The 4 (Safe and Won't-Quit) Best Meat Slicers in 2021

Odds are, you've seen a meat slicer before.

If you cut meat, bread, or cheese frequently, you know how hard it is to slice each of them into perfect, equally-sized slices manually.

Not to mention that sometimes it’s barely possible to slice the meat or cheese with a knife in the first place - especially if you have just taken it out of the freezer.

The good news is, that’s where a meat slicer comes in. But, how to choose the best electric meat slicer? Simply go over my four meat slicer reviews and pick the one that best meets your needs.

And why whoose one?

By introducing this easy-to-use appliance to your home, you can both save yourself the trouble of having to play with the knife and can slice your favorite food into equal slices. The latter is especially important if you’re preparing food for your family or friends, or simply want to portion your meat or cheese for different meals.

How to Use a Meat Slicer?

But before we jump straight to the best meat slicer reviews, let’s briefly talk about how we can use the slicer. No matter their size, all slicers have the same advantages – they work fast and require less strength than a knife.

Moreover, they all use the same principles to get their job done. Simply attach the food to a sliding tray, turn the slicer on, and push the tray towards a rotating razor blade. This will cut a thin slice from the bulk of the food. 

Most slicers come with an adjuster.  Simply turn the knob and choose the desired thickness of the slice.

Naturally, make sure that you follow the basic security precautions. Remember that you’re working with a big blade that’s rotating at a high speed. Never put your hands too close to the blade. The best electric meat slicers come with extra safety switches you need to unlock before you turn the appliance on. Naturally, once you’re done, make sure that you clean the slicer.

A Tiny Bit On Cleaning

Each individual meat slicer will work slightly differently, which means that you should first read the instructions on how to remove the blade. What’s difficult is that bits of food often get stuck in various nooks and crannies, and, if you don’t get rid of them, can cause various foodborne diseases.

Apart from removing the tray in the blade, one extra trick you can use is to place the entire unit over an empty sink and just spray it with the faucet hose, what should help you get rid of the stubborn food bits. Naturally, do that slowly, so that the bottom of the slicer doesn’t get underwater. Once you’re done, you can wipe the slicer with soap and sponge and spray it with water one more time. After that, use a sanitizer to kill all the leftover bacteria.

But What If It Gets Dull? How Do You Sharpen Your Slicer?

Once you clean your slicer, it’s time to sharpen it. Depending on how often you use it, you might have to do it after every cleaning or just from time to time. To sharpen it, simply apply a bit of sharpening oil to the surface of the blade and put it in the sharpener.

Next, simply follow the sharpener’s instructions. Note that some meat slicers come with a built-in sharpener – if you notice one, it’s best to use it. Most of the time, it’s prepared specifically for the slicer’s blade.

My Top 4 Picks and Why...

Because the slicer is used to process food, one of the most important things one should look at when choosing the best meat slicer for home is the ease of cleaning.

You don’t want to have any pieces of meat stuck in all the tiny holes only to give you a stomach problem once the bacteria start spreading.

Next, look at its safety features. How safe is it to push the meat towards the blade? Does it require much force? Does the blade wobble, and how easy it is to remove it? Are there any ways to block the blade? And, of course, how stable is the meat slicer when used on a countertop?

Another quite important feature will be the size. Of course, while you don’t need a big slicer for just two people. But, if you invite others for dinner or like to cook for a few days at once, then you will appreciate a more powerful machine.

Currently, there are a few brands which produce quality meat slicers, with BESWOOD having a slight edge over the other three. Scroll down to read more about each of those products and what I liked about them the most.

Best Meat Slicers #1:

KWS Premium Commercial 320w Electric Meat Slicer 10" Stainless Steel Blade

The Sturdiest Meat Slicer

The first in my list is a KWS Premium slicer. It comes at a slightly higher price point compared to some other electric meat slicers for home use. However, one of the reasons could be that it’s also suitable for a commercial environment (up to a certain level). But, is it a good choice for a home use?

Despite Minor Flaws, It Does a Good Job

Because the slicer is quite pricey, my quality requirements were also a bit higher.

Thankfully, despite some minor problems (I’ve listed quite a few – but they are not that significant), the slicer does exactly what it’s been designed to do.  And it does its job surprisingly well.

What I Like about this Meat Slicer?

  • Slices are very thin. If you’re looking for a slicer capable of producing those beautiful, thin slices, KWS Premium will easily meet your expectations. In terms of slices quality, it’s beaten only by BESWOOD – whichtopped my list.
  • Heavy-duty machine. This is a built-to-last type of product. Heavy, sturdy, and really well put together.
  • Could be mistaken for a professional deli slicer. Its design is not just sturdy – it simply looks as if it was crafted for a professional work environment, and not a home use.
  • Powerful. The blade rotates really fast and cuts through different types of meat or cheese easily. Sadly, I can’t say meat and cheese…

And What I Don’t Like?

  • Requires Teflon blade for cheese. If you want it to excel at cutting cheese - you need to get the Teflon-blade version.
  • Small food tray. Even though it’s really robust and powerful, the trail is very small and inconvenient, making it hard to cut through big pieces of meat at once.
  • Hard to clean around screws and bolts. Sadly, this is a big one. First, it’s not that easy to remove the metal plate from in front of the blade. Second, even then, there are still way too many tiny spots where the meat stays after the job is done.
  • Slides a lot. There’s one thing that doesn’t fit its “sturdiness”. It slides really bad, what’s not only inconvenient, but can be really dangerous.
  • Meat gets caught in the blade. Sometimes, the meat gets caught in the blade. Unfortunately, that’s also when it usually shoots out on the other side. Luckily, this one can be prevented by holding the stuff you are about to slice in the right way (you might need some practice first, though.

KWS Premium slicer is a really good product – it’s sturdy, slices the meat fast, and is easy to use.

While it comes with a set of slight drawbacks, neither of them is a deal-breaker and I can sincerely recommend it.

To see more about it and learn the exact technical details or read reviews of other users, hit the button below:

Buy on Amazon

Best Meat Slicers #2:

BESWOOD 10" Premium Chromium-plated Carbon Steel Blade Electric Slicer, 240W

Overall the Best Home Meat Slicer

The second in my list is a premium meat slicer manufactured by an Australian company specializing in professional kitchenware. So, without further ado – how good is it?

Perfect, Paper-Like Slices

What I love the most about this slicer is that is capable of producing those ideal, paper-thin slices – which is sadly not the case for many others slicers in the market.

Naturally, it’s just one of its many benefits. What are the other ones?

What I Like about this Meat Slicer?

  • All USA standards approved. Even though it’s manufactured by an Australian company, it’s been approved by all the main US regulatory bodies: ETL, NSF, and FDA.
  • Safe. The slicer comes with a few important safety features, such as the one preventing it from getting turned on accidentally.
  • Cuts the meat really well. While I’ve already mentioned how great are the thin slices it produces, it does a good job when it comes to different sizes too.
  • Quiet for what it does. Even though it’s really powerful, its motor is surprisingly quiet. I guess it has to do with its great design or the high quality of the motor itself.
  • True commercial quality. It looks and works like a real commercial meat slicer.

And What I Don’t Like?

  • Missing parts. Check your package very carefully as some slicers arrived with missing parts or bent blades.
  • Poor materials – at least considering the price. It looks great, works great, but the material doesn’t look that high-end at all. But I guess what matters is that it works.
  • Tough cleanup. This is a very common problem so it is a shame that a company focusing so much on the quality didn’t manage to come with a better solution. Word of caution: When preparing for cleanup and unscrewing some of the screws, the blade tends to pop off – put a cushion under the slicer not to damage the counter.
  • Bulky. It takes a lot of space on the counter – so won’t look good and might be inconvenient in a small kitchen.

BESWOOD’s 10” meat slicer is a great product – it works really well and does its job moderately quietly. Sadly, it might be considered overkill if you are not going to use it that much.

On the other hand, if you don’t mind investing a bit more in a premium product or simply know that you’re going to use it a lot, hit the button below to read more about its technical specs:

Buy on Amazon

Best Meat Slicers #3:

Chef'sChoice 615A Electric Meat Slicer, Stainless Steel

Best Home Meat Slicer Under $200

Not everyone needs a sturdy, commercial-like meat slicer like the two described above. Most of the time, all we need is a slicer that’ll do the basic job done – cut the food into slices fast, exactly when we need it to.

A Mid-Range Slicer

The beauty of this product is that it comes with most of the features that you might need to enjoy it on a daily basis.

Of course, it’s not something you would look twice at if you were looking for a slicer for a commercial setting.

But it’s a perfect compromise between price and power.

What I Like about this Meat Slicer?

  • Decent machine for the price. It does the job – slices food. And costs half the price of a typical premium home slicer. If you don’t need one – there’s no point in overpaying.
  • Good cooling system. While it’s still not advised to keep it running for too long, it comes with a surprisingly efficient cooling system – especially considering its price.
  • Disassembles in seconds. Probably its biggest advantage is how easy it is to disassemble. This is especially useful when you want to clean it, as it makes the whole process way easier.

And What I Don’t Like?

  • Certain areas are hard to clean. Sadly, as it’s typical for this kind of machines, it’s quite hard to clean it, what leaves pieces of food in key areas.
  • A visible difference in quality. While it does its job, it’s not hard to spot the difference in quality between this slicer and some of its premium competitors.
  • Poor customer support. It’s very hard to get a response from customer support – many customers mentioned that they didn’t get any response at all.
  • Lacks power for more demanding slicing. Well, this shouldn’t be surprising considering its price. It’s a trade-off that was necessary to get its price down.

Considering its price, it’s a great choice if you use a meat slicer from time to time – for example, to speed up the preparation of a big family dinner. A mid-range slicer that’s capable of cutting the meat into mid-sized slices… If you don’t mind not getting paper-thin slices, hit the button below and head straight over to Amazon to see its technical specifications and reviews of other users:

Buy on Amazon

Best Meat Slicers #4:

Chefman Die-Cast Electric Deli/Food Slicer. Adjustable Thickness Dial, Removable 7.5” Serrated Stainless Steel Blade, Non-Slip Feet, Compact, Black

Best Meat Slicer for Home for Under $100

The last in the list is also the least expensive meat slicer reviewed. Naturally, considering that professional meat slicers are many times more expensive than this machine, it’s hard to expect it to perform just as well as they do. But that doesn’t mean you should just ignore it right away.

Affordable Home Slicer

If I were to grade these home slicers based purely on affordability, this would be the best meat slicer for home use.

Of course, low price is just one of the things which we should take into consideration – so, make sure that you review all of its advantages and disadvantages before making a final choice.

What I Like about this Meat Slicer?

  • Surprisingly good slicing capabilities. For the price, I would say it’s amazing how well it slices various kinds of food. Naturally, it lacks the power to cut through the hardest pieces so if you need power, that’s not the best pick.
  • Very small slicer. It’ll fit in every kitchen and is very handy.
  • Good for slicing bread. While it has slight problems slicing meat, it’s an excellent choice for any bread lover who wants an affordable slicer for bread.

And What I Don’t Like?

  • The motor is undersized for meats. Even though I was surprised by what it can do, I believe the motor is still undersized for the tough things like beef or cheese.
  • Moves around. It lacks the weight and sturdiness and hence easily moves around when you use it – because of that, you’ve got to be very careful when slicing.
  • Not much space for the meat to land. Unfortunately, this is not only inconvenient but also unhealthy and unhygienic. You need to take breaks frequently in order to prevent the meat from landing on the countertop.
  • Check it carefully – some people received a used product! While this didn’t happen to me, some reviewers of the product mentioned receiving a used product (which was probably sent back to the manufacturer by dissatisfied customers).
  • Very difficult to clean. The food stays in multiple spots behind the blade and it’s really hard to get it out.
  • You can’t remove the sliding tray. If the above wasn’t enough, the sliding tray makes cleaning even more difficult.
  • Noisy. Don’t let the size for you – this little boy is surprisingly noisy for its dimensions.

You can’t expect a slicer under hundred dollars to beat the heavier, more advanced and more expensive appliances. But don’t let all the disadvantages fool you. If you let the tool work at its own pace, and want a cheap slicer for slicing things like bread or soft meat, you can still take advantage of this slicer. But, if you’re looking for the best home meat slicer, you probably should look at one of the other three meat slicer reviews.

Buy on Amazon

While not all reviewed slicers will work fine with every type of meat, there are still some good choices in the list. If you haven’t chosen your favorite one yet, scroll back up to the table and review the meat slicers one more time.

About the author 

Nate Lau

Nate is an aspiring chef, and father of two. He is always on the lookout to try new healthy recipes and kitchen gadgets. He has a passion for cooking delicious miso black cod and enjoys a nice sip of pinot on occasion.

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