SLICING MEAT
AND POULTRY
Cooked meat and poultry:
The food must be very cold. If possible, use a piece of food just large enough to fit in the feed tube. To make julienne strips of ham, bologna or luncheon meat, stack slices, then roll or fold them double and stand upright in the feed tube, wedging in as many rolls as possible. This technique works better with square or rectangular pieces than with round ones.
Uncooked meat and poultry:
Cut the food into pieces to fit the feed tube. Boneless, skinned chicken breasts will usually fit when cut in half crosswise. Wrap the pieces in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. They
are ready to slice when they are easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, although
Frankfurters, salami and other sausages:
If the sausage is soft, freeze it until hard to the touch but easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Hard sausages need not be frozen. Use the small feed tube if the sausage is thin enough to fit. Otherwise, cut the sausage into pieces to fill the large feed tube completely. Stand the pieces vertically, packing them tightly so they cannot
tilt sideways.
Firm cheese like Swiss and Cheddar:
Cut the cheese into pieces to fit the feed tube. Put it in the freezer until
IMPORTANT: You can successfully shred most cheeses except soft ones. The exception is mozzarella, which shreds well if thoroughly chilled. Hard cheeses like Parmesan shred well only at room temperature. Therefore, only attempt
to slice or shred mozzarella when well chilled, and Parmesan when at
room temperature.
SLICING AND SHREDDING CHEESE
TYPE OF CHEESE | CHOP | SHRED | SLICE |
Soft | yes | no | no |
Brie, Camembert |
|
|
|
Mozzarella (chilled |
| yes |
|
Ricotta |
| no |
|
Cottage, Cream |
| no |
|
| yes | yes | no |
Blue | chill |
|
|
Fontina |
|
|
|
Liederkranz | chill |
|
|
Bel Paese | chill |
|
|
| yes | yes | yes |
Cheddar | chill | chill |
|
Monterey Jack, Longhorn | chill | chill |
|
Swiss, Jarlsberg | chill | chill |
|
Edam, Gouda | chill | chill |
|
Provolone | chill | chill |
|
Hard | yes | yes | no |
Parmesan, Romano | room |
|
|
Pecorino, Sapsago, Asiago | temp. |
|
|
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