothing. I'd worry if I was going to be using it 8 hours a day, but I'm more like 8 minutes a month .

[kbjesq]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but is it possible to slice warm meats on an electric slicer or will this gum up the machine?

I have a non-commercial slicer, which has worked great for cold stuff. However, in 2 weeks, I will have the need to slice approx. 40 lbs of roasted pork loin, and for this reason, I thought of my electric slicer. Having never used it for hot/warm meat before, I'd appreciate any advice.