Slicer Number?

[ddave]

Picked up a 4 pound hunk of top round at Safeway this week and had it sliced for jerky. The lady asked me "How thick?" and I told her about 1/4". She asked me if I knew "what number" that was I told her no.

Now when I did this a couple of months ago, same story but the slices came out pretty well. Not this time. The slices were so thin, most of them would not even hold together. Lots of shreds and little pieces with maybe 3 or 4 decent slices that you can't see through. I trimmed it up and tried to make the best of it. Going to be a lot of little pieces. Apparently, I need to learn something about slicers.

So my questions to you experienced slicer operators are . . . Are the numbers standard? Is there a number I should be telling them for about 1/4" to 3/8"? Actually I like my jerky a little on the thick side.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Dave

 

[pops6927]

Unfortunately it varies by make of slicer; a no. 4 on a Hobart can be vastly different on a Berkel.

 

[pops6927]

Best thing to do is to ask for a sample slice; inspect it and add or subtract from there to the right thickness for you and ask him or her what the number is and the make of the slicer it's on. Many times in a market there are two or three different slicers, each with their own scale, so if you get a product sliced on one it won't be consistent with another further down the meatcase. Even with the same make it can vary; we used to have two Hobart manual slicers and one automatic; the same number on each was a different thickness; they were manufactured in different years with different standards (we sliced over 400 lbs. of bacon, either with or without the rind, every week for customers, plus cold cuts, cheese, and on the automatic slicer, more than 50 lbs. of dried beef a week, plus untold amounts for custom customers (farmers bringing their hogs and beef in for processing, cutting, and smoking)).

 

[pignit]

That's why I got my own slicer. I never got it the way I wanted it.

 

[mossymo]

Slicers are alot like women, can not get the same "slice" out of each of them. Just have to try each one out and figure out what size of meat they put out for..... I worded this correctly didn't I?

 

[minn.bill]

Somthing like that mossy

anyway a 1/4 '' is a 1/4'' any way you look at it.I think i would of told her to try again.

 

[ddave]

Thanks. I'll definitely have to do that next time.



Dave

 

[13spicerub]

i worked in a deli for 3 years. the numbers mean nothing. each slicer is different. the knob can be taken off and put on arbitrarily at any point. i've had ones where the dial went beyond 0 when it was closed or ones that were between 0 and 1 when not closed. if the butcher/clerk asks you what number on the slicer when you tell them a measurement wait til their shift is over or find a new butcher