My Maken Bacon drew me to requiring a curing fridge. After smoking the slabs they needed to rest and dry age in a refrigerated environment. That requires open air. Open air in a home (HER) refrigerator could make things like veggies and such to take on a smokey air.
So Dave sent me a picture of what he uses to avoid cross contamination. a 4.4 Cu Ft mini fridge. I'd been mulling over a mini fridge for my "outdoor kitchen", and how it could elevate my MES 30 to a more comfortable working height, and a place to store my 'clutter' in the house fridge, and... you get the idea.
So I looked online, and looked online at my dogs favorite store, Lowe's. They had a 4.3 Cu Ft Whirlpool Mini Fridge with a Black Stainless steel face on sale through that day only at 40% off. So what could I do?
The wife was in Hawaii visiting relatives there, and the sale would be over long before she came back. So I went and got one. :oops: I'm shameless Uncle Goldie. :p
I set it up, put the MES on top, and got it chillin like a villain. And soon transferred my wonderful BACON slabs into it for a ~5 day rest. Not cross contamination smells in the house fridge. Peace in the Valley.
I told Dave I needed to make some Jerky, and get a horse blanket to keep me warm when I got banned to the doghouse.
Dave being the great Friend he is said to blame it on him. But I can't do that. He didn't twist my arm, just showed me what he uses.
Since there was a LOT of extra room in the new fridge, I felt obligated to put something in there to help balance the cycling of it. So a 30 pack of PBR's helped to clear my conscience of wasted space. And some containers of Nuts, and Jars of Al's Pickles migrated from the house fridge to my new curing fridge.
So what has this got to do with thin shaved roast beasts?
There comes a point where a want becomes a need, and the need becomes a paramount requirement. It is my belief you are at the Paramount Requirement Point of a slicer procurement. Especially if your efforts are going to be absconded with at such a high rate. You require equipment to help you meet the "shrinkage" of your efforts.
You have a Paramount Requirement for a Slicer beyond your fine cutlery to meet the shrinkage rate being supported there. Simply stated, you need to produce more, in order to get any.
Right? Right!
I recently realized I had a need beyond slicing consistently for making Jerky. I was embarking on Maken Bacon as well.
So I looked here, where the experienced peers dwell and to the collective experiences. I decided on a Chef's Choice 615, which arrived as a 615A. It's been a good work horse, cuts pork loin directly from the freezer, and never complains. But, there's always a Butt, I can't help but wonder if I shouldn't have gotten a bigger one.
One with a blade guard so the piece being cut from didn't ride up the turning blade after exiting the cutting field. Probably
exacerbated by Operator Error. But the problem would not be a problem with shielded blade center.
See HERE a page of many types of slicers. See the open faced blades, but scroll down a smidgen and see the covered faced blades, 10-12". I would recommend those.
I'm set with my Chef's Choice, or stuck as it were. My wife saw the statement and said, "What did you spend $150 on?"
"A Slicer."
"You spent $150 on a slicer???"
"Yes. It was what I wanted."
Don't be that guy Uncle Goldie. Choose well. But honestly, do you really NEED a
Biserba GSP-HD? Naw, not really.
But, in my opinion, your need for a slicer is Paramount. I will pay forward what Dave took on the chin.
Tell her, "Sonny MADE me do it!" (And you can get FREE shipping on Ebray. But I'd buy new if I was doing it.)
