I’ve been curing and smoking a lot of bacon and I’d like to be able to slice it in regular width slices.
I’m not at the level where I’m willing to spend $500+ on a commercial slicer but there are a variety of $50-$100+ slicers on Amazon, etc... I’m wondering if anyone has personal experience or a recommendation?
I’ve been curing and smoking a lot of bacon and I’d like to be able to slice it in regular width slices.
I’m not at the level where I’m willing to spend $500+ on a commercial slicer but there are a variety of $50-$100+ slicers on Amazon, etc... I’m wondering if anyone has personal experience or a recommendation?
Thanks,
Rob
I grabbed this Chef's Choice slicer on Amazon and it's decent. It's not for high throughput but for slicing up a couple of pounds of bacon etc it's fine. If you slice bread or soft things get the serrated blade. There are a few others in the $100-ish price range too, so check around.
Last edited by rickgregory; December 30, 2019, 10:08 PM.
I went through too many Chef's Choice slicers - 1 a year. Avantco is what I have now. It is not perfect, but at $275 it is a big step up from the cheaper brands.
Yeah, it depends on how often and how are you use it. I use mine a couple of times a month to slice 1-4lbs of meat. Its fine for that and, IMO, a $275 slicer wouldn't be appreciably better for almost 3x the money. But if you slice a few pounds a week or more, or if you do big projects and need to power through 50lbs... yeah.
rickgregory - I really liked my Chef’s Choice slicers. I wasn’t doing commercial stuff but was cooking a few times a year for parties as well as doing leftovers for the family a couple of times a month. I thought the first blowout was a fluke. The second I attributed to a fuse. After the third I just had to move up. The Avantco isn’t perfect. Clean-up is a pain vs the Chef’s Choice. The angle on both isn’t optimal. Hot slicing is better, cold slicing is similar.
I second ComfortablyNumb - I looked at this, and a slicer big enough to accommodate slabs of bacon is usually not cheap. And cleanup is a pain. I got this slicer, and it’s great for brisket and bacon. I don’t come near anything with a bone though, as I don’t have a good sharpener yet.
I have had a couple of lower cost slicers and while they work ok, I needed to partially freeze the bacon to get even slices. They were also slow for doing any quantity. I would buy the best slicer that you can afford. I do 12llbs at a time now and a good slicer is a joy to have.
Cooking gadgets
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill Center
Weber Summit Platinum D6
Blue Rhino Razor
Dyna-Glo XL Premium Dual Chamber
Camp Chef Somerset IV along with their Artisan Pizza Oven 90
Anova WiFi
Thermometers
Thermapen Mk4 - ThermaQ High Temp Kit - ThermaQ Meathead Kit - ThermaQ WiFi - ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S - ThermoWorks Signals & Billows - ThermoPop -ThermoWorks ProNeedle - ThermoWorks TimeStick Trio x2 - and a Christopher Kimball timer - NO, I do not work for ThermoWorks...I just like their products.
Other useful bits...
KitchenAid 7-qt Pro Line stand mixer
A Black & Decker food processor that I can't seem to murder
A couple of immersion blenders, one a "consumer" model & the other a "high end" Italian thing. Yes, the Italian one is a bit better, but only marginally
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 8-qt + accessories like egg-bite & egg holders
All-Clad pots & pans, along with some cast iron...everything from 7" Skookie pans to 8.5qt Dutch ovens
Weber GBS griddle, pizza stone, and wok
Knives range from Mercer to F. Dick to "You spent how much for one knife? One knife?!" LOL
The problem with lower priced slicers is quite often the trade offs to keeping the price low.
Motors that are underpowered...if you plan on slicing a lot, this may be the first thing to go.
They also quite often have carriers that are far too small. Ok for a small roast or ham, but too small for bacon unless you like, or don’t mind, short pieces.
They can also be a HUGE pain to clean.
My first slicer got meat into places that I didn’t think it could get meat...my latest slicer is a 12†NSF certified commercial slicer. I honestly only got it because I stumbled across an amazing deal...but it’s a dream to use compared to some others I’ve used. And the tray is like 11x9†and can slice things 8†tall with ease. Pretty much anything I can throw at it.
I would check heck out a local restaurant supply and see what they might have on offer. Sometimes there are great deals to be had on commercial stuff that doesn’t have the marketing needs of consumer goods.
The problem with lower priced slicers is quite often the trade offs to keeping the price low.
Motors that are underpowered...if you plan on slicing a lot, this may be the first thing to go.
They also quite often have carriers that are far too small. Ok for a small roast or ham, but too small for bacon unless you like, or don’t mind, short pieces.
Agree. The Chef's Choice I linked above actually does bacon from a full belly just fine but I don't ask it to slice 20lbs in a row... maybe 2.
They can also be a HUGE pain to clean.
My first slicer got meat into places that I didn’t think it could get meat...my latest slicer is a 12†NSF certified commercial slicer. I honestly only got it because I stumbled across an amazing deal...but it’s a dream to use compared to some others I’ve used. And the tray is like 11x9†and can slice things 8†tall with ease. Pretty much anything I can throw at it.
I would check heck out a local restaurant supply and see what they might have on offer. Sometimes there are great deals to be had on commercial stuff that doesn’t have the marketing needs of consumer goods.
Again, great advice. As with so much, it really depends on what someone plans on doing with (in this case) a slicer. I mean, in the SV section there's a thread on vacuum sealers and someone mentioned that they grabbed a $1300 sealer. Not something I'd do. I jus don't use one enough to even justify the $3-400 versions. But if one does? Go for it.
I wouldn't bother with a small $100 slicer. My parents got me one for Christmas a couple years back and I unboxed it, sliced a couple slices, packaged it back up, and returned it. Just not big enough or powerful enough to do anything more than a few slices here and there. Check Craigslist and FB Marketplace and look for one of the big commercial brands like Berkel, Globe, Hobart, or Bizierba. I got a Berkel 827a that looked very new for $200 a couple years back. There are almost always some good commercial sized slicers with a 10 or 12 inch blade for under $500 when I look. They are a pain to move around but they make quick work of 20-30 pounds of bacon at a time. And a good Hobart will run for decades if you take proper care of it.
And if you know a good knife sharpener have him sharpen your blade. I took my slicer to a local guy who sharpens knives and he got that sucker so much sharper than the built in sharpening stones ever could. Well worth the $$$ once every couple years.
IThere are almost always some good commercial sized slicers with a 10 or 12 inch blade for under $500 when I look. They are a pain to move around but they make quick work of 20-30 pounds of bacon at a time.
I kinda feel like I'm repeating myself but... it depends on the use. I mean, read that again. "Under $500..." "20-30 pounds of bacon at a time"... I dunno about the rest of you but $500 is a lot of money to me for an appliance and slicing up 20lbs of meat at a shot is a lot more than I do (and I suspect more than many people do).
Now, if someone does routinely slice a lot? Yeah, a $100 slicer won't cut it - but I hope that person would be self-aware enough to realize that.
You probably will not want to get this in depth: After breaking an Academy special in 15 minutes, I went vintage (just like the rest of my kitchen) with an old American Slicing Machine (picture and video link in this thread): https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...ther-equipment . You can get them on ebay, sometimes for under $100 plus shipping ($$ - they weigh 80+ lbs) and they usually need to be refurbished some. I've done two now so I can help guide you in that process. It has an 8" blade.
Last edited by 58limited; January 1, 2020, 12:42 AM.
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