Meat slicers

[emeleel]

Okay, we got a request for info about breadmakers (about which I know nothing, sorry!) so here's a request for info about meat/deli slicers. With the prices on groceries going up SO much, of course we're all doing what we can to cut corners. One item I've noticed going up and up is lunch meat. Even the cheap stuff ain't cheap anymore, and it's not healthy anyway! So I'm seriously considering just buying fresh, whole meat, cooking it at home and slicing it up myself, freezing it in portions.

We go through a lot of sandwich meat here (with me and the kids being at home each day - there are only so many PB&J's a person can stand!), so I really need to save in this area. And recommendations on brands, features to look for, etc.?

Also, if anyone already does this, tips on cooking up meat the right way so that it will actually slice well. Like roasts - I usually cook a roast til it's fork tender, but it comes apart in strings and bits. I don't imagine that would work well in a slicer.

[jgibson2[$]]

I have a slicer, but it's about 15 years old, so I doubt they make it any more. I don't use it nearly as often as I should.

What I like:

Comes ALL the way apart for cleaning.

What I don't like -- naked blade. I want one of those mesh gloves the deli has for cleaning. I've never cut myself with it, but it scares me.

It slices bread really well in addition to slicing meat. You can buy pre-cooked ham and turkey that slices easily. I've never tried to cook a turkey breast at home for slicing. Nothing ever left over when I cook turkey here.

Roasts, though. My husband likes his roast beef for sandwiches rare. I buy a eye roast, so it will be tender when roasted (as opposed to cooked with liquid). I cook until medium rare and set aside half to cool for slicing. If I don't, it will never make it to the slicer. You really can't slice warm meat effectively, so put it in the refrigerator for a few hours before trying to slice. This probably applies to turkey, ham, etc as well.

[magenta321]

I don't know anything about the home variety. In fact, I had no idea they made these for anything other than commercial applications.

I will say that I would be very nervous about Sean and Erin near them. I can remember my friend slicing off the palm of her hand with one when we were in high school. It was completely illegal for her to be using the thing, but she was. You can't use a slicer here until you are 18.

When I worked at Subway I was reluctant to use the slicer, until they forced me. Cleaning wasn't hard, but, I used a spray bottle filled with water to knock the pieces of meat out near the blade. We used big cloths to clean it, but the cloths were thin. I think we only wiped the flat part of the blade, and not the cutting edge. The cutting edge was only cleaned by the water knocking off the debris.

The roast beef we sliced came in a big plastic wrapped thing with the air sucked out. It was full of "juice." It was nasty. We'd wash the whole thing off in the big sink with the spray thingy. We had to pay attention to how we took it out of the package so we knew which end to put near the slicer blade. If we went the wrong way it wouldn't slice well.

Good luck, and while I know Sean and Erin are smart, please make sure they know that it is a very dangerous tool that only mommy and daddy use. :s

[emeleel]

Good point, Margaret, but they know if we bring home something dangerous, they are not to touch it without permission. And they do mind. (And we do have items much more dangerous, albeit legal ones, in the house.)

Yep, they make home versions, manual and electric at very reasonable prices. There are several models at Amazon.

[Helen_B[$]]

Do you make meatloaf for sandwiches? I love it, sliced thin, once the meatloaf has chilled. You would have to freeze the loaves whole, though, and you wouldn't need a slicer--I think it would chew up the loaf. I'm going to stick with my big chef's knife, thankyou. (No room for a slicer, anyway.)

My other favorite is chicken salad, which I make in my food processor. Makes good sandwich filling which once again needs no slicing.

I have tried freezing sliced lunch meat, bought on sale, and it never does well. Frozen sandwiches, on the other hand, do fine. When we traveled to Scotland from London with friends in their subcompact car, our ham sandwiches traveled with us in a cooler. Our thrifty hostess always froze sandwiches ahead, for daytrips or outings in the city, and even rewashed her plastic bags. I'm not going to reuse my bags, but I do intend at some point to freeze some sandwiches for trips.