The Best Meat Slicers

Food & Wine put 10 home slicers through pounds of ham, cheese and sourdough, checked the slices with calipers, and named the Beswood 10-Inch Premium its Best Overall. Its testers found the slicing consistent on all three foods and the thickness dial accurate to the millimeter. They also called the aluminum and steel body well-made and sturdy. The two budget names most shoppers see first did not survive the same test: the Meat! 7.5-inch left ragged, broken slices, and the Cuisinart FS-75's blade popped off.

The blade explains most of the gap between the Beswood and cheaper machines. It is 10 inches across and smooth rather than serrated, made of chromium-plated carbon steel, and a two-stone sharpener on top keeps the edge. A 240-watt motor drives it through whole loaves and roasts that a 7.5-inch unit cannot fit. Smoked BBQ Source picked it as its best commercial-grade slicer and says it rivals commercial machines that cost thousands.

Food & Wine liked the small touches too. A splash guard ships for roast beef, and a plastic guide steadies soft bread. The KWS 320W sells for about the same money and cut even thinner slices in that test, but its motor bogged down on thick cheese. The Beswood was the machine that did everything well, which is why Food & Wine judged it right for any volume a home cook needs.

The Weston Electric Meat Cutting Machine is the only slicer in our research that two separate test kitchens recommended. Good Housekeeping's Kitchen Appliances Lab named it Best Value after running roasted turkey, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce and sourdough through it. Tomato is the hard test, because thin cuts usually crush the fruit, and the Weston gave thin, even slices without crushing. Food & Wine, working through 10 machines, picked it as the best slicer for beginners.

Its 9-inch serrated blade is larger than the 7.5-inch blades common at this price, and a 200-watt belt-driven motor turns it. At 12.5 pounds, it is light enough to live in a cabinet, and suction feet keep it from walking across the counter. Cleanup is simple. A coin unlocks the blade so it lifts straight out, and the food tray tilts up so you can reach the scraps underneath.

Weston lists it at $152.99, against $358 for the Beswood. For weekly sandwiches, sliced tomatoes and the occasional roast, that gap buys very little you would notice.