Most of the time in the kitchen, you tend to use a few knives for every task, which can explain why some tasks like cutting meat can be tiresome. Or the results may not make for the best presentation. It is vital that your kitchen has the right knives for cutting meat. Here is a guide on finding the best knife for cutting meat.
What to Consider When Choosing a Meat cutting knife
Weight
Weight often comes down to personal preference. To some, the best knife for cutting meat should be heavy to make use of gravity in cutting the meat. To others, a lighter blade allows for easy maneuvering and directing while cutting meat. The recommended approach is to buy a knife that feels comfortable in your hand for the best results.
Size
With size, you have to consider the task you are performing and how the knife fits in your hand. Larger chunks of meat will need longer blade sizes, while shorter blades work for pairing tasks with small-sized food items.
Blade design
Different blade designs serve different purposes when cutting meat. Common blade options include;
- Plain edge blades: they are the most common kind of blades in the kitchen. They deliver clean slices on thick and soft meats without fraying them.
- Serrated edge blades: they have jagged edges almost resembling a saw’s blade. These knives are best for cutting through thick and hard meat.
- Hollow edge blades: these knives feature a design with indentations above the edge of the blade. This design helps achieve a cleaner cut and prevents food from sticking to the blade when it is being cut. It is perfect for achieving thin slices of meat.
- Granton blades: Granton blades have scallops that create air spaces between the meat you are cutting and the blade. This feature helps prevent ripping or tearing of the meat as you cut.
Handle: knife handles can be made from plastic, wood, and steel. Each has its strong points. For example, wood can be attractive looking, but they are also harder to care for. On the other hand, plastic handles are prone to splitting and are slippery, especially when cutting meats. Stainless steel handles are the most sanitary and also easier to maintain and durable. However, they can also be heavy and slippery while wet.
What knives do professional butchers use?
Traditional butcher knife
It is an all-around knife that functions well, whether for trimming, skinning, or even slicing meat. It is easily the one knife you should have in the kitchen as it has excellent utility properties. It features a wide blade with a curved tip. The blade is usually 7 to 8 inches long.
Boning knife
This knife serves the function of getting smooth cuts around a bone. Its blade can be straight or curved, flexible or stiff, depending on the function. A semi-flexible knife is the best for cutting meat around bones. Curved end blades are excellent for trimming and slicing. The boning knife can serve other functions like skinning for sheep and goats or slicing for loins. It can also be used for breaking leg joints and a trimming knife to take away the hide.
Skinning knife
As the name suggests, this knife serves only one function of removing the skin from animals and has a curved blade to allow full motion. The blades are wide and usually 6 inches long. You can also use a skinning knife to remove cheek meat. If the animals being sinned are small, like lambs, the knife is slightly less curved at the tip.
Cimeter knife
The cimeter or scimitar serves to trim, break down, and slice cuts. The scimitar is quite heavy and wide compared to a breaking knife. Its wide blade helps keep the cut piece compact while achieving uniform slices. It is a common meat cutting knife at beef processing plants where it helps trim the fat and cut bigger chunks into smaller ones.
Breaking Knife
The breaking knife is what you buy when you want to be cut down a carcass. It has a long-curved blade that cuts through a carcass. This design offers the knife a full range of motion which allows it to achieve clean cuts. It is one of the knives you want in your kitchen since it can handle most tasks of cutting meat.
Cleaver
This knife is best designed to handle meat cutting tasks that require heavy repeated blows to slice or break down the meat. It is similar to the traditional butcher's knife, only having a tinner but wider blade, and it is also lighter. The best cleaver should have a tough edge so that it can handle the constant blows in bones and dense cartilage. It makes cutting through thin sinews and bones an easy task.
Steak knife
Steak knives come with three different types of blades; serrated, straight, and hollow. The steak knife with a sharp serrated edge is the most common in most kitchens. It helps in cutting steaks without messing with the fibers, and it can also handle cutting bones.
Best knife for cutting meat
Wusthof Classic Series Steak Knife 12cm
With its extra sharp long edge, the Wusthof Classic Series Steak Knife should be present if you do not want torn fibers. It is the best knife for cutting meat both for professional chefs and home cooking specialists. The sharpness is easy to maintain, while the alloyed steel gives it the strength and sturdiness for repeated use without damage. The ergonomic and hygienic handle tops up an all-around user-friendly design.
ZWILLING J.A. Henckels Four Star Boning Knife 14cm
This knife is one of the bestselling Zwilling Series globally. Its narrow blade profile and pointy end, along with its ergonomic design, make this a precision tool for your kitchen. It is the best option for removing bones of meat, poultry, and even fish. It features cutting-edge technology that makes it corrosion-resistant and highly durable. It also retains its sharpness for longer, even with repeated use.
F DICK ErgoGrip Butcher's Knife 26cm
For the traditional purpose of cutting meat, nothing beats the butcher’s knife. With that being the case, then the F DICK ErgoGrip Butcher's Knife 26cm is the best knife for cutting meat that should not miss in your kitchen. As the name suggests, the knife focuses on your safety and comfort as well as its functionality. The blade is laser-tested to deliver an accurate, cutting-edge design, while the handle comes with a non-slip handle with a finger guard.
Furi Pro Heavy-Weight Cleaver 16.5cm
The Furi Pro Heavy-Weight Cleaver is how you add a touch of professionalism to the heavy tasks of cutting meat in the kitchen. It is the best knife for cutting meat where you need to add strength to precision. Its heavy nature makes cutting through sinews and tough joints a breeze, while the reverse wedge handle provides you comfort as you do it. Further, the blade, which is the best proof of Japanese precision engineering, ensures clean and precise cuts.
What kind of knife do you need to cut brisket?
When it comes to cutting brisket, you need a more specialized knife. There several reasons for this requirement when dealing with brisket. First, the brisket is an expensive and large piece of meat. To do justice to the 16 hours of cooking, you want your presentation to deliver the wow factor fitting such quality meat with perfect slices.
Next, you want a good long blade to get the long thin slices that brisket is served in. An excellent long blade prevents much of the back and forth, which can cause tearing and make the slices ragged. Finally, you want a sharp and sturdy blade that will cut through the fibrous and muscular tissue with ease without placing much strain on your hands.
What makes a brisket knife?
A brisket knife is a highly specialized knife; fortunately, a few things go into making it to the best brisket knife. Here is what they are;
- Type of blade: knives with Granton blades are the best, followed by scalloped blades and then sharp straight blades. Avoid serrated blades where possible.
- Sharpness: it should be as sharp as possible to cut uniform slices and use minimum effort.
- Weight: it should be uniformly balanced for consistent and smoother cuts.
- Length: a longer blade allows you to maintain the knife in one groove while making several passes. This aspect reduces tearing and uneven slices along with off-center cuts. Buy knives with blades measuring 14 to 16 inches long.
How often do you need to sharpen a knife for cutting meat?
Depending on your knife maintenance and regular use, professional chefs recommend sharpening the meat knife once every three months. In between, you can keep your knife's edge by honing it periodically. The best and safest way to tell if your knife is sharp enough for cutting meat is to try and chop a magazine or newspaper with it. The best knife for cutting meat should be sharp enough that it should cut through the paper without using much force.
If you are looking to buy the best knife for cutting meat, you need a place you can shop for different options from the leading brands in the world. House of Knives is your one-stop place for all your kitchen knife needs and the accompanying accessories. Visit us today and enjoy a seamless shopping experience.
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