Help needed : Slicing meat

[uberathlete]

Hi everyone. I have a little dilemma. I plan on buying a whole ribeye, aka the vacuum type ones that can be bought at a wholesale store for relatively cheap. But I would like to have it cut to slices of a uniform thickness. I don't have a meat slicer, so does anyone know where or how I can get this done? Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated.

[scubadoo97]

Is this a boneless whole ribeye like a standing rib roast? If yes then a very sharp long knife is in order. You want to minimize a sawing cut. Doubt you get get it in one pull but the less the better. Even if it's a two inch thick steak you want to portion, you should be able to eye it and cut straight if careful

[samthechef]

As far as cutting your own steaks from a "primal" cut, you've picked the easiest one to start with. There's nothing fancy or tricky about this.The techinique is straight-forward and requires nothing other than a large sharp knife, preferably a carving or slicing knife, but a 9" Chef's knife will do. I assume you're purchasing the entire 7 rib piece (known as a "109" to professionals bone in, "112" when bones are removed).Assuming you want to keep the bones on (added floavor and great look on a plate) your need only decide if you want giant steaks as for a French "cote de boeuf" which serves two, or more managable single steaks. Make little marks with the heel of your knife to remind you where you're cutting. Either way, Just cut straight down perpendicular to your cutting surface as though you were slicing a loaf of bread. Avoid a "sawing" motion and you'll be fine. If you're cutting the smaller steaks, first remove the end piece, and then alternate bone in, bone out. You should end up with 15 nice steaks. Trim the tail individually, though after you've done this a few times you'll be more familiar with the tapering of the meat and will be able to trim it whole. Good job on doing this yourself, you'll save about 20% AND have all sorts of groovy trim to grind or stew with!

[wolfe]

And measure twice, cut once.;-)

[ipsedixit]

Chill it in the freezer for about 1 hour (or half hour). It'll slice easier when it's partially frozen.

[scubadoo97]

Partial frozen will help it stay stable while cutting

[chunkeymonkey]

May I ask how thick do you plan on slicing it?

[uberathlete]

hmm .. not too thick, probably half an inch or slightly less.

[hotoynoodle]

1/2 inch is going to cook down to nothing! curious as to why you want it so thin?