[Penguin]

I’m looking into purchasing a meat slicer ( Amazon.com: Chef's Choice 610 Premium Electric Food Slicer: Kitchen & Dining ) for home use primarily to save time cutting breads and bagel. However I’d love to be able to cook boneless chicken breasts and slice them thin for sandwiches. I’d also love to cook a pot roast, then slice it thin for sandwiches as well. I know this is a silly question but is this possible?

I purchase processed deli meats from the deli, but would love to find a way to cook a regular chicken breast or turkey and slice it thin enough for a sandwich. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Emily

[DuckFat]

I'm in the market for a meat slicer as well. IMO you would be expecting a bit much from that unit. If you want a new unit I would expect to spend in the $500-650 range for a quality unit. Two I have been looking at are the Berkel 825A and the 9" Sirman Mirra that Marc is carrying over at Chef's knives to go. I do not care for any Chef's Choice slicers. You may want to look for a used Berkel. I have found them in the past in the $200-250 range.



Gravity Feed Slicers


Meat Slicer, Meat Slicers

[Penguin]

Thanks. I've read a lot about slicing meats raw but can you slice a pot roast or chicken breast after it has been cooked?

[Gunnar]

sure do, most roast beef sandwiches come off a meat slicer. Slicing chicken breast for sandwiches is done but can be a bit tricky due to the odd breast shape.

[Penguin]

Thanks Gunner. For a chicken breast, would I slice against the grain making small thin strips or with the grain to create long strips?

[MaryB]

I have a 10 year old Rival slicer that is similar to the one from Amazon. It was under $30 new and works well. Only drawback is the small blade diameter.

[Gunnar]

lol, its chicken. It won't much matter. However, cutting cross grain is always safest as to not get sloppy when it matters ie, tri-tip, roasts etc..

[boar_d_laze]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Thanks. I've read a lot about slicing meats raw but can you slice a pot roast or chicken breast after it has been cooked?

Yes, you can slice after it's been cooked, but it's better to chill it and let it set up before slicing; then if you like, you may reheat.

As to another question: If red meat has a grain, slice against it. This makes it seem tender. If you slice with the grain, the meat will become stringy when you try and chew it. Not all red meat has enough of a grain structure to matter. But pot roast... usually.

Grain doesn't matter with poultry. Go for pretty slices.

Fish can be a lttle tricky. It's usually best to slice on a bias -- both with and on top of the grain.

A 7" Chef's Choice is about 1/3 the weight and the cost of a 9" Mirra or Berkel. Feel free to form your own conclusions as to relative overall quality and as to which is more appropriate for a home kitchen.

BDL

[Penguin]

Thank you for all of the replies. I didn't know if poultry would be too dry to eat as thin slices but that would be great if it will work for sandwiches (I try to avoid processed deli meats).

As the primary purpose of the slicer is to cut breads, I believe the quality of the Chef's Choice will meet my needs. It will be an extra bonus if I can use it to slice meats as well.

Thank you!

[Phaedrus]

Overall the Chef's Choice slicers are pretty good ones for the money. Most cheapie home versions are chronically underpowered but that one isn't bad. You might have trouble slicing cheese, at least thick blocks, but it should work on beef & chicken as well as bread. Cheese is pretty tough for a slicer, it takes quite a bit of power to do the job well.

[DuckFat]

Originally Posted by Penguin

I didn't know if poultry would be too dry to eat as thin slices but that would be great if it will work for sandwiches (I try to avoid processed deli meats).

The trick with poultry is to cook whole birds and then remove the breasts. This way you have a nice lobe to slice. You need to be careful not to over cook as you will want the poultry to rest and cool. Sliced turkey breast is very good.
As far as slicing bread you may want to consider a quality bread knife. Many of these small units do not come with sharpeners and replacement blades are not cheap. The small Chef's choice units do have a serrated blade option but by the time you buy the machine and the blade you will be very close to the price of a used Berkel. It's been said many times, you get what you pay for. The Chef's choice units are almost all plastic and that includes the gear on the back of the blade. Let us know what you get and how it works out.

[nichole]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

Overall the Chef's Choice slicers are pretty good ones for the money. Most cheapie home versions are chronically underpowered but that one isn't bad. You might have trouble slicing cheese, at least thick blocks, but it should work on beef & chicken as well as bread. Cheese is pretty tough for a slicer, it takes quite a bit of power to do the job well.

I am using this one also. Cheap though has a good performance. I agree with you.

[boar_d_laze]

I'm pretty sure Duck has the right of it when it comes to using this sort of slicer for bread. Crusty bread especially, is very hard on a high speed knife. Even serrated.

The best, inexpensively priced bread slicing machine is holding a decent bread knife in your hand while making, "rummmmm, rummmmm" noises.

The MAC Superior is an outstanding bread (and bakers) knife, for under $100. Hint: If you buy hubby one for Christmas, I bet he'll let you use it all the rest of the year. Forschner Rosewood are very (but not quite as) good, and far more reasonable. If you've had enough with the fantasies already, almost anything in the $25 range (not too cheap, but not too dear) will serve you well.

If you're having trouble making even slices, let me know. Think of slicing as the "eye-liner" of culinary techniques. It's a skill which doesn't take a lot of knowledge, does take some practice, is pretty easy when you get down to it, but don't do it when you're driving.

BDL

[Just Jim]

Originally Posted by boar_d_laze

The best, inexpensively priced bread slicing machine is holding a decent bread knife in your hand while making, "rummmmm, rummmmm" noises.

BDL, you're always so technical.
Keep in mind that Penguin is a Cook at Home, and may not be up on all of the technical jargon.

[izbnso]

BDL, know much about eye liner do ya?


I tend to agree with the others about this machine for bread slicing. As a collector of kitchen paraphernalia, if you want it…get it. However, I foresee frustration in connection to slicing bread on that machine.

If you must bring motorization to your loaves…

I’m sure this is going to be absolute heresy to the knife purists, but I have found that a $10 electric knife is great for bread slicing. I bought one about 5 years ago and it has sawed its way through countless loaves of bread and biscotti. I only use it on bread and biscotti, nothing else. Is it about time for a new one, yup but I got five good years out of it. I gravitated to the electric knife because I found with all the bread I was slicing my right arm was decidedly more muscular than my left, which just looked funny when I wore my favorite spaghetti strap dress. With an electric knife, the knife makes the back and forth motion, not you, leaving one with perfectly symmetrical and matching flabby arms.

I think that a lot of folks tend to not slice bread well due to the instinct to add a chopping-esque push that squishes instead of slices. Then the extra force can tend to lead to the knife veering off course yielding a too skinny or too thick bottom of the slice. With the electric knife that tendency dissipates since you are just there to guide the knife, not exert pressure on it.

Hope that helps.