Recommendations for a good inexpensive home Deli Meat Slicer?

[ultrarunner]

I would like to be able to slice thin... the Austrian way ;-)

Most of the online stuff simply says imported... with no country of origin...

Back in the Day the German and better Japanese made models set the standard for the small units.

The couple I have followed up on are all made in China...

Berkel seems to be in a lot of the sandwich shops... not cheap.

Berkel | Restaurant Meat Slicer

 

[JFoy]

Electric Food Slicer $30.00. It's plastic but it works and it's cheap.

 

[ultrarunner]

Never thought of Harbor Freight...

 

[charlz]

I also have a Rival. Way too much flex in the backside which you press against before the meat or whatever hits the blade. I also like to slice really thin and it is not that repeatable. I would second the recommendation to watch Craigslist and the like to see if you could pick up a commercial unit cheap. Barring that I would look for one that feels solid and should give you repeatable slice thickness.

 

[MossRoad]

Never thought of Harbor Freight...

Do you have Rural King out there?

They have the Sportsman series for $77.
Sportsman Series Electric Meat Slicer MSLICER by New Buffalo Tool Corporation for $77.97 in Specialty Tools - Pliers, Nippers & Specialty Tools - Tools : Rural King

And the Sportsman series for $664.97!
Sportsman Series 10 in. 250 Watt Electric Meat Slicer MSLICER10 by New Buffalo Tool Corporation for $664.97 in Food Preparation - Kitchen Wares - Housewares : Rural King

One's got a bigger blade, bigger motor, etc.... but man, that's a huge price range from the same company.

 

[Jim Nelson]

I use a slicer to make jerky about every 3 weeks and slice a frozen, then partially thawed, roast about 3/16" thick. I tried the H.F. and it was ok but finally stripped the gears so I replaced it with a Chef's Choice which has the plastic gears but it has worked fine for over 6 years. I had to replace the fuse 1 time but no other problems and it is reasonably easy to clean.Not sure about the real thin slices but I have found that the meat needs to be pretty cold to slice well.

 

[ultrarunner]

So far no one local I have asked owns one... in Germany and Austria I would say every home has one.

Still kind of on the fence as to less expensive or upgrade.

I kind of got spoiled the time I was living over there... on the way home there were several butcher shops with the best quality... they did their own smoking and had deals with local farmers... also a two nice bakeries... not the fancy cake kind... more so every variety of bread and things like strudels...

 

[MossRoad]

So you'd buy whole rolls of meat (or sections, I guess) and slice it as you use it?

At our grocery store, they slice it for free, any way you want it. How long does a whole roll of meat last and how do you store it?

 

[/pine]

So far no one local I have asked owns one... in Germany and Austria I would say every home has one.

Still kind of on the fence as to less expensive or upgrade.

I kind of got spoiled the time I was living over there... on the way home there were several butcher shops with the best quality... they did their own smoking and had deals with local farmers... also a two nice bakeries... not the fancy cake kind... more so every variety of bread and things like strudels...

You might check larger market classifieds for used restaurant/deli equipment...also liquidation auctions for a used commercial slicer...

 

[ultrarunner]

So you'd buy whole rolls of meat (or sections, I guess) and slice it as you use it?

At our grocery store, they slice it for free, any way you want it. How long does a whole roll of meat last and how do you store it?

So far really neither... I do have a friend that raises pigs, butchers and smokes the meat... he only sells it in portions or whole pigs for roast pig Hawaiian style.

My Christmas Tree farm niece is getting into raising pigs too... so who knows what might develop.

In Europe smoke pork is a big deal and people literally sit around chewing the tasty fat...

A little off topic... In 2009 I was in Austria with my California nieces... ages 7, 9 and 11... they were playing at my cousins pig farm... they raise all their own grain and are certified organic...

Anyway my cousin has 3 boys about the same age as the girls... they were just having fun exploring the farm... the only thing is it was also the day they were butchering a pig and making sausage... my brother, not the farm brother, said his kids won't want to be around that and was planning on heading out.

To make a short long story short... the boys were excited because their parents said they could eat as much sausage as they wanted tonight only... and the girls really wanted to help... so for about 4 hours me and the kids were making sausage... platter after platter of sausages and the kids had a sausage feast that night... much to the dismay of my brother!

They have the best smoked meats from their own farm... and I really never was a big fan until I tasted the good stuff.