Recommend a meat/deli slicer

I searched the board and found a bunch of posts where people complain about their slicers but not a thread for recommendations.

So - what do you all recommend? I’d obviously like the biggest blade I can get w/ the most power and the ability to handle large pieces of food. And of course I want a good deal. Ideally I’d like to spend under $200 ($100 would be awesome) if there’s anything good in that area.

So are my goals way out of bounds? Can I get something decent for $100-$200?
What do you recommend?

zoid wrote:Can I get something decent for $100-$200?

My stock answer is no... you'll be looking more $450-$550 for an OK slicer. It really depends on what you're planning to do with it. Cutting fine (expensive) cured meats? Cutting frozen raw meats (a la bulgogi, sukiyaki, shabu-shabu)? Cutting "regular" lunch meats? Bread of vegetables? Depending on how much you're cutting at one sitting and what type of food will be influential on whether you need the $450-550 "decent" slicer versus the $100-200 slicer which will do for "thick-ish" slices of deli meat.

Take a look at Chowhound - they've a few threads re: the subject as well. Now that I live in a place w/o Japanese or Korean thin-sliced meats... I'm in withdrawal and also looking to buy a nice slicer... although I wonder if $550 is worth slicing my own beef...

Of course there's always the high end hand slicers which will run you over $1000 - $2000, which probably won't be for home use.

I have purchased 2 in the $100-120 range and returned or sold them both (Nesco, Waring Pro). I know a couple people that have gotten nice used Hobart slicers on ebay in the $150-225 range (shipped), and they work great. Those people were very patient and diligent in their search.

Jeff

Yeah - I bought my Hobart 1612 on eBay about 4-5 years ago in the $200 range. I remember checking eBay every day for a couple of months to find one at a decent price within driving distance. Mine is old and imperfect, but great for my needs.

-Dan

dansch, you got an *ex*tremely good deal, as you can see here. I just did a quick survey of the web, and the best deal I found was a used Hobart for just under $500. Three years ago I got a pretty good deal on a Waring Pro, but it's like, totally, useless. Kluges on room-temp prosciutto, let alone anything harder. Plus it's a pain to clean. So it just gathers dust...

My advice: buy a good one, or don't buy one at all.

Geo

dansch wrote:Yeah - I bought my Hobart 1612 on eBay about 4-5 years ago in the $200 range. I remember checking eBay every day for a couple of months to find one at a decent price within driving distance. Mine is old and imperfect, but great for my needs.

-Dan

Lemme get this straight: you've got a commercial meat slicer and a lab-quality immersion circulator? Have you considered having your kitchen licensed for off-hour rental use?

Man, dansch should team up with Bill/SFNM and his professional grade bakery! Amazing!

Geo

Geo wrote:dansch, you got an *ex*tremely good deal, as you can see here. I just did a quick survey of the web, and the best deal I found was a used Hobart for just under $500.

Mine certainly isn't perfect (and didn't come with a sharpener), but it was a good deal. I was just really persistent and watched every Hobart slicer auction on eBay for a couple of months until one went cheap.

I remember at the time (living in Virginia) seeing a handful being sold by a Wisconsin Roundy's that was closing all go super cheap ($200-300 maybe) - looked mint condition, straight from the deli counter. They weren't offering shipping and only so many people nearby wanted slicers. I almost had a friend in Madison drive there and pick one up for me.

There's one for sale in Arcadia, CA that's only got 24 hours left and is at $177. I'm sure that'll go up between now and auction close, but probably not too much (I set a watch just out of curiosity).

Khaopaat wrote:Lemme get this straight: you've got a commercial meat slicer and a lab-quality immersion circulator?

Umm... yeah.

-Dan

Oh well - thanks for the input - I guess I'm off to ebay...

Personally, I would buy the best Hobart you can afford AT A USED EQUIPMENT dealer or an auction. They are durable and well made even with constant daily usage.

And if you DO buy one, invest in wire mesh gloves and those things can be dangerous.

Good point Joe. Me, I bought a pair of kevlar gloves, MCR 9370, for under $5, esp. for use with my benriner mandoline. They've changed my life. Really.

Geo

So what is it that makes the Hobart so much better? It seems like even the ones in the $150-$200 range are all metal construction.
Are the blades just no good? Is it the motor?

Inside my 'all-metal' Waring Pro is a lexan drive gear.

The motor isn't powerful enough to cut tough (let alone frozen) meat.

The cut depth--set by varying the table distance--is neither precise enough, nor stable enough to maintain thin cuts.

For whatever reason, thin cuts do not continue flat: there is a gradual creep toward wedge-shaped cuts.

It's a heavy, precise business, cutting meat. So you need a heavy, precise holding mechanism, plus a powerful motor and heavy, precise drive train, to get the job done. Hobart has these things and the cheap machines don't.

My Waring Pro would be perfectly acceptable for baloney. But it won't work for prosciutto, jamon, or country ham.

Geo

zoid wrote:So what is it that makes the Hobart so much better? It seems like even the ones in the $150-$200 range are all metal construction.
Are the blades just no good? Is it the motor?

When you work in the food business for years, you develop a respect for manufacturers that make good equipment that holds up very well. Hobart makes GREAT equipment from dishwashers to slicers. When there is an issue or required miantenance, Hobart has a good professional service staff that shows up on time and gets the job done.

Buying a Hobart may be overkill at home where your demands are pretty minimal. However, if you get one at a reasonable price, it is a great piece of equipment.

My KC kitchen has a Hobart dishwasher that is *at least* 25 years old, probably more like 40 yrs old!

Geo

Geo wrote:Good point Joe. Me, I bought a pair of kevlar gloves, MCR 9370, for under $5, esp. for use with my benriner mandoline. They've changed my life. Really.

Geo

One of our client hospitals required us to use the surgical guy to sharpen our knives instead of the normal guy. We had more serious cuts after that.

That us when I discovered mesh gloves for cleaning knives as well as slicers.

jlawrence01 wrote:

zoid wrote:So what is it that makes the Hobart so much better? It seems like even the ones in the $150-$200 range are all metal construction.
Are the blades just no good? Is it the motor?

When you work in the food business for years, you develop a respect for manufacturers that make good equipment that holds up very well. Hobart makes GREAT equipment from dishwashers to slicers. When there is an issue or required miantenance, Hobart has a good professional service staff that shows up on time and gets the job done.

Buying a Hobart may be overkill at home where your demands are pretty minimal. However, if you get one at a reasonable price, it is a great piece of equipment.

jlawrence,

You are absolutely correct about Hobart quality as well as their service staff. And you are also right about a Hobart slicer being overkill in a home kitchen. They are huge!

And I'll end on a slightly sad note. Having recently (2-3 yrs.) purchased a brand new 20 qt. mixer, I was sadly disappointed to see so much plastic used rather in place of metal.

A 20-qt mixer? What are you *mixing* Ronnie??

I reckon that comes pretty close to 5 gallons (or 19 liters as we count up here : )

Geo

As long as we're on the topic of Hobart slicers, does anyone have the sharpener for the 1612/1712 series slicer? Mine didn't come with one and I'm loathe to spend $100 on a sharpener given how little use my blade gets. I'd love to borrow one, if any LTHer has one.

-Dan

Has anyone heard of MTN?
Is this one any good?
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-10-Commercial-E ... 3efef66f58

A google search revealed that it's a Chinese company that makes various meat processing eqpt. I don't know whether I think 240w (which is roughly a third of a horsepower) is enough power. But I'd have to look at the power output of some well-known slicers. My Vitamix has nearly a hp, but maybe blenders have higher power requirements than slicers.

Anyway, that's all that I know.


Geo

I have started using a electric knife lately and just love the ease of it. I can make thinnest of slices with it.

I had a slicer that worked great, for years. But no idea what kind, or where I found it. We lost the screws several years later, while remodeling our kitchen. We use the slicer about 6 times a year for Italian beef.

We went to Cabela's, and had a great sales pitch for a meat slicer. This one couldn't cut thin slices on a bet. Oh it died after 4 uses. The motor turns, but the blade doesn't.

So, my question is this: does anyone have a recommendation for a new one, reasonably priced, for the part-time home slicer? A Hobart seems cool, but not what I really need.....thanks!!

i have a folding krups slicer. I use it about as often as you do. the fact that it folds over and takes little room in the pantry is a plus. if memory serves, $75 a few years ago at a brick and mortar store like sears or fleet farm.

I know you dismissed the Hobart option... but having owned a Hobart 1612 for almost 10 years, I can't imagine not having one. Best $200 I ever spent on eBay. From pastrami to country ham, fennel bulbs to potatoes, it's the best. I've shed many kitchen gadgets over the years (blenders, slow cookers, immersion circulators, etc - all gone), but I won't get rid of my slicer.

-Dan