Meat slicers

[stuturf15]

Having just finished a recipe of Meathead's maple bacon (which turned out wonderfully) I now see a need to have a bacon slice under my roof. Anybody got any suggestions?

Stuart (stuturf15)

[andy.wpg]

I too, have been wondering which of the home-type slicers is worth getting. So i am watching this thread with interest!

[HorseDoctor]

Depends on how much you are doing at a time. If you are only doing a pound or two at a time you can get by with one of the smaller/cheaper ones in the $100 or less, ballpark. Concentrate on reviews that mention "easy to clean". If you are doing larger batches of bacon (10-20# or more) then get a heavy duty one that will handle the job without overheating!!! I've actually got 2 slicers. Started with a smaller Chef's Choice unit that does well but won't do more than 3 or 4# without shutting down from overheating. Since I usually buy pork belly a case at a time, that's a PIA. I then paid about $275 for a Cabela's unit (don't know who makes them for Cabela's) that handles the work very nicely, but is a chore to take apart to clean. That isn't such a bad deal after slicing 25# or more but would be a LOT of work if I just did 1 or 2 #. In either instance, unless you get a real large (expensive) unit, you will find it easiest (and safer on the fingers) to cut your slabs in half before slicing. You end up with half length bacon slices but they are perfect size for BLTs. Amazon list MANY slicers. Read their reviews and decide what works for you.

[Brewmaster]

I bought a Bosch meat and deli slicer probably 15 years ago and have had great luck with it slicing all kinds of meat, they are about $200.00, a little of a pain to clean but very handy cutting bacon, abalone and deli meats

[ecowper]

I'd be looking for something that can handle a few pounds of bacon at one time or a top round cooked pit beef style. Amazon has a million choices, it seems.

[Spinaker]

I used this one a few weeks back for making Jerky. It worked pretty well for doing about 10 lbs of meat. But it struggled a bit at times. I could tell it was a cheapo model for sure. If your going to be doing this regularly, I would invest in a good one. But this rig is only $58 on Amazon. I would say its worth it considering how little I really use it. But like I said, if I was gonna do larger quantities at a time, I would buy the next level up.

Here is the one I used.

https://www.amazon.com/CHARD-FSOP-150-Electric-Slicer-Meats/dp/B00HCC26Q0/ref=sr_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1471274592&sr=1-8&keywords=meat+slicer

[martybartram]

One thing I have learned about inexpensive slicers, I have the one directly above as well, is that inexpensive slicers often do better if you slice the meat when it is semi-frozen or 1/2 - 2/3 unthawed. When I did my bacon I threw it in the freezer after smoking for an hour. Then I pulled it out and sliced it. Works like a charm particularly if you want to go thin but works going thick as well. Good luck!

[bep35]

Pay attention to the "Hard to Clean" statements. I have a meat slicer that works great but it is such a pain to clean that I rarely take it out unless I have a lot of meat to slice. As martybartram says, semi-frozen meat is much easier to cut. Raw meat tends to ball up as you get down to the smaller pieces. I wouldn't spend a lot for a first slicer unless I planned on cutting up massive amounts of meat.