Any advice on buying a food slicer for home use?

[coltle6920]

Would use it mainly to cut cheeses or maybe a stick of pepperoni thin for snacking.Might also try my hand at making beef jerky.Usually my results look like I used an axe to cut the food.

I'm looking at spending upwards of $150 at most.I want one that has enough wattage to not bog down and is constructed well with respect to features and longevity.

It wouldn't get used excessively and is just for convenience but I still expect a certain degree of quality for the price.

 

[Rpg]

Don't do it!!

I have a slicer ( hand crank, not motorized) somewhere in the basement.

When I got it, I used it for one glorious weekend. Sliced everything that could be sliced.

Then got tired of the space it took up so into the recesses of the basement it went. It's stayed there for 20+ years.

I found I could do everything I needed done with good kitchen knives.

Learn to use knives.

 

[kwselke]

Bought one for about $100 25 years ago as a gift. It was not a good gift. It could not make a straight slice. It would start thin and end up about twice as thick at the end of the slice. In this century $150 is not going to buy a good deli slicer. A good knife, yes.

 

[chaparrito]

If space is not a consideration, at your budget I'd find a used restaurant equipment dealer and look into a Hobart deli slicer. There's no comparison. They carve through frozen meat (for jerky) translucent thin slices like butter. No comparable home units exist.

 

[peterthefish]

Bought one for about $100 25 years ago as a gift. It was not a good gift. It could not make a straight slice. It would start thin and end up about twice as thick at the end of the slice. In this century $150 is not going to buy a good deli slicer. A good knife, yes.

A good knife is all you need and much more useful.

 

[bigwheelzip]

No first-hand knowledge of any slicer, but there is a five-hour sale at Cabela's, Sat. Sept. 10, 8AM-1PM. The store brand slicer on sale reg. price $129.99, sale price $59.99. Has good user reviews.

Cabela's Heavy-Duty Slicer : Cabela's

 

[ditrina]

Would use it mainly to cut cheeses or maybe a stick of pepperoni thin for snacking.Might also try my hand at making beef jerky.Usually my results look like I used an axe to cut the food.

I'm looking at spending upwards of $150 at most.I want one that has enough wattage to not bog down and is constructed well with respect to features and longevity.

It wouldn't get used excessively and is just for convenience but I still expect a certain degree of quality for the price.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Waring-FS155AMZ-Professional-Slicer-Stainless/dp/B00HSBOVEU"]Amazon.com: Waring Pro FS155AMZ Professional Food Slicer, Stainless Steel: Kitchen & Dining[/ame]

All you need and nothing more
Look for a sale at Bed Bath and Beyond ( and don't forget the regular 20% off coupons)

 

[Onomea]

My advice is watch your fingers!

 

[shouldazagged]

Look at mandolins--not the musical instrument, the kitchen slicing instrument. A good one will make nice even slices all day, then clean up and store in a drawer. It will include a pusher to spare you the joy of slicing fingers.

 

[coltle6920]

Look at mandolins--not the musical instrument, the kitchen slicing instrument. A good one will make nice even slices all day, then clean up and store in a drawer. It will include a pusher to spare you the joy of slicing fingers.

I know what a mandolin is and have only seen it used on vegetables.I doubt it would work on any kind of meat.

 

[coltle6920]

Would sure like to see some opinions from someone who actually has and uses a slicer.

I have sharp knives and know how to use them but getting uniform slices is not always that easy...

I certainly don't have a future working at Benihana's.

 

[italiansport]

I have an electric slicer that I use for leftover baked hams,pepperoni and all sorts of other tasks. It works great and I'll get the brand name tomorrow and post it.
Jim

 

[Skeet 028]

What the one poster said about a used Hobart deli slicer. Most of the (affordable) home units are nowhere near as decent. Parents had a M&P grocery store and learned to cut meat at a young age. Also what another poster said... watch your fingers. You need a machine with good guards.

 

[OFT II]

Where is Ron Popeil when you need him?

 

[Jim R]

Hobart is no question the very best, a good used one will still cost you 12 to 1500.00. The Waring are not worth buying as they are junk. I have one we got form Cabelas and I think it was on sale for about $300.00 four or five years ago, it works pretty good but is a bugger to clean when you finish with it.

When you get one make sure it has a self-sharpener on it and as close to all metal as you can get. On ours only the side guard is plastic.

We make deli cuts on ham and beef with no problem. It really comes down to the more you spend the the better slicer you will get.

 

[Jingles]

I'm with Rpg. Get a couple of good knives and don't let anyone else touch them (my wife swears I love my knives more than I love her). As far as jerky, find a good butcher and get them to slice it for you. If there is a Mexican Carniceria near you they typically have very thin sliced beef.

 

[Onomea]

Would use it mainly to cut cheeses or maybe a stick of pepperoni thin for snacking.Might also try my hand at making beef jerky.Usually my results look like I used an axe to cut the food.

I'm looking at spending upwards of $150 at most...

Seriously, with the budget you have in mind, I think the advice to buy a really good knife makes the most sense. And most likely keep it professionally sharpened if you are not good at sharpening knives. (I'm not.)

I bought a knife locally here in Japan from a guy who is a professional sword sharpener and has a sword, edged tools and kitchen knife shop. It's a western style chef's knife. Cost about $130 and I take it back for an $8 sharpening every several months. With it, I can slice meat (like a large roast beef cooked in my charcoal BBQ for Xmas dinner, or the Thanksgiving turkey from my gas BBQ after I have deboned it with a fillet knife), cheese, salamis, etc., beautifully thin... I also use it for slicing bread I buy from a local bakery, before I freeze it.

It's important to have a good wooden cutting board, too, as those plastic ones, or a dish, etc., will dull the blade. And in addition to soap and water, hit the cutting board with some vinegar now and then to kill any bacteria that may have taken up residence.

Immediately after every time I use the knife, I wash it off, dry it, and put it back in its box.

And as the the fellow above said, I don't let anyone else use it.

 

[pmanton]

We hardly ever use our motorized slicer. It's a real b**ch to clean.

 

[snubbyfan]

I just married an Italian and I keep her favorite knife nice and sharp.
She's low maintenance, self cleaning and pasta powered.

 

[coltle6920]

I don't need any more knives...Period!!

It's football season and with a slicer I can have cheese,salami,chips and dip and anything else ready and watching the game while you're still hacking away.

I want a slicer for all the same reasons you guys buy all that fancy equipment for reloading...It's called convenience.

It seems to me like a good thing to be able to knock out a couple pounds of fruit for the dehydrator,beef for jerky or cheese and pepperoni for the game and still have most of the day free.