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Owning a meat slicer might seem like a luxury, but it’s actually a useful home appliance that saves both time and effort in the kitchen. And given that most people pay a premium price for sliced meat at the grocery store, investing in a meat slicer might save you a lot of money in the long run as well. Being cost-effective, extremely efficient, and versatile, meat slicers are becoming more and more frequent appliances in home kitchens.
However, actually choosing a meat slicer can be hard to do. You can easily go overboard and spend a lot of money, only to realize that you don’t need nor use most of your meat slicer’s features. So, the following question is very valid: How do I choose the best meat slicer for my needs?
Fortunately, we’ve done a lot of research and hand-picked the best meat slicers trending on the market these days. You can find detailed reviews that explain why we think these products are the best meat slicers in their category.
Plus, at the end of the article, we created a practical buying guide where you can find all of the information you need to consider when shopping for a meat slicer.
The Best Meat Slicers
Best Overall: Chef'sChoice 615A Premium Electric Meat Slicer
The Chef’sChoice 615A is our top overall pick, as the unit is very sharp, versatile, and easy-to-use, yet still affordable. It’s not surprising that the Chef’sChoice 615A meat slicer is also most people’s favorite tool when you consider how well balanced the product is in terms of quality, safety, maintenance, and affordability.
Pros:
The Chef’sChoice 615A wouldn’t get its best meat slicer title if we didn’t believe it can serve you for a very long time. The unit is very durable, as all its structural components are made of cast aluminum and stainless steel. However, this meat slicer is not heavy so you can easily move it from one place to another.
Another great aspect of this unit is its versatility. As long as the food is solid and firm, the Chef’sChoice 615A can slice it without any effort. The model has a rugged stainless steel slicer that’s very sharp and can cut through any type of meat, bread, fruits, and vegetables. You can make slices as thin as ¾ inches.
We can also praise the Chef’sChoice 615A for its safety. The unit has a special button that secures food carriage in a locked position to limit access to the blade when the unit is not in use. Additionally, the button also doubles as a food holder while cutting and can secure the food in place so it doesn’t slip. On top of that, the model comes with a metal food pusher that you can easily grip, meaning your hands will never be even close to the blade.
The Chef’sChoice 615A is also very easy to maintain and clean. All of its structural parts are removable, so you can clean it easily and thoroughly. You can remove the blade, food carriage, food pusher, food deflector, and even the thickness guide.
Most customers mention how quiet and smooth the whole slicing process is. This is especially beneficial for home-use, as you don’t want to annoy everyone in the household anytime you decide to make a sandwich.
Cons:
The device itself might not be flawed, but the manufacturer’s customer service leaves something to be desired.
The length of the blade is only 7 inches, which is still very satisfying for home use, but compared to the other recommendations on this list, this model has the shortest blade.
The Verdict:
All in all, the Chef’sChoice 615A is the best meat slicer for most people. The unit is very durable, versatile, safe, quiet, and easy-to-clean. Considering that it’s not very big and heavy, yet it’s still sharp and efficient, we can safely assume that this meat slicer would fit perfectly in almost any kitchen.
Best Quality: KWS MS-10NT Premium Electric Meat Slicer
![KWS Metal Collection MS-10DT Commercial 320W 10-Inch Meat Slicer Anodized Aluminum Base with Teflon Blade + Blade Removal Tool, Frozen Meat/Cheese/Food Slicer Quiet [ ETL, NSF Certified ]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41zJbUpie6L._SL160_.jpg)
If you’re looking for the highest quality, then let us introduce you to the KWS MS-10NT Premium electric meat slicer. It’s incredibly safe and blissfully quiet, yet it has one of the most powerful motors in the industry, which places this unit at the top of most experts’ lists. Designed for heavy-duty use, the KWS MS-10NT is the perfect choice for professionals at home, as well as commercial use.
Pros:
The most impressive feature of the KWS MS-10NT model is the 320-watt motor power, which basically means it can cut through meat, cheese, bread, fruit, and veggies like a knife through butter. The whole experience of slicing is very pleasant and smooth, as you’ll get perfect paper-thin slices without putting any effort.
Durability is not an issue for the KWS MS-10NT meat slicer, as it comes with a 10-inch stainless steel blade coated with Teflon so it doesn’t rust. Plus, the whole body is made of aluminum alloy, which speaks volumes about the unit’s sturdiness.
The unit is designed for heavy-duty work regardless of whether it’s at home or in a restaurant, shop, or for a catering business. The KWS MS-10NT provides a built-in dual whetstone sharpener and ring guard assembly for the blade, meaning you won’t need to sharpen the blade manually.
Cons:
One possible concern is that the KWS MS-10NT model is very hard to clean. The blade doesn’t come off, which complicates the cleaning process. If you’re someone who slices meat all day every day (restaurants, sandwich shops, etc.), this might not be a deal-breaker, because you have to clean everything at the end of the workday anyway. However, for people who use it at home for a variety of products, cleaning might become a very frustrating aspect.
Another thing is that, unfortunately, the device is not user-friendly and beginners can struggle with it. The instructions can be a little hard to figure out, which means that if this is your first meat slicer and you’re unfamiliar with the mechanics of the device, it’s better to choose a more user-friendly model.
The Verdict:
Made for chefs, professionals cooks, commercial use, and cooking enthusiasts, the KWS MS-10NT will give you a very smooth and pleasant slicing experience. Buying this model means you’re in for quick and effortless slicing for years to come.
Best on a Budget: Elite Platinum EMT-503B Electric Meat Slicer
Small and affordable, the Elite Platinum EMT-503B electric meat slicer is the perfect addition in your kitchen at home. The unit is very easy-to-use and easy-to-clean, which means you can have perfect slices in no time.
Pros:
Although a budget-pick, the Elite Platinum EMT-503B doesn’t disappoint with its slicing power. It comes with a long and sharp blade that makes very precise cuts. Plus, you can go from ultra-thin to ½-inch thick, which is everything you’ll ever need.
The device is very versatile as it can cut turkey breast, pepperoni, ham, chorizo, beef pastrami, salamis, hard cheeses, tough vegetables, or even bread.
Another great feature is how stable and safe this unit is. Although small and made of plastic (the body), the large slicing platform has non-slip rubber feet that keep the unit in place even when you apply pressure. This feature significantly increases its stability, which affects the safety of the unit.
Finally, once you’re finished with slicing, you can easily remove the blade and clean it thoroughly.
Cons:
Unlike our other recommendations, the Elite Platinum EMT-503B has plastic gears, which is not a big concern for light work at home, but it does make it more fragile and easy to break if you apply too much pressure.
The Elite Platinum EMT-503B is not suited for heavy-duty work and if you’re a professional cook, or you’re looking for a commercial-use meat slicer, you should consider some of the other recommendations.
The Verdict:
What we most liked about this model, aside from its affordability, is the long high-quality blade, safety features, and user-friendly design. The Elite Platinum EMT-503B is a great choice for first-time buyers, as well as families that enjoy making home-made sandwiches and diverse meat platters.
Best on a Budget: BESWOOD Premium Chromium-Plated Electric Meat Slicer
Whether you own a sandwich shop, restaurant, or catering service, we believe the BESWOOD 10″ Premium Chromium-Plated electric meat slicer would be a great choice. It’s very durable, efficient, and suitable for heavy-duty work.
Pros:
Made for commercial use, the BESWOOD 10″ Premium Chromium-Plated meat slicer is a highly versatile and powerful unit. It has a long (10-inch) and very sharp blade which can quickly and smoothly cut any solid and firm food ingredient. Some customers have also praised the meat slicer’s ability to cut through dense semi-frozen meat completely effortlessly, which is very impressive.
Since working in a restaurant or a shop means you’ll quickly move from one task to another, the unit has a double illuminated ON/OFF Switch, which will help you avoid a power shock. It’s also approved by the US ETL, NSF, and FDA safety standards. On top of that, it also has skidproof rubber feet and blade ring guard.
Using the device frequently and for a long period of time is no problem. This is because the BESWOOD 10″ Premium Chromium-Plated meat slicer has an aluminum body with a top-mounted, two-stones blade sharpener. This feature allows the device to maintain a consistently sharp blade, regardless of how much you use it.
Finally, the BESWOOD 10″ comes with a V-belt that noticeably reduces noise and vibration.
Cons:
It was almost impossible to find a con for this product, as the device is very loved by anyone who bought it. However, we did notice that, although not a deal-breaker, the machine is hard to clean, which can be quite annoying.
The Verdict:
The BESWOOD 10″ Premium Chromium-Plated is the best choice if you need a meat slicer for commercial use, or you’re an experienced home-cook with a large family and slicing meat is a regular task. All in all, the unit is designed to meet the needs of people working in busy kitchens, and it does that flawlessly.
Conclusion:
The best meat slicer overall is the Chef’sChoice 615A. Whether you’re a newbie in the kitchen or a family cook, this unit will surpass all of your expectations. You can make amazing charcuterie boards almost effortlessly and show off in front of your friends and family.
Best of all, it’s very safe, so you won’t have to worry if there are children running around the kitchen. Finally, we should mention that although the model is designed mostly for home use, the Chef’sChoice 615A can also handle some commercial uses.
Built for people who appreciate quality above anything else, the KWS MS-10NT will make you happy with its strong, aluminum construction and long stainless steel blade that’s coated with Teflon. With 320-watts, the unit has the most powerful motor no slicing task is a challenge for. If you don’t mind the higher price, the KWS MS-10NT is definitely one of the best meat slicers for both commercial and home use.
Since we believe there should be something for everyone, the Elite Platinum EMT-503B model appeals to first-time buyers, cooking enthusiasts who want to upgrade their skills, or anyone who’s on a budget and looking for a good-quality meat slicer.
Finally, the BESWOOD 10″ Premium Chromium-Plated model is the best meat slicer for professionals to use in restaurants, commercial kitchens, cafes, catering businesses, and sometimes home-use. The unit is very powerful and extremely sharp, but very safe. Most of its features are focused on meeting professionals’ needs, but even if you’re a cooking enthusiast, this unit would never disappoint you.
Everything You Need to Know About Meat Slicers
Reasons For Buying A Meat Slicer
The primary question that most people have about a meat slicer is this: does it slice more than just meat? It absolutely does! Anything that’s fairly firm can be accurately sliced with this handy kitchen appliance. That means you can slice vegetables, some fruits, and even bread quickly and easily. Even firm types of cheese can be sliced! You’ll want to avoid soft, watery items, however, because they can jam up the blade and damage it.
So why invest in a meat slicer for your home? The obvious reasons are convenience and cutting costs. You can make deli-style sandwiches and epic charcuterie boards at a fraction of the cost, anytime you feel like it. Just think about it – if you spend $6 on a sandwich at a deli three times per week, you’ll save $12 per week by owning a meat slicer. Even more, having this multi-purpose and powerful appliance means you won’t need any catering services ever again! Meat slicers are amazing tools for creating dashing charcuterie boards for any purpose.
The multi-purpose of meat slicers is what makes them attractive to many people for their home kitchens. Why would you buy a bunch of smaller appliances when you can have one powerful tool that does all of the work? Also, meat slicers are particularly useful for folks who love to cook in their kitchen, but struggle with the actual chopping and cutting that a lot of prep work requires.
If you’ve got arthritis in your dominant hand, for example, trying to cut through a firm vegetable, a hard cheese, or any kind of meat can be excruciating. A mandoline slicer might not be of help if you can’t keep a firm enough grip. The meat slicer, however, allows you to press the food down and through the slicing mechanism almost effortlessly.
Cleaning And Maintenance Of Meat Slicers
The cleaning and maintenance of most meat slicers can get a bit boring over time, but quality care will produce longevity in even the cheapest meat slicers. It’s important to look for appliances that are easy to clean, especially if you have certain challenges with your hands.
Think of it as an extension of your cutting board. If you chop raw onions and you don’t clean the working surface, then everything ends up tasting like onions when you’re done! If you cut raw meat, then you could cross-contaminate other foods without cleaning it properly. Additionally, leaving pieces of meat or other food ingredients between the blade at room temperature is dangerous as it can be a perfect ground for bacterial growth.
Another responsibility is that you’ll need to make sure you have a food-grade oil on hand to lubricate the gears and the blade regularly, although this depends on the model itself. Don’t try to use other oils because you’ll taste that oil in your food for weeks to come! Follow the instructions that accompany your device and you won’t have any problems.
Are there certain recipes that require a meat slicer to be on hand? Not necessarily, but you can create better consistency with certain dishes if you happen to own this appliance. Take a beautiful chicken cordon bleu, for example. You need a consistent thickness to your chicken and your ham in order to bake multiple proteins evenly together. You could try to do this by hand, but inevitably you’ll get slight variations to the size and that means differences in cooking times. With a meat slicer, you get the same thickness every time because the setting size locks into place.
Safety Of Meat Slicers
The other component of owning a meat slicer that worries some folks is its safety. In some cases, your fingers would be just inches from a high-speed spinning blade that is designed to cut through virtually anything! For that reason, an effective method of using this appliance is to simply press a flattened palm against the food product being cut, with fingers outstretched parallel to the appliance instead of grasping the food. This will keep your fingers safe and you’ll be able to create razor-thin slices of your favorite foods in return! Even better, you can buy a plastic food-holder for a couple of bucks and be completely safe while using it.
Finally, we should mention that while a meat slicer can last you forever, you’ll have to replace the blades over time. Even with regular sharpening, the blade will be worn off, so consider how easy it is to find a replacement before making a purchase. You can even secure replacement blades now as you shop so that you’ll be able to continue using your meat slicer on a consistent basis for years to come.
What Are the Advantages of Meat Slicers?
Who doesn’t love a good sandwich every now and then? A grilled panini, hot ham, cheese, or just a classic Reuben, are all staples of the typical deli. When you’ve got a good meat slicer in your kitchen, you get to bring the deli experience home with you every day. Freshly cut meat slices from your appliance will create fresh sandwiches for school or work. Because deli meat is cheaper when it comes unsliced, it’s also a great way to save money if you eat a lot of sandwiches!
A good meat slicer will also help you create less overall food waste in your home because you’ll be able to recycle leftovers into more dishes. For example, leftover chicken thighs can be sliced and made into a beautiful chicken Alfredo pasta. A leftover chunk of a London broil can be made into a stunning spicy beef stir fry thanks to your meat slicer. Less waste means less cost as well, plus you’re being environmentally conscious!
The final advantage is that you can do your own cutting at home to save on your typical cuts of meat. Create your own pork chops, cut your own steaks from roasts, or cut strips of fresh meat so that you can dry them in a food dehydrator. You can even use them to shave potatoes, fresh vegetables, and even reclaim your kitchen if arthritis or joint inflammation has stolen your ability to chop with ease.
How To Find the Best Meat Slicer?
It’s one thing to have a lot of information on meat slicers, and completely another to know which pieces of information are crucial when making a purchase. Here are some things to consider before deciding on a meat slicer.
Blade Size And Quality
The key to the quality of a meat slicer is located in the blade. Most slicers have a 7-inch blade that’s used in home models, but you may find models with blades as large as 11 inches. The reason why this needs to be considered is that blade-size limits the food you can slice. If your food is 8 inches in height and you’ve got a 7-inch blade, then part of your product won’t come into contact with the slicing mechanism. Think about this when shopping for a meat slicer.
Also, make sure the blade is sharp and of good quality – it’s the most fundamental aspect of any good meat slicer. Without a good blade, the cutting experience can quickly turn into frustration, which is the reason why we made sure all of our recommendations have high-quality blades.
Gears
The types of gears that your meat slicer has is also a very important consideration. This can be an extremely heavy appliance, so some manufacturers have moved from metal components to plastic or even nylon gears. For the average home cook, carefully using a cheaper nylon or plastic equipped meat slicer will be fine, but for heavy use, always go with all-metal components.
Price
Finally, you’ll have to keep in mind all of the above-mentioned features and your needs so you can decide how much you can invest in a meat slicer. You might afford to sacrifice some features that are simply not as important, for example, having an all-metal meat slicer, to a better price.
Usually, a basic food slicer that doesn’t have all the bells and whistles costs around $60 to $80 on Amazon today. However, you can still get a premium device at this basic level that will let you cut anything with precision, from bread to salami, if it has at least a 130-watt power.
Professional-style models tend to enter the market at around $100 and go way up, while top home use models tend to stay below $200 in most instances.
Before You Go
Hopefully, our recommendations for the best meat slicers will help you make a biting decision. However, if you’re still in doubt, feel free to follow the links and check out specific prices, detailed product descriptions, and customer reviews for each meat slicer.
Of course, you can also use the information on meat slicers we’ve provided, as well as our buying advice. We also have many more product reviews and product guides that you can check out whenever you need a new appliance for your kitchen.
Want to see our favorite can openers one more time before you go? Here they are!
Amazon product information last updated on March 24, 2022. Images, prices and links from Amazon Product Advertising API.
