Your meat slicer is likely an integral part of your restaurant business. People use meat slicers in numerous ways and in many types of restaurants and food establishments. From elaborate Tex-Mex restaurants to your local deli, you can expect one to be there as a central tool. Below, we’ll go through a few meat slicer care tips and discuss the value of scheduled maintenance.

What Is a Meat Slicer?

A meat slicer is an apparatus, also called a “deli slicer” or “slicing machine,” that is traditionally used in butcher shops and delis to slice meats and sausages. But it can cut more than meat, even though that’s its namesake. It can also slice vegetables and even cheese.

A meat slicer typically comes with several functions. While it can produce uniform portions, it’s also useful for setting slice thickness. Given the popularity and ubiquity of meat slicers worldwide, knowing how and why you should maintain them is important.

Why It’s Important to Maintain Them

Slicers are used for a wide array of foods in various settings. You want everything to work without a hitch when you have a line around the block in your deli. Not to mention, if you don’t regularly clean and sanitize your meat slicer, it can become a cesspool of bacteria. This can make your customers sick and give them food poisoning. If you’ve ever gotten food poisoning from a restaurant, you were likely wary of going back. Scheduled maintenance is vital to avoid problems like food poisoning. Now, let’s go over some meat slicer care tips.

Trouble Shooting Problem Areas

Many parts of the meat slicer can cause problems when you’re trying to maintain it. First, you must monitor the blade guard, slicer handle, and ring guard. Any of these can develop issues. They might be out of place or have cracks or missing components. The first thing you need to do is inspect these parts.

Cracks can cause a misalignment in the blade, which can cut you if you turn it on. Food particles often accumulate inside blade guards and ring guard mounts and under your slicer handle. Inspect the seals, seams, and gaskets on your machine. If they’ve worn away, it might be time for a replacement. Never use a slicer with broken, unattached, missing, or defective seams, seals, and gaskets. Repair or replace parts if necessary.

You may balk at replacing your meat slicer, especially if it’s newer and your deli or restaurant depends on it. Since this is likely the case, buy a backup and put it elsewhere, or go out and buy a new one immediately. Regardless, it’s best to be prepared for situations like this.

When’s the Best Time To Clean It?

The best time to clean is every time you switch between produce, cheeses, or meats. This can be dozens or even hundreds of times a day because you don’t want oils and food particles to become stuck in your machine. Machines like this can easily harbor dangerous bacteria, so the general rule is that you can never clean your meat slicer too often, just like you can never wash your hands too many times while cooking.

Tips and Supplies

You’ll need several supplies before you begin maintenance on your meat slicer. This first is a no-brainer: cut-resistant gloves. You want to ensure your hands are safe if the meat slicer turns on by accident—you might accidentally twist a handle or press a button. You’ll likely also need a dishwasher, which you should have if you’re a restaurant, and a soft sponge.

Ensure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions; keep it handy when you get your machine. Don’t use steel wool to clean your slicer. If you do, you might accidentally scratch the machine. You can easily disassemble a meat slicer and put it in the dishwasher. Other parts might cause you to electrocute yourself, so be careful and always refer to the manual that came with your machine.

The Cleaning Process

There are a few steps to the cleaning process that we’ll go over here:

• First, prepare your scrub pad, and set your machine’s thickness to zero. Using the pad, put the slicer in motion (don’t forget your gloves) and wipe down both sides. Wiping your slicer down should get rid of any large food particles that are stuck to the blade. After that, turn off your slicer and unplug it.
• Second, ensure that the gauge plate is in a closed condition. Also, ensure that the sharpening stone is off-kilter. After that, begin disassembly. Take away the center plate, product tray, and slice deflector. Rinse, wash, and sanitize these parts after air drying them.
• Either remove the blade or keep it in place. If you decide to leave it in place, ensure you clean it everywhere. Make a solution with a 1:1 ratio of soap and hot water. You can also degrease it and then clean it. This is a great idea since there are bound to be some meat products that pass through the oily machine. Clean the back and front of the blade by wiping outward from the center.
• Next, wipe the exterior down and all the remaining pieces you disassembled in the previous step with a clean towel and hot water.
• Finally, there are some excellent meat slicer sanitizing sprays on the market. Use a spray bottle and allow the machine to air dry after coating it with the spray.
• Finally, use a spray lubricant to lubricate the side rods. Once everything is dry, replace everything and start slicing again!

Meat Slicer Maintenance

We already gave an extensive tutorial on cleaning your meat slicer blade, but you should also use a sharpening stone for the blade. It dulls easily with regular use. Dissemble the blade and sharpen it after you clean it of any particles. Make sure you also disinfect your blade after you sharpen it. Have it serviced often and follow the instructions in the manufacturer’s manual. If you do these things, your meat slicer will be in tip-top shape!

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