Meat slicer recommendations? Budget, yes, but quality.

[realdocBBQ]

Have a 7.5" L.E.M. - it ain't gonna cut it. No pun.

For my bacon, I'll have to cut my slabs in 1/3s to use it. It's just not happening.

I keep an eye on FB Marketplace, I do see a fair amount of older Hobarts, usually in the $350-600 range. I know these are good machines, but I'm hoping to get away with something cheaper. But if I have to bite the bullet for one of those, someday I will. Globe would I think be my dream, but... yeah.

A 10" is going to be my bare minimum moving forward, but I'd really prefer a 12".

Anyone here have a large-ish 'off brand' one that is really a gem for the money? I see a lot of "Wilprep" on Ebay. I'm sure they're prolly crap, I know you get what you pay for in a lot of these cases - and there's a reason Hobarts are still around after 30 or 40 years....

[Huskee]

I have a cheapy (?) ~$100 Bella or Bella Pro. I doubt it's as big as you're looking for, but I really don't know and I'm too lazy to go to the storage room and dig it out to measure. I like it, for the limited slicing I do it works wonderful, but it's a pain to clean, more little nooks than I think is necessary. Otherwise seems quality in that it works well and has not broke down. I can't imagine needing a $350-$600 slicer, that's Binford rot there, wooh wooh!

[jfmorris]

I have a cheap Bella too that I got on Woot! for $49, and for the once or twice a year I use it, I'll live with the limitations of its 7" blade and limited sliding carriage. It did great recently to slice a bunch of leftover prime rib into thin roast beef for sandwiches. Slicing is SO much better with cold meat too. I sliced up a block of that Mississippi State cheese too (before the meat!).

[MattTheGR8]

I don't know about it being a gem, but I bought this 10" slicer from Amazon years ago. The model I got is no longer available, but it looks like they still sell similar products.

https://a.co/d/4P1w9gM

The size of the blade is less important than the travel distance of the sliding tray. Travel on mine is less than a slab of bacon, so I end up supporting the slab by hand. That works fine until near the end of the slab, when the piece gets so small that I don't trust my cut resistant gloves to keep me safe. At that point I fold over what's left, stick it on the tray, and end up with a few funky shaped slices from the end of the slab. So far no accidents, and fingers crossed that I continue to have fingers to cross.

If you find a slicer with a really long travel on the tray, please let us know. I'm not sure anything smaller than a full size commercial slicer is truly large enough for bacon.

[realdocBBQ]

You are right - honestly my little 7.5" would probably work for bacon, being 1-2" thick slabs, but there's no way to get the travel I need out of the sled. Suckage.

[Uncle Bob]

I have the Beswood 10" that sells very well on Amazon with lots of possitive reviews (as typical, many of the negative reviews are operator error or unrealistic expectations). I chose this one for the Italian made, high quality blade, and it has performed very well to all my expectations and typical use cases. I consider it a bargain for the $350ish price. That said, as noted above, the carriage travel distance is probably too short for most belly widths, though shortening to length is an option for let's call it 3/4 length strips.

If bacon slicing is your high priority use case then I'd encourage you to keep searching for the best quality used commercial Hobart/Globe you can find that has sufficient carriage travel. With the seeming higher rate of small business failures the past year or two there may be increasing opportunities.

[realdocBBQ]

I just found Hobart's info on carriage/sled travel. A lot of other ones don't list this. Sucks.

[stevegoertz]

I was gifted the Beswood 250 (10") for Christmas and it is a dream. Here are the specs:

Specifications:

*Blade Diameter: 10”*Power: 110-120V, 240W 1/3HP *Blade revolution: 282/min *Maximum cutting length: 210mm (8-1/4”), Maximum cutting height: 170mm(6-7/10”)*Maximum cutting thickness: 12mm (1/2 inch)

ONLY limitation is the max cutting length of 8.25". I can live with that

https://www.beswood.com.au/products/beswood-250r

[JoeSousa]

I would just keep your eye on Facebook Marketplace (or even Craigslist) and wait for a larger commercial slicer to pop up for around $200. Might have to wait a bit but I do see them for that price on occasion. Brands like Hobart, Globe, Berkel, Bizerba are what you want to look for. It might take a few months of looking but they do pop up in the $200-300 range. You will be much happier with one of those units than a $100 new slicer.

But the commercial ones are HEAVY. I dread having to lug my Berkel upstairs every time I need to slice bacon.

[realdocBBQ]

I'll take it if I can get a good 12" in the 200-300 range. I honestly don't see 12" ever, I see lots of 10". And we're a small market, too, if I were in DFW or Houston or somehting, I might have better luck - but more competition, as well!

[McFlyfi]

I have a 10 inch KWS that I love, a quick check of prices showing a range oh $250-$400. Around here, used Hobart go for $600+, and only come up infrequently.

[Donw]

I’ve had a 10” 320 watt KWS for about 5 years now and it does a really good job. If I had to buy again it would be their MS-12ES 420 watt with extended back space.Costs about the same as a used commercial around here.

[McFlyfi]

I've had it for 2 1/2 years. I use it about once a month on average. I make my own "deli meats"- top round for roast beef and pastrami, roast turkey, tri tip, all go through the slicer to be packaged and stored. If I had the space/budget, I'd upgrade to the 12" version.

[tamidw]

I also have the KWS 10” and so far it’s been really good. We’ve had it for about 3-4 years. We don’t use it a ton but it’s been solid every time we do.

[bep35]

Ditto on the BESWOOD 10" Premium Commercial Food Slicer for $350. Very solid and dependable.

[realdocBBQ]

Got a tip that this can be purchased on AliExpress for $100 less and it still ships from Amazon fulfillment stateside. Not bad.

[Brian_M]

I have this one (or one of it’s doppelgängers): https://a.co/d/7ZSSwX5

I’ve only used it once. Sliced a beef roast and a pork loin into lunch meat. I was perfectly satisfied with it, never noticed it slowing down or being under-powered (I also wasn’t in a rush…). When we eat up all that I sliced I’ll plan another round of home smoked deli slices.

I’ve never used any other meat slicer so I can’t offer any comparisons.

[RichieB]

I married my slicer. And she doesn't take up room on the counter.

[Alan Brice]

That is the beauty of marrying the butcher's daughter. You should see her briskie n Flank.

[McFlyfi]

I gave the KWS a workout today:

4 lbs of Canadian Bacon


A whole Tri Tip, seasoned with SPG:


Two whole Tri Tip Pastrami's:

So, yeah, not a "cheapo". Ran over 12lbs of meat through it today.
Getting this slicer (as a gift) has changed how I make/buy food. No more pre packaged lunchmeats at $15 a pound. No more pre packaged bacon at $6.99 a pound. That, and the stuff I make is light years better than what you buy off the shelf.

[Alan Brice]

Beautimus!

[realdocBBQ]

That's really great to know McFlyfi and Donw and tamidw, thanks for your input!

I see the 12" MS-12ES that Don mentioned on Ebay right now for... $942. WOW.

It says:

"The spacious product tray accommodates large food items (up to 8.5 inches L x 11 inches W x 8 inches H)"

I never know what dimension they're talking about in which orientation for cuts of meat... I want to cut pork bellies in full-length slices of bacon, so I'm guessing 8-10". When they are talking about 'width', is that the width that will fit on the sled coming out from the slicer, so essentially perpendicular to the blade? Not sure if I'm communicating that well...

What I wish they would clearly spell out is the length of the sled travel, so, how LONG of a cut can you make with it? That's what's most important to me, really. I could honestly get by with my small 7" blade slicer to cut bacon, as it isn't the most powerful thing in the world, but pork belly is tender, and thin, but a slicer needs a long travel distance to get a full-length piece of bacon. This stuff shrinks up so much already when cooking it that if I cut the belly/bacon sections down small enough to cut on my little slicer and THEN cook them... I'm going to end up with 3-4" long "bacon bites" more than bacon slices, really. I don't need a lot of power, per se, more, sled travel distance.

Gotta keep researching.

[Donw]

The KWS site and Amazon lists the MS-12SE for $655.99.

I did learn this tip: If your bacon’s width is greater than the width of your slicer and the depth is less then than 4” then bend it back on itself and place in the freezer to harden up some. Then slice the semi-frozen meat for longer slices.

[McFlyfi]

To get full length bacon slices, you'll likely "need" a 12 inch blade. Length of travel is partially a function of blade size. Chassis size, tray orientation/elevation and deck size also comes in to play. On my 10", the meat is just barely clearing the blade at the end of the sled travel.
I smoke my back whole, then cut in half to fit in the tray. I get slices about 7", about an inch shy of the commercial bacon.

[realdocBBQ]

Oh man... oh man, oh man, oh man.

Ok, I think I have a line on a slicer. I don't even want to say too much about it for fear I will jinx it and it will fall through or something will be screwed up.

Hopefully I will have it in my hands in the next day or so.

Cross your fingers, say a prayer for me...


...both that this deal actually goes through...

AND that my wife doesn't freaking MURDER me when I bring it home. <sigh> I am truly scared, folks.

This could be my last post. We'll see, eh? Been nice knowin' ya'll.

[Oak Smoke]

Be brave! We all know that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. It’s part of what being a husband is about.

[Draznnl]

😳😬😵💫🤞🤞

[Alan Brice]

Perzackly why I do not have one.

[realdocBBQ]

Ok, well... I thought I was gonna get it today, but it looks like Monday or Tuesday. I'm assured it is 100% functional, and I've talked to them on the phone, and they seem like nice folks. So I guess it's ok to talk about it, I might not totally jinx it.

I've been wanting a good big slicer with a long travel and big sled so I can do bacon.

I'm stretching my budget a bit further than I wanted to, but it looks like I'm going to end up with this one. The Hobart 1712.

HOBART 1712 COMMERCIAL AUTOMATIC DELI MEAT SLICER

https://www.visionequipment.com/product/hobart-1712-commercial-automatic-deli-meat-slicer/

That pic is from the ad above, not the one I'm getting.


The Hobart 1712 slicer has 2 speed automatic slicing to meet all of today’s retail food and foodservice operational demands.
Standard Features

Specifications Slice Thickness: Up to 1 1/4″.
Dimensions: 24″W x 26″D x 29 3/16″H.
Carriage: 12″ travel under power, 14″ manual travel.
Capacity: Food up to 12″ in width or 7 1/2″ in diameter.
Volts: 115. Hertz: 60. Phase: 1. Horsepower: 1/3.


FOURTEEN INCH MANUAL SLICING TRAVEL!!! Holy CRAP!

I'm still crossing my fingers here.

If this works out. Oh my God.


There IS, however, one... umm... SMALL PROBLEM.

This thing weighs 125 pounds.




<edit> Ok, I lied. I found the actual product literature from Hobart.

WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS: 143 lbs. net.... 170 lbs. approx. shipping weight.

[barelfly]

Come on!!!!! Get that sucker today!

[SheilaAnn]

You got this one? Hobarts are good machines! Take care of them and they will last a lifetime. The we had at my old job was a work horse. We did everything from thick cut bacon to paper thin prosciutto. It also had a built in sharpener. I like the way it comes apart for cleaning. You can be really thorough.

[wrgilb]

I have this same Hobart, I got it from a restaurant that was closing down, $300. This will last longer than I will.

[realdocBBQ]

Draznnl you ain't just kidding!

Luckily, I think I've made room for it in the garage. I moved a new fridge in there today, one without a freezer, so I can use it JUST for curing and storing MEAT! And next to it, I've moved my Cuisinart CPT-200 BBQ grill cart.



It's a lightweight cart, and what I've found online says it has a weight limit of 100 lbs. But... that COULD be just the lawyers talking. I THINK it may hold it. We'll see. If I need to, I can build something for it. I built this cart for my welder last year:


We'll see how it all works out. I may not live out the week at this rate, but hell, it may well be worth it!

[SheilaAnn]

realdocBBQ remember when I got this cart? I’ll tell you right now, I bet it will not support the slicer. The table is not that sturdy, imho. Especially when you start pushing/pulling back and forth. Get a commercial work table. You won’t be sorry (sorry for the MCS).