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Meat Slicer Recommendations

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MemRubes
MemRubes Posts: 36
in EggHead Forum
I have been making a lot of pastrami, roast beef, smoked ham and have recently just started making bacon. I have a good friend who works in a deli and has been taking the meat to slice it at the cost of a few sandwiches. I'm afraid the slicing tax is getting to be too high and I'd like to get my own meat slicer. I've been scouring CL for a decent one, but haven't been able to find one worth purchasing. I've looked around on Amazon and the Chef's Choice 615 gets the best reviews but I'm not sure how it will stand up to a real Egger.

Anybody have any recommendations based on personal experience? I would love a commercial grade meat slicer, but the $1000 price tag hurts!
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
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    I just went through the same exercise.  The short story seems to be you get what you pay for - a $250 slicer may handle a lot of basic slicing but it's not a fair comparison to a commercial unit.


    I ended up slicing 20 lbs of bacon by hand.  Kind of a PITA :)


    Here's the link to the discussion -

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1189138/advice-needed-anyone-have-a-meat-slicer-for-bacon-they-like#latest

    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    edited December 2015
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    unless you find a thousand dollar slicer on craigslist for $400, you are going to have to spend that thousand.

    trust me.  those chef choice ones are crap, even the "pro" level.

    the platen against which you press the meat (as it moves to the blade) bends outward, which means cuts of tapering thickness.

    the tray on which the meat sets is too small, and won't hold even a half belly of bacon (go ahead, fold it in half like we all have tried, doesn't work well). and the 'throw', the amount the tray slides back and forth, is too small also for anything of size (good bye pastrami, no way thin belly bacon, etc.)

    they trays don't glide/slide well.  you won't be there running back and forth like Gino the deli-guy.  you'll be stop start wait a second oops ok here we go... and happy to get three good cuts in a row

    the suction cups don't stick to your counter, and the thing is so lightweight it will travel all over as your arm moves the tray back and forth

    when a BGE owner starts curing in any amount, they tend to do it right, and not tiny little timid amounts or size.  you want BACON!, not ...bacon...

    i spent about $300 on the "top of the line" chef's choice slicer, at Sur Le Table, and it is just a disappointment

    learn from the wannabe slicer-purchasers.  hold out for the real thing.  buy a ten or twelve inch knife for now and take your time.  firm up the meat for an hour in the freezer for example.
    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    edited December 2015
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    If you are patient, you may find a good commercial unit on CL. Mine is a very old (1940something) Globe 150 and makes some odd noises... but it still works, for paper thin on up. Has a built in sharpener too. Cost me about $100.

    However, it is HUGE!! Not something you would put away when you're done, it's just too large and heavy. Mine stays on the counter top. Oh, and it doesn't have (or need) suction cups! Just rubber feet. It hasn't moved at all. As you would expect, nothing bends or deflects under load. No tapered cuts, no thickness changes as you cut through a roast, set it wherever you like and the last slice will be just like the first.

    Mine is like this one...

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • MemRubes
    MemRubes Posts: 36
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    Thank you all for the recommendations. I'm trying to hold out for a CL find, but I'm getting impatient. I just need to relax. You have convinced me to steer away from the ones on Amazon. Not going to cut it for what I need. Ebay's choices look like resales of various crap from Amazon. I'd love a classic antique like you have. I plan on keeping it on a rolling cart and rolling it into the kitchen when I need it. Don't plan on taking up all my counter space!
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    my dad had one of the big commercial ones he bought for $40 at a yard sale.  asked me if i needed it.  i did not.

    a year later i started curing.

    ah well.


    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    I just looked on CL near me. Found lots of 'em within 50 miles, $200-600! To make CL searches easier, try Searchtempest. Good luck!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,970
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    Darby is right on. Be patient or open your wallet. I was able to find a nice Italian made 10" globe for $140 on Craigslist. I bought a few others that were either too big or needed too much work and easily resold them (made $50 on one and sold the other for what I paid for it) all within a few days of listing them). They are out there.


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,970
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    FWIW- I actually do fold my bacon in half to get longer slices and have had good luck with it. The trick is to get the bacon very cold (even semi frozen). If you have good slicer, it will power right through and make perfect slices.

    To Darby's point- Before I started getting it super cold it was not so great. it would develop a tail at the end of the cut and the bacon would squish up and make wavy cuts sometimes. Much better when cold but a slicer with plastic parts won't "cut it" if you will 


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    you can fold it on the smaller slicers too, but the tapering cuts (bending platen) and the bad travel of the tray mean that it isn't a 'solution' really.

    basically, a guy with a thousand dollar grill has no reason to pinch pennies when looking at a slicer!  :)
    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Yep, the Chef's Choice are junk for any real amount of slicing. Good luck.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
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    @focker might have input?
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  • MelSharples
    MelSharples Posts: 260
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    Agree with the others, hold out for a gem on CL.  The home slicers are pretty bad, especially if you have been getting your stuff cut on a real commercial slicer.  I found mine after 4 weeks of checking every day.  What part of the world are you in? Atlanta has a couple used equipment stores that do auctions on a monthly basis.
    LBGE 2015 - Atlanta
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  • MemRubes
    MemRubes Posts: 36
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    I'm in Memphis. I've been keeping an eye out for auctions around here. Nothing has come up yet. CL and patience it is!
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  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,647
    edited December 2015
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    I got this for Christmas last year.

    http://www.webstaurantstore.com/avantco-sl309-9-manual-gravity-feed-meat-slicer-1-4-hp/177SL309.html 

    On sale for $249.  We did a ham after Thanksgiving, removed the bone and sliced it thick for ham steaks and some thin for sandwiches.  Great tool!!

    One thing I like about it... Commercial grade with no cheap plastic pieces like the typical "home slicer"
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  • MemRubes
    MemRubes Posts: 36
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    @onedbguru how's it hold up for slicing frozen meat? Or mostly frozen meat? Seems that is what would be best. Might just keep looking for a strong one.
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  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,647
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    This is commercial quality.  I have not had any problem slicing anything. The blade is extremely sharp and don't think it would have any problems slicing partially frozen anything.
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  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
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    According to the description here:
    http://www.webstaurantstore.com/avantco-sl309-9-manual-gravity-feed-meat-slicer-1-4-hp/177SL309.html

    "It is not suitable for continuous, heavy use, or for slicing cheese and raw / frozen meat." 
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    that's not commercial grade, it's just stainless.  same maker apparently as the chef's choice ones, because it is the same as mine and about what i paid.

    you don't slice truly frozen meat, btw.  it's merely stiffened by an hour or so in th fridge.  the fats firm up.  water in the meat won't freeze

    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • Rzeancak
    Rzeancak Posts: 193
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    Be patient it took me 3 years to find mine,  Pay the TAX, work on slicing skills, do whatever. Trust me buying cheep slicers are more of a headache than help.
    A child can ask questions a wise man can't answer!!!
    Canada
    Large @ Small BGE 

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  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,647
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    The OP ask for "personal experiences" and I have used it successfully to slice (quite nicely I might add) steaks from a loin, deboned ham, turkey breast, paper thin sirloin for making stir fry and a whole lot more. As I stated, I have not used it on [partially] frozen meats, but can't imagine it not working.   Not sure what I use it for would ever be considered "continuous, heavy use".  And I guess it depends on what kind of cheese to which they are referring.  This seems as sturdy for my use as any of the "commercial grade" slicers I used in my years in the restaurant business - only a bit smaller. 
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