My Christmas present: an Avantco meat slicer

Losing one’s mind is never a good thing, and that was me back in mid-December. I was faced with too much to accomplish every day, so the pile of work waiting to be done just got larger and higher. Something had to be done!

Unfortunately, A Man for All Seasonings was one of the things I just had to take a pass on. Writing three blog postings a week (Type M for Murder, as well as Late Innings and this one) with occasional other guest blogs takes a lot of time and energy. Type M is more “work-related” which means it has to get done weekly, and with all the baseball trades and such, Late Innings needed my attention, too. So it was AMFAS that had to go into hibernation.

But now the days are getting longer, the sun is out (regardless that it’s cold as hell at the moment), and I find myself with some time to devote to the “neglected blog”. I hope you haven’t been pining too much during our absence!

Now this is going to seem like I’m reaching way back in time, but I got the most awesome Christmas gift ever. Here’s a photo of it:

Beautifully thin slices of our lonzino

That’s right. Your eyes are not deceiving you. My mother-in-law’s present to me this year is a real, honest-to-God deli meat slicer. Let me explain.

We buy and make a fair number of things that need slicing. Our home-cured lonzino (which we’re currently enjoying) needs to be sliced thinly, like prosciutto. That’s nearly impossible to do by hand, certainly well beyond my skills, and that’s what got me started on this search. But it’s silly to spend money to slice one of our home-cured meats. Now, however, we can also buy large chunks of salami, prosciutto, cheese, whatever (saving money) and be able to slice them easily and evenly. Since getting this machine, I find that we’re also slicing fruits and vegetables, too. It has proved to be much more of a help in the kitchen than I thought it would be.

I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes at the thought of having an appliance that’s this big, merely for slicing. Yes, that is a problem, expecially since our kitchen is a small one, but we have a solution. In the far corner stands a small “bar fridge” we inherited from Vicki’s studio. Usually it’s top is just a handy repository for junk: bags of potatoes, things that have to go into the basement, platters and trays. They’ve all now disappeared to where they should have been in the first place, and the top of the fridge is a perfect size for the slicer. Best of all, there’s an electrical outlet close by. We can keep the slicer out and ready to be used. It was packaged in its carton with a heavy plastic bag around it, so we kept that and use it to keep dust and dirt off the machine.

When I began to investigate getting something like this, I looked at the usual home-kitchen type ones, and found none of them really have enough power. Sharpening was also an issue in that the blade had to be removed and sent out. It quickly became obvious that something of a more professional level was the only thing worth buying. Hobart is one of the big manufacturers of deli slicers, but even a used one would have set us back a cool $800 at least, far too expensive for our budget.

I widened my internet search and came across a site (http://www.webstaurantstore.com/) that caters more to the trade than the domestic cook. In their slicer selection, they stock mostly the top-end Berkel and Hobart units, but they also stocked something that caught my eye immediately: a 9" Manual Gravity Feed Meat Slicer by a company called Avantco.

Some of our lonzino, perfectly sliced thinly!

This unit had good power (1/4 hp) and from the photos seemed to be well-made. The customer reviews were all positive (for what those are worth) and the manufacturer stated right off the top that this slicer was not meant for heavy duty output (hours of use per day). It also came with what looked like a good, built-in sharpening system for its 9" blade.

Having worked in restaurants, I know what good, solid construction is, and this unit seemed to have it. Best of all was the price: $269.99. I had looked at and disregarded home units that ran as high as $300+, so this looked like a real possibility.

So when my mother-in-law, the formidable Loraine, asked what we wanted for Christmas, I was ready. We have not been disappointed with our choice. The construction is mostly aluminum, cast or stamped, allowing for the lower cost, but the power is excellent (with an extra belt supplied for the motor/blade hook-up), cleaning very easy, and it slices from paper-thin to almost half an inch, plenty good for what we need. I haven’t used the sharpener yet, but it looks like it will be quick and easy to do.

We try to only buy the best for cooking. A cheap home-version of a pot or utensil just doesn’t compare to a pro version. They don’t stand up over time and they can give frustratingly uneven results. When we’re in the market for something, we usually buy at restaurant supply stores. This is an even more important factor when buying appliances. Anyone who has ever cooked on a professional range or used a professional appliance will know what I mean. (I really wish we had a Garland cooktop!) The Avantco slicer is a good saw-off for us: professional power and design, but at a nice price. To answer the question some of you no doubt have: yes, it’s made in China, but its quality is really quite good.

Stop by the Blechta Test Kitchens some time and we’ll slice up some paper-thin lonzino or prosciutto for you!