Slicing and Dicing with Precision: Best Meat Saws for Every Butcher Shop
January 30, 2024
A meat saw is a device that helps to create or divide small pieces of an animal’s body, like:
- Steaks
- Chops
- Ribs
- And Roasts…
One of the advantages of a meat saw is its ability to cut through bones, cartilage and tendons which makes it very efficient for use in processing larger animals like cattle, pigs or sheep.
A meat saw is something you will regularly see when searching for slaughterhouse equipment for sale. It can be used to enhance the efficiency, quality, and safety of the process while reducing the wastage of human resources such as labour hours.
In this guide, we will cover some of the key factors to consider when choosing a meat saw for your slaughterhouse.
The final decision by those in the know is made predominantly on:
- Class
- Production Level,
- Slaughterhouse Capacity,
- Livestock Size
- Market and Consumer Requirements / Preferences
Various meat saws will do various activities, like:
- Cutting
- Slicing
- And Sometimes Dicing
Types of Meat Saws
Understanding the various categories of meat saws that are appropriate for your slaughterhouse is the starting point for ordering a good processing tool.
NOTE – Meat saws can be manual and electric.
Both categories have pros and cons in the form of type or quality of the meat condition, amount, and the degree to which you need cut off, along with time that needs to be spent on processing.
Manual Saws
They are meat saws that make you have to move the blade manually across the meat. There’s an art to understanding when to apply pressure at the perfect angle.
On the pro side, they will tend to be cheaper and simpler than their electric counterparts and will generally give the user complete control over the process, which if you have an experienced crew then is a huge plus.
They can provide you with greater control and accuracy during the cutting process. Nevertheless, manual saws are less efficient than electric ones and take much more time to make a cut, not to mention that uniformity can be compromised.
Manual saws can include items such as:
Hand Saws
The simplest and most popular variety of manual meat saws used in butcheries is a hand saw, which includes a metal blade with set teeth as well as a wooden or plastic handle.
In the case of infrequent slicing operations or when you are only cutting on a scale too small to invest much cash, hand saws will help as they can slice via any category and amount of meat required while allowing ease of use.
The types and sizes of blades used in hand saws can also differ; for example, some butchers’ butcher files have bone or hacksaws depending on the level one wants to cut.
When using a hand saw, you grip the handle firmly and slide the blade across to-and-fro as it cuts through meat, maintaining constant pressure.
Band Saws
Band saws also represent a type of manual meat saw but are more advanced and help cut specialty products. In situations where it is done often, band saws are better since they can cut large portions that have thickness in them – which will not be achieved by cleavers.
To operate a band saw, ensure you place the meat on a table or platform and be sure to move it against the band, you must stick to the cutting line, if so, you’ll have continuous uniform cuts of meat; and at SPEED!
Electric Saws
These are meat cutters powered by electricity arranged with a motor for accurate pressing and bearing proportional tension.
Electrical saws are generally costlier and bigger in size than the normal manual ones. However, they offer greater convenience, economy of speed and scale, and are easier to uniform quality cuts using inexperienced workers.
These types of saws can differ in blade types and features, and the motor they are equipped with as well as controls, so you need to choose carefully what suits what output you need.
Electric saws can include items such as:
Reciprocating Saws
These saws contain electric meat-cutting tools that have a motor that moves the blade up and down really quickly, causing it to cut through bone.
Reciprocating saws have variable depths that can be set to penetrate and cut to your desired size. Also, speed is adjusted to obtain meat cut equally in size and speed to enable your output to stay steady and not erratic.
However, cutters for reciprocating saws can vary in type and size, be they straight or curved with a tapered end, which depends on the pattern of cutting that you have been tasked with supplying.
Using the saw is simple, though; you only need to grip its handle, trigger it, and guide the blade along the meat following the appropriate cutting line.
Circular Saws
Circular saws are electric meat saws that operate by rotating circular blades with teeth and are, of course, driven by an electric motor.
Circular saws are the most effective, and these are designed to be used for large portions of meats, whereby they can handle thick cuts that are ordered with a clean finish.
Depending on the texture and quality of the meat, circular saws can come with fine or coarse blades as well as segmented blades.
Slicing and dicing to perfection is one of the most important yet difficult tasks for each slaughterhouse.
Meat product processing can be measured in terms of:
- Quality
- Production
- Quantity or Yield
- Including, Financial Profitability…
Specific equipment is necessary for cutting meat into small portions, which are called steaks, chops’ ribs’, and roasts; this process is also known as slicing or dicing to perfection.
SUMMARY
Meat saws can increase the efficiency, safety, and hygiene in meat processing through labour time and waste reduction, as well as help industries meet food standards with regard to regulations. Meat saws have different uses and can be used for cutting, slicing, or dicing. The determining factors to take into account when selecting them are the pros and cons for your business. So when you are searching for slaughterhouse equipment for sale, hopefully, this guide will have put you on the first couple of rungs of the ladder to understand not every tool does the same job, so be sure to do your research. Good Luck!.