Slicer Help - What am I doing wrong?

kevin13 · Jan 2, 2012

I purchased a Cabela's Pro Slicer about a month ago and just finally got to use it on the bacon I just cold smoked. The issue that I'm having is that the blade isn't slicing all the way through the height of the meat and I'm left with a flap so to speak. The bacon was in the freezer for alitle over an hour prior to slicing so it was pretty firm.

The slicer has a 7.7" blade so I'm pretty sure it should be able to slicer bacon that is about a 1" or so tall.

What am I doing wrong here?

SmokinAl · Jan 2, 2012

I've had that happen too, just cut the flap off & start over.

big casino · Jan 2, 2012

are you trying to slice faster that the slicer can cut?

have you tried it meat side down?

is there a way to raise the carriage of the slicer?

it seems like the carriage of the slicer is to low, or the blade is too high.

Just some thoughts I have never seen that happen except if the meat was a little warm the blade wwould force down the meat so it wouldnt trim through it the the whole way

kevin13 · Jan 2, 2012

SmokinAl said:
I've had that happen too, just cut the flap off & start over.

That's what I've been doing but it seems like I'm wasting some meat......not much, but some. Plus it decreases the size of my bacon pieces. I bought this slicer to use for bacon, brisket, etc. and want to make sure it's not a limitation of the slicer, but maybe the fact that I'm slicing raw meat. If it's the slicer, I can still take it back with no questions asked.

kevin13 · Jan 2, 2012

Big Casino said:
are you trying to slice faster that the slicer can cut?
have you tried it meat side down?
is there a way to raise the carriage of the slicer?
it seems like the carriage of the slicer is to low, or the blade is too high.

Just some thoughts I have never seen that happen except if the meat was a little warm the blade wwould force down the meat so it wouldnt trim through it the the whole way

If I'm running the meat too fast, the slicer isn't complaining at all. No idea if I can raise the carriage, I'll have to take a look.

Edit: Can't adjust the carriage

big casino · Jan 2, 2012

Yeah I have an elcheapo rival slicer, when I was slicing my bacon I did have a little flap now and then, but not like what your was doing, I dry cured my bacon, so it might be a little bit stiffer than yours, but I was watching the slice and if I went too fast with it I could see the blade push the meat down as I was slicing, the thinner side of the slab did it even more, and no the slicer seemed as tho it was chugging right along and didn't bog down either

chef jimmyj · Jan 2, 2012

I have never used a slicer with that small a blade but I have heard a lot of people complain that any Blade less that 9 or 10 inches will have a problem with a Full width slab of Bacon...Try cutting it in half and make shorter slices, they will fit on BLT's and Burgers better anyway...JJ

bmudd14474 · Jan 2, 2012

freeze it then slice.

doctord1955 · Jan 2, 2012

Adjust your meat carriage closer to your slicer blade! Will take care of the problem

kevin13 · Jan 2, 2012

Chef JimmyJ said:
I have never used a slicer with that small a blade but I have heard a lot of people complain that any Blade less that 9 or 10 inches will have a problem with a Full width slab of Bacon...Try cutting it in half and make shorter slices, they will fit on BLT's and Burgers better anyway...JJ

That's not the issue JJ. The slab has been cut to fit in the carriage tray of the slicer.

doctord1955 said:
Adjust your meat carriage closer to your slicer blade! Will take care of the problem

I was just about to type that there isn't any adjustment on the carriage and then I got up and took a look. Two bolts are in a slotted groove which should allow me to adjust and close the gap. Once I get this cleaned, I'll do just that.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help.

scarbelly · Jan 2, 2012

With a smaller slicer you have to make sure the meat is very cold or even partly frozen. This will get you good clean slices

michael ark · Jan 2, 2012

X2

bmudd14474 said:
freeze it then slice.

sausageboy · Jan 2, 2012

Yup, extra cold meat, and flip the slab every 5-6 slices.

I have an old 6.5 inch Rival hand turned slicer and don't have any problems getting perfect slices.

tjohnson · Jan 2, 2012

I learned the same way

Cold meat or almost frozen works best for hand slicing or using an electric slicer

TJ

subotai · Jan 3, 2012

Why use a slicer when it can be done by hand! This is a shot of a beef brisket sliced by hand...granted bacon would be a little more difficult but as long as you cool the meat like others have suggested it should be firm enough to get some really nice thin slices. (plus everything tastes better when its done by hand

!

danleigh · Jan 14, 2012

I have that same slicer and it will do that on all meats. Return it and get the better one. I wish I did that.

alelover · Jan 14, 2012

Try freezing the bacon almost solid then try it. With the high fat content it will still be slicable.

Slicer Help - What am I doing wrong?

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