I bet most home chefs found their Jerky isn’t as tender as store-bought. The lack of perfect strips with aesthetic style is the culprit. But maintaining consistent meat thickness by hand cut is tedious and a huge letdown.
Do you want to know the secret to making tender Jerky at home with no extra energy and time? The dedicatedly designed best meat slicer for Jerky can be your savior of food catastrophe.
This article is tailored to give you 5 electric and manual meat slicers to cut meat precisely and effortlessly based on your required thickness. However, our top priority is safety, smooth gear rotation, easy cleaning, and durability. Hope, after reading this post, you can choose your preferred meat slicer for Jerky.
Why Should You Need A Meat Slicer For Jerky?
This is a good question to justify your investment when you can cut meat by hand with a butcher knife and a jerky board. We also appreciate your thinking. There are various solid grounds why you should need a meat slicer. For example
It’s absolutely fine to use a butcher knife and jerky board to slice a small batch of meat, considering cost, time and labor. But, in terms of slicing a large batch of meat, that won’t be very helpful. Even maintaining equal sizes and thickness are a differential point to switching hand-cut Jerky to meat slicer.
Shall I explain?
- Typically slicing 5 pounds of beef jerky takes around 10 minutes while using a jerky board. But, if you use a meat slicer, that takes a maximum of 2 minutes. That means you can save 8 minutes, and within 10 minutes, slicing 20-25 pounds of meat is a breeze. Wow!
- When you want to cut beef jerky manually, that will require a lot of elbow grease and patience. Meat slicers, in contrast, do the task with powerful motor horsepower, like plug-and-play.
- In most cases, manually cutting equally thick meat slices for Jerky is impossible. But, You’ll get equally thick meat slices each time with a meat slicer.
- You can use a jerky board only for cutting meat for Jerky. On the other hand, meat slicers are versatile to cut meat, turkey, chicken breast, brisket, frozen cheese, bread, fruits, and veggies.
- Buying a jerky board and butcher knife costs you almost $50-$70, while a meat slicer costs you around $100-$120. That means spending a little extra money brings a lot of benefits.
Which Are The Best Meat Slicer For Jerky Comparison Table
| Best For Overall | Best For Large Batch | Best For Commercial Use | Best For Budget | Best For Occasional Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |
| Cast Iron and stainless steel | Aluminum | Aluminum, Chromium-plated Steel, Rubber | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel |
| 1. Razor sharp and serrated blade for efficient slicing 2. 150w powerful motor for fast horsepower 3. Runs quieter, below 10db, which is better than a blender | 1. Rust-resistant, durable, and free from food contamination 2. Easy to slice 15-16 pieces of meat strips at a time 3. Great to slice 20 pounds of beef in 5 minutes | 1. Versatile slices thickness adjustability up to 12mm 2. Double illuminated on/off button prevents power shock 3. Ensure no leftover crumbs or debris in the machine | 1. 200w motor and razor sharp blade precisely slice meat 2. Multiple thickness set up with an easy rotational knob 3. Easy using procedure with food carriage | 1. 5mm, 10mm, and 15mm thickness adjustments 2. Semi-frozen to raw all meat will cut effortlessly 3. Rustproof and sturdy enough to ensure durability |
| On Amazon | On Amazon | On Amazon | On Amazon | On Amazon |
Best Meat Slicer For Jerky Review
The thinner but creative cut of beef and steak is a must for a juicy and delicious jerky recipe. Don’t you have a vast space on your kitchen countertop to put the meat slicer and a vast budget in your pocket? If so, the Ostba electric deli meat slicer will be good stuff for you to enjoy mouthwatering Jerky on every occasion.
Construction & Design
At first glance, the slicer’s heavy-duty cast iron material construction and compact design will grab your attention. The 150-watt motor is a powerful yet electricity saver. It won’t consume too much electricity while delivering great horsepower for consistent, precise cutting.
Its length, width, and height are 14.17, 9.65, and 10.24 inches. That means you won’t need too much space to set it in your kitchen. Its four feet have rubber suction cups to prevent wobbling or slipping the machine while working on it.
Blade quality & cutting size
Blade is the most important component of a meat slicer. The serrated shape, and razor-sharp the blade, the more precise the meat slices will be. The stainless steel blade of this slicer is 7.5 inches which is excellent for cutting almost everything. The meat cutting size is adjustable for 5,10, and 15mm, which is great for paper-thin meat jerky to coarse cooked meat slicing.
Safety features
While dealing with sharp tools, especially for food processing, there should be two types of safety. One is preventing unexpected injury, and another is preventing food contamination. Ostba combines innovative ideas in the meat slicer to ensure safety from both sides.
The feature of simultaneously pressing the safety lock and power button to operate the machine ensures electric shock and child safety. At the same time, BPA-free food carriage ensures food contamination safety.
Easy To Clean
You must properly clean the entire machine after cutting every batch of meat to ensure no bacteria growth. Here, the side extension rod, food pusher, carriage, and blade are all removable.
Since the food pusher and carriage are separate components, there is no extra mechanism to remove them. You can remove the blade and side extension rod through push and pull.
Furthermore, the back is easy enough to clean with a disinfectant wipe. All the sanitation procedure requires around 15 minutes. That is super worthwhile!
What to cut
Yes, you don’t want to invest only in a meat slicer to cut Jerky. Apart from meat, the slicer is excellent for cutting a whole brisket, semi-frozen deer meat, roast beef, turkey breast, hard cheese, vegetables, fruits, etc.
Why Should You Buy This Meat Slicer?
Overall, Ostba is a great machine for its job. It is the way to go if you need paper-thin meat for Jerky. It will save you money and is more convenient than asking the butcher to cut the meat thin to taste Jerky. So you can consider it as the best home meat slicer for jerky.
What We Like
- Compact size is worthwhile for small countertops
- The motor is powerful, and the blade is sharp for consistent slicing
- Multiple size adjustability to easily cut your required food slice
- Durable to last around 10 years with proper maintenance
What We Don't Like
- The plastic holder should be more durable
It’s a long and tiring process of cutting large batches of meat strips to eat warm and tenderized chicken breast jerky. Many people deprive themselves of eating jerky due to this laborious task.
What if a jerky slicer comes and strips your meat within seconds like magic? That’s great! You won’t have to depend on any genii for this magic when having the Weston manual Jerky Slicer at home.
Mind grabbing design
This jerky slicer is completely different in size, shape and design than any other meat slicer. It is built with heavy-duty aluminum and a food-safe coating. That makes it corrosion-resistant, durable, and food contamination free.
The slicer is tall, skinny and comes with C-clamps to fit it in a compact space. Even the lightweight design is excellent for transporting it from the home kitchen to the backyard or the campaign to tailgating.
Easy to use
This slicer is a power-free tool that works with a little cranking pressure. The 5 inches wide space is superb for placing a 1.25-inch thick meat slice. Once you drop your meat through the top and rotate the handle, its 32 stainless steel blades will provide you with equal meat stripes.
Thinking about jamming the line due to meat’s fat and grease?
There is no chance of jamming meat because each blade is covered with stainless steel combs. That glides the meat stripes to fall through its bottom.
Top-notch safety
It ensures the utmost safety to use the machine as the slicer blades are inside the tool. The rubber grip pads protect this from slipping when cranking the manual handle. Due to its manual operation, there is no risk of power shock.
Fast cleaning
To clean the blades and combs, you need to take apart two thumbscrews and put them on the top shelf of your dishwasher. Submerge all the tools and carefully scrub with a brush. After rinsing with clean water, keep them in a kid’s free, airy space to dry.
What to cut
The slices from brisket, meat, turkey, and chicken breast are all compatible with cutting for making delicious meat jerky, chicken sandwich, and other dishes. But, unfortunately, you can’t cut veggies, fruits, and other foods because they are more than 1.5 inches thick.
Why Should You Buy This Meat Slicer?
Every meat lover, who occasionally cuts large batches of meat, should own this slicer. You’ll wonder how fast, easy, and efficiently it cubes meat.
What We Like
- The blades are razor sharp to cut the meat without shredding
- Ensure consistent thickness for each stripe for even cooking
- The cranking won’t require too much strength
- Fairly easy to clean with a long bristles hand broom
What We Don't Like
- It would be better if it came with proper using directions
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Would you like the best meat slicer for frozen meat to cut Jerky that fits home or commercial use? If so, Beswood Electric Deli Meat Slicer will be your right choice. It is solidly built, offers buttery smooth operation, and nearly effortless slicing.
Sturdy construction
Beswood makes this meat slicer for home and restaurant use with an aluminum body, a Chromium-plated Steel slicing blade, and a rubber suction cup. It won’t catch rust because of these heavy-duty materials that promote longer life expectancy. The 240W powerful motor can produce ⅓ horsepower for the blade’s smooth rotation and precise cutting.
Easy to use
It is hefty, around 33 lbs, and the blade is relatively larger 10 inches. But, you won’t have to know any rocket science or struggle to use it. Its carriage moves like silk and makes cutting easier. The rounded knob numbered 1-5 will help you set the slice thickness to 12mm. By pressing the On switch, you will get the slices from paper thin to thicker cuts based on your recipe requirements.
Safety
The ON/OFF switch is double illuminated to make it power shock preventive. At the same time, the blade guard housing covers the sharp blade. So there is a minimum risk of sudden finger cutting. Most meat slicer machines vibrate when the motor runs. It comes with a premium V-belt to reduce vibration and wobbling. The skidproof rubber feet keep it stable in its position. That means this slicer is safe and secure in every aspect.
Simple cleaning
The slicer’s carriage comes with one thumb wheel and the blade guard from the sharpening housing. The best thing is it comes with a cleaning brush with the slicer. So you can easily clean the slicer from top to bottom with soapy water.
What to cut
The razor-sharp blade with no sawtooth can easily slice about 50 lbs of ribeye for Jerky within 15 minutes. Besides ribeye round, it effectively slices boneless meat, pastrami, turkey, steak, brisket, cheese, veggies, and fruits. This meat slicer can handle all your slicing jobs to make your life more convenient.
Why Should You Buy This Meat Slicer?
The Bestwood meat slicer is a rock with a sharp blade, and an excellent food carriage makes slicing a breeze even for large batches. As a chef at home or restaurant, you find it a blessing to feed crispy meat jerky to your guests and customers.
What We Like
- Approved by ETL, NSF that ensures high quality
- Two stone sharpener built-in helps avoid frequently sharpening
- Multiple and adjustable slice thickness settings
- Quieter operation than the stand mixer
What We Don't Like
- Heavyweight, so less portable
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Tristan occasionally loves to eat smoked Jerky. One fine morning, he asked a guy to cut the meat for Jerky, and he said, “turkey?
No, Beef jerky, like in cowboy, is a hard snack. He cut 3 pounds of Jerky into 6 or 7 pieces that wouldn’t make Tristan happy. Sigh!
Suppose you are also a jerky lover and want to avoid this troublesome situation but have a tight budget. Our next choice Cusimax Electric Deli Meat Slicer is for you because it is easy to set up and use, slices accurately and quickly through beef roasts. Most importantly, its price is under $100 dollars.
Excellent craftsmanship
From construction materials to advanced design, all are great for chasing the laborious and time-consuming work and welcome fast paper-thin meat cuts. It has a 7.5″ stainless steel 420 slaughter sharp blade belt drive, bearing and 200-watt powerful motor.
They all work together to cut 10-20 pounds of meat within 5-7 minutes. The best part is it won’t require lubrication to keep the machine running and avoid sticking.
Easily adjustable thickness
You’ll need different thicknesses of meat slices for different recipes. Keeping in mind, the Cusimax brings this slicer with 3 meat slices adjusted from 0 mm to 15mm. The slice thickness adjustable knob is easy to rotate, and the figure number to set the size.
Effortless operation
You can operate the slicer quickly because of its sharp blade, powerful motor, and sliding platform. Keeping the brisket on the sliding plate, set the thickness, power on the slicer, and pull the meat against the blade to slice. That’s all. Do it repeatedly until you get your desired amount of meat slices to feed your guest.
Easy to clean
The food carriage is separated, while the blade and housing pan are removable by clockwise twisting. That’s why cleanup is super easy by submerging them into soapy water and scrubbing with a sponge. After scrubbing, rinse them with clean water and dry air to spark.
What to cut
There are no fixed items to slice with this best meat slicer for thin slices. You can slice everything from ham to corned beef and turkey breast. Wisconsin brick cheese, bread, vegetables, fruits, etc.
Why Should You Buy This Meat Slicer?
This slicer is a good fit for home, party, or restaurant use because of its affordable price, compact size, sharp blade, easy use and cleaning process. To satisfy your tongue with appealing meat jerky, you must grab it. Even, as its blade is removable, you can sharpen it by hand when needed.
What We Like
- Quality materials ensure sturdiness and durability
- Razor-sharp blade slice large batches of meat within 5 minutes
- Light and small enough to replace it from one place to another
- Affordable price, and friendly customer service
What We Don't Like
- A little bit loud
Throwing a Thanksgiving party and pleasing your honored guest with tasty smoky Venison jerky shows your gratitude and makes good memories. This time, you need an occasionally usable meat slicer to cut the chunk of venison effortlessly. The Elite Gourmet EMT-503B Electric Deli Meat Slicer is the gadget that suits your purpose.
Construction & design
Since it’s an occasional meat slicer, it is built in a compact design but with heavy-duty die-cast aluminum. So it is rustproof and sturdy enough to ensure durability. Apart from that, the 9.25 x 13.75 x 10.8 inches of dimension allows you to set it on one side of your kitchen countertop. Its 7.5″ large blade and 180 watts motor are heavy-duty to cut precise meat slices.
Size adjustable
As there is no fixed meat slice thickness to make delicious Jerky. So you’ll need multiple thicked meat slices. Considering your requirements, it has 3 thickness adjustments: 5mm, 10mm, and 15mm. You can easily set the size by rotating the size adjustable knob.
Easy to use
This meat slicer’s straightforward operation procedure is effortless, even for a novice cook. Placing the meat steak on the food carriage, setting slice thickness, pressing the button, and pulling the food guide against the blade, you can slice 5+ pounds of meat within 2-3 minutes.
Fast cleaning
Cleaning this slicer isn’t difficult, as the blade comes off easily. The meat stand folds back, which helps you to clean the key areas of the slicer. However, disinfectant wipes are good for cleaning the slicer’s back, bottom, and hard-reach areas and making it bacteria-free.
What to slice
Slicing bulk ham and turkey is absolutely no problem because of its high power motor. It can run for long periods with the same consistent power. So you can thinly slice 20+ lbs chunks of prosciutto for a big family meal. Cold cuts of meat, steak, brisket, semi-frozen venison, hard cheeses, vegetables, or fruits are a breeze to slice with this slicer.
Why Should You Buy This Meat Slicer?
This slicer will be an ideal pick to taste delicious deli meat jerky with no extra hassle. Construction to designate, easy use to clean, safety guard to equal thickness, stable holding to durability, all make it an all-round slicer for occasional home use.
What We Like
- Enough sharp and substantial blades for smooth slicing
- The protector is excellent and clamps well to hold your desired food
- The blade guard and compact design help easy storage
- Simple thickness adjustment up to 15mm to get your required slice
What We Don't Like
- Not a good option for commercial use
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How To Choose The Best Meat Slicer For Jerky?
Wanting to be a jerky chef like a commercial kitchen and showered with praise from family and friends is a hidden desire for jerky lovers. Having a well-operating meat slicer is key for cutting superb thin meat slices. Let’s see which features you should check to choose a meat slicer for jerky.
Determine Your Purpose
Determining your purpose is the first thing you must be aware of before choosing a meat slicer for Jerky. Otherwise, the slicer you’ll buy may slice the meat, but it won’t be as thin as you require to cook jerky. To determine your purpose, you should know
- How frequently do you cook Jerky? (Regularly, frequently, occasionally etc.)
- How thin do you want to slice your meat? (Too thin, moderate, coarse, etc.)
- How large is your kitchen countertop to set the meat slicer? (Compact, moderate, large etc.)
- Why do you want to use the meat slicer? (Home or commercial use)
- How many meat batches do you want to slice at once? (5 pounds, 10 pounds, or more)
These 5 questions and probable answers will help you to define your meat slicer buying purpose.
Craftsmanship & Durability
A meat slicer is a machine you want to use years after years. So its construction materials and durability walk hand in hand. The more heavy-duty and sturdy materials are used to build the slicer, the more durable that will be. And vice versa.
You should choose a slicer with stainless steel, aluminum, and Chromium-plated built to ensure top-notch quality and durability. Because these materials are rust and corrosion-resistant even after getting in touch with water and humidity.
Blade Size & Shape
You may think blade size is important for a meat slicer, but how blade shape is important. Yes, important. Let me explain.
As a meat slicer is a meat-cutting tool, its size and material are equally important. The right size and material of the blade play a vital role in its sharpness, longevity, and fast cutting.
Shape, in contrast, is necessary to get smooth edges of meat slices rather than shattered. So check the blade of the slicer.
Design & Dimensions
The meat slicer design includes the number of components it comes with and how they are placed. The more all the components are well positioned, the more convenient the tool will be to operate, even for a newbie. For example
Easily reach and press the on/off power button, easy and fast pulling food guide or carriage, rubber suction cups attached feet etc. They help you comfortably cut the meat slices without the hassle of ensuring the machine wobbles.
The dimension of the slicer is important for three reasons; how much space it requires to put on your kitchen countertop and store, what its weight is, and how portable that will be.
Motor & Its watt
Since most of the meat slicers are powered by electricity, they come with a motor that will determine how fast the blade will rotate and how fast you cut the meat slices.
Generally, the motor’s horsepower and electricity consumption are measured by its watts. The more watts the motor will be, the more horsepower and torque it generates for faster meat slicing.
The 130-150 watts motor is alright to use 2-3 hours a day to slice meat. In comparison, the 220-240 watts motor will be perfect for 4-6 hours a day. You can choose a light-duty motor for home use and a heavy-duty motor for commercial kitchens.
Safety Assurance
A blade safety housing pan is important to hide the sharp blade to avoid cutting your hand. The inside set on/off the slicer’s power switch helps prevent power shock, as the kids and pets won’t easily reach it.
The rubber yet strong suction cups on the bottom of the unit keep the machine stable on your concrete kitchen counter while running the engine. That’s why it won’t wobble or slip due to vibration. You must check all these multiple angles of safety features combination to ensure your utmost safety.
Multiple Thickness Adjustability & Versatility
Meat slice thickness adjustability and versatility are other must-have features in a meat slicer. There is no fixed thickness of meat slices to cook jerky. The jerky meat slicer thickness depends on your choice, but most people love to cut 6 – 14 mm thick. So, you should check the easy thickness adjustability of the meat slicer.
However, slicing hard cheese, veggies, and fruits is a plus to tasting delicious sandwiches, burgers, and many other dishes. So you should choose a versatile meat slicer.
Flawless Cleaning
Besides having healthy and tasty food, maintaining hygiene is a must to lead a fit and fine life. So each time you use the meat slicer, you should clean it. However, most chefs won’t love cleaning. But it’s mandatory.
The slicer with easily removable components is the best for hassle-free cleaning. If the fat and grease of the meat won’t stick with the slicer is a plus. Before choosing a meat slicer for Jerky, you must consider fast and effortless cleaning.
FAQs
How thick to slice meat for Jerky?
Meat slice thickness depends on your preference and style. For the most authentic texture, you’ll need paper-thin meat slices. At the same time, coarse thickness is alright for smoky and chewy Jerky. However, you can cut the slices against the grain 6,8,10,12, or 14 mm thick.
Can I use a meat slicer for Jerky?
Yes, you can use a meat slicer for Jerky as it meets all the purposes that you want to cut Jerky meat slices. Consistent paper thin and equal slice thickness are the prime features of using the meat slicer for Jerky.
Thin Jerky Slices Will Be Savory & Chewy
Efficient jerky chefs think about meat slices as it is important to marinate and cook. They will be careful from the very beginning of the recipe. The meat’s quality, slice, and ingredients correlate with serving the purpose.
So, choose fresh meat, perfect cut and thin slices for jerky.
Though now you know the best meat slicer for Jerky, still confused. You can choose Ostba Electric Deli Meat Slicer for quality, safety, Versatility, and home use.
But if you love a manual meat slicer, go with Weston Manual Jerky Slicer as it works with a little elbow grease but offers many meat stripes at once.
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