Need recommendations: good quality meat slicer??

[willm]

Hi all.

I'm thinking it's time to get a meat slicer. It would be for slicing up smoked roasts, for sure - but also for when I buy the big 'whole' cuts of meat and want to cut them into steaks, chops, etc, before cooking.

My wife tells me I shouldn't buy a cheap piece of junk. OK, so, what d'ya think I should go for? Opinions and suggestions from folks who have already gone this route are most welcome!

Thanks.

Will

[Norcoredneck]

Commercial grade are very expensive. You can pick one up off Craigslist if you ar patient. A buddy bought one from Cabelas and he is happy with it. Unless you want breakfast steaks you most likely need a meat saw to cut descent bone in steaks. Another thing to consider is the size and weight. Commercial are very heavy and take up a lot of room.

[CraigC]

We purchased a counter top Rival years ago. We bought it because all the parts are made of metal, either coated steel or stainless. Almost all others that weren't commercial quality were mostly plastic. We mainly use it to slice partially frozen roast cut of beef for minute type steaks (for sandwiches) or carpaccio. I don't believe you would find even a commercial one to be good for cutting steaks. A good knife and cleaver would be your best bet for that type of work.

Craig

[Northwoods Smoke]

Buy a used Hobart 1612 (commercial). Watch Ebay and Craigslist and you'll snag one eventually. Good luck.

[blues_n_cues]

check this out-
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...70_48602_48602

[boatnut]

like other's have said, if you are buying a cut of meat with a bone in it, you will need either a manual meat saw (looks like a big hack saw) or a band saw. Personally, it's easier to just have the butcher do the bone in pieces.
I have an old rival slicer that I got as a gift about 22 years ago. it will do ok on small pieces of meat like an eye of round etc, but for bigger cuts like boston butt/buckboard bacon it's a pain.
The commercial slicers are the cat's arse IF you have a dedicated place to keep it. They are heavy and a pain to move. Fortunately, i have a buddy with a hobart and I just take larger stuff down there and use his.
You will basically get what you pay for when it comes to slicers..and lots of other things for that matter, LOL

[willm]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I don't want to cut bone, that's a little over the top. I was thinking of the whole rib eyes, or the whole loins, etc, that make good beef sooo much cheaper if you cut it up yourself.

So probably used is the way to go to get a quality item without taking out a mortgage?

Thanks.

[Jorge]

Originally Posted by blues_n_cues

check this out-
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...70_48602_48602

We have one of those on a deer lease. It's a pain in the arse to clean, but is handy when it comes time to process in a hurry. I wouldn't keep one at home, unless I was butchering my own beef.

[Learnin Querve]

For cooked meats, slicers are great, you can get that nice thin consistent slice. Unfortunately, it usually takes more time to clean them than it does to do the slicing.

For cutting primals, I'd rather have a few good knives and the know how to keep them in top cutting condition.

A quick glance on CL here this morning had used commercial slicers from $300 to $2000

Chris

[Northwoods Smoke]

Here is a nice listing for a Hobart 1612. For $499 and free shipping, this is a pretty sweet deal. Shipping on these gets pretty pricey unless you can find a good used one locally that you can pick up yourself.

The nice thing about Hobarts is that they are built like a tank, and if you ever do need parts for them it is readily available because so many are in use in commercial environments.

It might be more than you want to spend (or convince the wife), but if you want to do it right, this would top my list (of course I am biased).

Good luck.

[NorthwestBBQ]

I have a suggestion...use a roast knife. Cuts through bone like butter.

[warren]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42787