Are you the type of person who cannot do for a week without a perfectly prepared roast, meat stew or even fry? You need to invest in the best meat cleavers. This kitchen tool will be the answer to you having a smiling face throughout the day at work.
As you look forward to knowing what an Excellent meat cleaver looks like, you may be interested in knowing what this article reveals. Today, I want to address a few yet important things about QUALITY meat cleaver.
If you study the whole article will come to know the meaning of meat cleaver, use of meat cleaver, Cleaning information of meat cleaver, 8 meat cleaver reviews, and a complete buying guide.
What Is a Meat Cleaver?
A Good meat cleaver delivers their perfect cutting power when they possess razor-sharp precision for successfully wielding as compared to blunt ones, which would require the excess application of energy and strength to pierce through bones.
A meat cleaver is a kitchen tool that was majorly designed to perfectly hew through bones and singly chop well-spaced and shaped cuts. Meat cleavers are the best kitchen tools when it comes to chopping off thin bones and hacking through ribs.
There is no perfect choice that one can make, then owing a meat cleaver. Its size and heft make this kitchen tool ideal for tasks that would wear out your chef’s knife.
A quality cleaver awards you the privilege to squash and slice big chicken and meat pieces with less hustle. Quality meat cleavers come in handy with good performance and are determined by a host of factors depending on comfortability when using them.
Light cleavers with a flat design prove to be well-balanced and require less power in bisecting of different items as compared to other designs.
Step-By-Step Guide on How to Use a Meat Cleaver
While a meat cleaver might seem to be a small kitchen tool, it appears not all people know how to use it. For this reason, you need to know how to use a meat cleaver.
Set Up The Cutting Board
As many would say, you don’t really need a butcher’s block but a hard, steady, clean, and easy-to-use board. Most meat cleavers have a thin but heavy blade. With a hardboard in place, chopping meat is as easy as a, b, c.
The placement of the chopping board is also important. In this case, your board should be placed in a solid ground to avoid sliding thus cause an accident.
Plan The Attack Angle
The best angle in which to use your meat cleaver is normally dictated by the kind of meat you’re planning to slice. Different meats and vegetable sizes will require different good angles to make nice cuts. Achieving the best angle to attack the meat isn’t always easy but you can attain it.
With the hustle to attain the best slices, one may be tempted to use a chef’s knife. I wouldn’t advise you to do this. As you know, with practice, you’ll soon attain in using a quality meat cleaver.
If you want to cut large pieces of a full chicken, it’d require you to use the meat cleaver the same way you’d use the chef’s knife. Employing a rocking knife motion with a powerful grip to the cleaver handle would ensure a quick cut through the meat.
Meat And Chicken Chopping Require Powerful Grips On The Cleaver
For easy use of the meat cleaver, make a huge grasp on the cleaver’s handle. Place your thumb finger on the top edge of the meat cleaver to add the required strength and power.
Make Second Cuts If Required
Different products will require different amounts of energy to slice through. It would take practice in using the meat cleaver severely to gauge the amount of energy required. This entails posing in the right angle with the right amount of energy applied.
In instances where a meat cleaver is stuck, you need to use your two hands. This ensures the cleaver cuts through the remaining space.
How to Clean a Meat Cleaver
A. Different meat knives will require different levels of maintenance and cleaning methods. If a given meat cleaver is not suitable in dishwashing, it should be wiped using a piece of cloth dipped in hot water to wipe it.
B. Regular cleaver cleaning assists in the reduction of rusting, which causes damage to the cleaver. One can also reduce cleaver corrosion by wiping the tool after cutting any materials that may be acidic.
C. In cases where one has a carbon meat cleaver, it is necessary to clean it using oil. Safe and approved kitchen oils such as olive oil are the most used cleaning reagents for corrosion sensitive meat cleavers.
D. Care is required during the cleaning process, to avoid any accidents. However quality a meat cleaver may be safe handling is advocated especially when using bare hands to clean them too. Hold the handle of the meat cleaver and gently run water across the sharp edges with less contact to avoid unnecessary cuts.
How to Clean Rusty Cleaver
8 Best Meat Cleavers In The Market Today
Throughout history, man has tried to create as many kitchen tools as possible. You can find knives, heaters, chopping boards, tenderizers, broilers, pans and spoons among many.
You cannot close the list without the mention of meat cleavers. Actually, a cleaver is a very important kitchen tool. The challenge, however, is finding the top-rated meat cleaver.
This write-up delves into some of the world’s high-end meat cleavers. As you go through numbers 1 through 8, see if you can find a cleaver that best fits your desires.
1. Best vegetable cleaver: DALSTRONG Cleaver Butcher Knife Gladiator
DALSTRONG Cleaver is the best cutting item used for the purposes of cutting meat and other foods. This modern-day item is made in such an outstanding way with a very good technology, which makes sure that all types of meats, small bones, vegetables, and even fruits are properly cut and prepared.
Notable Features:
- DALSTRONG Knife is precision forged and ultra-sharp making it easier to cut all meat and other foods. It is wear-resistant and just a single-piece, which makes it comfortable and easy to handle while using it. It is made of high carbon ThyssenKrupp German steel, a unique material that guarantees its durability as compared to other cutting items.
- This knife has an edge, which is perfectly hand sharpened to about 14-16 degrees per every side, a feature that makes it maintain the required balance between the blade sharpness and the maximum resilience.
- It has a lovely hand polished satin blade, which has a very smooth finish, making it soft for the hand to handle while using because the fine texture is friendly to the user.
- Tapered designed making it hard and flexible, giving the user an easy time.
- Has added chromium making it stain-resistant and easy to maintain.
- Precisely tempered giving it added value of durability.
- A polished spine whose purpose is to enhance a comfortable pinch grip.
- Robustness and high quality.
- Has a handle that is premium laminated with Pakkawood imported from Spain for extra strength refinement and for a good look, perfectly built for busy a kitchen.
- It’s triple riveted for even more durability.
- Mirror polished and finger protective material for smooth use.
- An ergonomic handle which is properly designed to give maximum comfort, better grip in the work.
- It has a stainless steel second bolster, which adds counter balance and perfect distinction.
- Has an engraved Dalstrong center for low maintenance.
- Includes an excellent BPA protective Dalstrong PerfectFit sheath, which gives it more outward beauty.
Pros:
- Works better to make one creative, effective and better in the kitchen.
- It is multipurpose.
- Is a lifetime warranty.
- It is rustproof from within and without.
- Works efficiently.
- Excellent stain resistance.
- Flexible for use on various ingredients.
- Lightweight and easy to use.
- It has a comfortable handle.
- It is very durable.
Cons:
- Relatively expensive.
- Spine needs to be rounded for a pinch grip.
- It is generally heavy.
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2. Vegetable Slicing Machine Cooking
Vegetable Slicing Machine is a modern-day advanced machine, which is used in the kitchen for the chore purpose of slicing food and making it easier to prepare. It is efficient and eliminates one of the most time-consuming jobs in food preparation. This makes life a little more fun in that it is enjoyable and easy to use.
Notable Features:
- Made from quality stainless steel that is easy to clean, enhancing the high standard of cleanliness, and maintenance.
- It is designed with a blade length of 170 mm (6.7’), has a weight of 2.3 Kgs, and a thickness, which is adjustable from as low as 0.2mm to 25mm. One can also choose the most appropriate slice thickness suitable for different foods.
- This kitchen machine is very easy to operate. It comes with a manual set of instructions, which define how to slice frozen meats, hard vegetables, and fruits, with a replaceable high carbon steel blade, and slices froze meat within the shortest time.
- Lifetime hassle-free replacement, which is able to protect manufacturing defects and workmanship.
- Has a forward handle.
- Includes improved sanction cups.
- Ingenious removable design.
Pros:
- Easily cuts hard and stubborn root vegetables.
- Appears strong and well structured.
- The cleaver is capable of cutting big-sized vegetables and fruits to desirable sizes.
- It is usually easy to use.
- Quite easy to clean up.
- Can be bought to be given as a gift.
- Not heavy or bulky.
Cons:
- Spikes are too short to hold veggies in place.
- Surface only works on a super smooth surface.
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3. Global Meat Cleaver 812445
Are you always fatigued by handling your food, (meat, fruit or vegetables) that seems impossible to cut? Here is the antidote. 812445 Global cleaver is the knife that will help you thanks to its weight.
Notable Features:
- Measures 12” by 3” by 1”.
- It weighs 1 pound.
- It is slotted in the department of cookware.
- The manufacturer is Browne Canada retail.
Pros:
- It’s sharp and large edge sharpened on both sides makes it very effective for slicing food into smaller pieces.
- Furthermore, you should not worry about your cooking duration since it’s lightweight will reduce your hand fatigue.
- Additionally, 812445 Global cleaver knives always retain their sharp edge for a longer duration than any other brand in the market.
Cons:
- Made from stainless steel but the cleaver can still rust.
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4. Sky Light Chef Knife
With possession of Skylight chef knife, you shouldn’t be worried about how to chop, slice, mince and dice your meat, fruit and vegetables. One of the biggest reasons I love this cleaver is its weight. The cleaver is light thus, you can hold it for longer.
Due to it is high-carbon stainless steel, Skylight Chef Knife is always resistance to rust and corrosion. Additionally, they are easy to clean and maintain.
Notable Features:
- It has a dimension of 13.8” by 1.8” by 1.4”.
- Weighs 8.6 ounces.
- It has a shipping weight of 12 ounces.
Pros:
- Due to it’s lightweight, skylight chef knife will cause no fatigue to your harm. Therefore, I recommend it for both light chopping and slicing.
- Additionally, a skylight chef knife is the best for effortless cutting experience hence leaving your food with no residue.
- Chef knife has a long sharp edge duration hence it can serve for long before you sharpen it.
Cons:
- Even though it has a coating on the top to prevent breakage, the chef knife is prone to break on the drop.
- Furthermore, most of the skylight chef knives are very expensive.
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5. Sato Forced Heavy- Duty Cleaver Chopping Butcher Knife (Bone Chopper) 8″ I.6 lbs
Sato forced heavy-duty clever chopping butcher knife is among the greatest knives to have ever been invented. It is heavy and sharp thus making chopping bones easier and faster. It is a must-have knife for any chef dealing with boney meat.
Notable Features:
- Has a sharp effective edge that retains sharpness longer.
- Comes with a walnut wooden handle that is comfortable to hold especially for long hours.
- It is heavy, 1.6 lbs thus making it easy to chop through dense bones.
- Comes with blade length of 8″ width of 4″ and thickness of 3.5 mm.
- It is effectively stainless, cannot oxidize under normal atmospheric conditions.
- Has grooves on its end that gives inexperienced users control.
Pros:
- You do not need to sharpen the Sato heavy duty cleaver knife’s blade from time to time as it retains its sharpness for a long time.
- Its sharp edges and good balancing makes chopping easier, faster and fun.
- It is multipurpose, can be used for all types of slicing and chopping. It is heavy enough to chop tough meats but still light enough to thinly slice vegetables.
- You will apply less effort because of its heavy weight.
- It makes chopping faster thus saving your time.
- It’s stainless steel is 100% rust free.
Cons:
- Can easily destroy your cutting board due to its heavy nature
- It is not newbie friendly as it is very heavy
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6. Best Chinese Cleaver: Meat Cleaver 7” Knife Chinese Butcher Knife With Ergonomic Handle
This 7-inch cleaver Chinese knife is one of the best knives in the world. Not only does it have an ergonomic handle that is comfortable to handle, but also it is also cheap. Besides, it is multipurpose. You can use it in restaurants and at your home kitchen.
Notable Features:
- The 7″ Chinese cleaver butcher knife has a long blade that is sharp, efficient and easy to use.
- Its ergonomic wood handle is very comfortable to handle while cutting, provides the necessary grip.
- Comes with a beautiful black box that has a magnetic closure flap where it can be stored, it also keeps the edge from being dinged.
- It’s a heavy duty, makes cutti
- ng boney meat easier and faster.
- It is made of stainless steel, doesn’t rust quickly.
Pros:
- This knife is multipurpose, can hack bones; chop meat, slice, and cut vegetables, coconuts among others efficiently. I
- It has a hole on the corner that allows it to be easily hanged on a rack.
- It is firm, sturdy and balances well; this makes it easy to use.
- It is heavy thus easier to cut through bones.
- It comes with a long sharp blade that has the ability to retain the sharpness for a long time.
- Its blade does not easily get chips.
Cons:
- Not dishwasher safe.
- It is a bit dull.
- Not dishwasher safe.
- It is a bit dull.
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7. Utopia Kitchen Cleaver Knife 7-Inch Stainless Steel Multipurpose
Utopia is a 7-inch knife that can be used in home kitchens, butchers and in restaurants. It is used to accurately cut meat, bones, fruits and vegetables.
Notable Features:
- The knife is 100% stainless steel.
- Used for bone cutting, slicing and cleaving.
- The blade, which is 7 inches and made of stainless steel, has a very sharp edge, which allows a lasting and perfect cutting performance.
- Can easily cut large portions of meat, fruits or vegetables.
- Has an ABS 430 handle, which provides easy grip and allows easy maneuvering and reduces tension on the user’s wrist.
- It is designed in a way that it can manage tough demands and duties of a commercial kitchen.
- Dishwasher-friendly though in order to retain the quality of the blades, hand washing is preferred.
- Allows accuracy when cutting and trimming large pieces of meats, fruits or vegetables.
Pros:
- The blade is sharp and does not require occasional sharpening.
- Very cheap.
- The handle provides easy grip and it is comfortable to use.
- It is dishwasher friendly.
- The blades are 100% stainless steel hence they do not rust or corrode and it is easy to clean.
- The cleaver can cut large pieces of food easily, hard and tough portions of meat and it can cut bones easily.
Cons:
- There are cases of the handle breaking.
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8. Epica Stainless Steel Top-Rated 7” Cleaver/Chopper
This cleaver has ice-tempered blades that enhance the hardness of the steel. The ice-tempered blades also make cutting and chopping of steaks easier without much effort.
Notable Features:
- Perfectly balanced with an accurate cut hollow blade.
- The weight-balanced design allows chopping of meat and fruits without much effort.
- The ice-tempered blades made of stainless steel makes the edges remain sharper for a long time, allowing cutting of thick steak, chops, roast, squashes and even melons effortlessly.
- Full tang cleaver is strong because it is made of one continuous solid piece. The grip is joined to the handle without a seam. That way the cleaver feels like part of the hand. The handle has a non-slip grip.
- Does not allow meat to stick to the hollow ground blades. This makes the chopping and slicing faster because you don’t have to stop to remove meat from the blades.
- 100% exclusive lifetime warranty.
Pros:
- Ice-tempered blades that makes the blade sharper for long.
- Lifetime warranty.
- Meat slide off the hollow ground blade preventing meat from getting stuck on the edges.
- Non-slip handles providing comfort to the user.
- Perfect balanced weight making chopping and cutting easier without using too much effort.
- Easy to clean.
Cons:
- Expensive compared to other cleavers.
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Things To Consider When Buying a Best Meat Cleaver
A professional kitchen contains an array of tools. However, not all kitchens are professional in nature. Anyway, many people prefer multipurpose meat cleavers to kitchen knife due to their durability.
If you love meat, you will find this strange. The need to smash larger bones into smaller pieces, slicing meats from bones and cutting through them is a reality you will not run away from.
It is a daunting task to try to choose the right meat cleaver. Why? There are several meat cleavers. Some are versatile, durable, efficient, non-corrosive and sharp.
Many users I have talked to say they prefer a certain color, size, weight, and shape. Preference and taste alone make it even harder to find the right meat cleaver.
Some of the world’s preferred models of meat cleavers include Wusthof Classic, Zellite Infinity, and Zwilling Pro.
With that in mind, you need to know, beforehand, the things to factor in when purchasing a good meat cleaver. Look at these 7 things to consider when buying meat cleaver
1.Blade Design
Most world-class manufacturer industries usually adopt any of the three-blade designs; Thick, Chinese thin tapered vegetable cleaver or Western Wedge-like blades.
The blend of the two extremes makes a good blade design. Thinner blades tend to wear faster along the cutting edge and are prone to breakage when dealing with huge bones. Thicker wedge-shaped cleavers often feel dull and drag when cutting hence lead to damages through smashing and tearing of fleshy meat instead of smoothly slicing through the meat.
A nice blade is made from stainless steel and is rust-resistant when used in a dishwasher. The blade should also be easy to sharpen and resilient. The material should also be easy to clean with hot, cold or soapy water. Most of such blades are usually strong. They do not chip or bend while cutting through the bones and cartilages.
2. Cleaver Handle
Most of the kitchen accidents are a result of using a non-grip knife and cleaver handles. Shortness of the handle undermines grip while too long handles results to clumsiness.
Too rigid plastic or wooden handles always become loose and crack easily. Epoxy resin or bubble handles are the most preferred. When it comes to balance, hollow handles carry the day since they are usually light and controllable. For complete enjoyment, you should go for a non-slip grip, easy to clean handle, straight or ergonomic shaped handles as defined by your preference.
It’s also prudent to buy non-riveted handles as they easily break while striking. Instead, a solid piece of seals works best. Models such as SKYLIGHT CHINESE Butcher Knife 7″ cleaver come with a finger guard that ensures the user’s finger does not slide to the blade while using it. Though riveted, it comes handy with a protective bolster to reinforce handles.
3. Blade Size And Thickness
The size of the meat cleaver is also important. In most cases, when you hear a person talk of the size of the cleaver, they mean the length and the height of the blade, overall efficacy and dexterity.
Small meats, bones, and cartilages usually need shorter clever while lengthy cleavers works best on large meats. Too short cleavers usually stuck on bones and meats while too long cleavers are always clumsy and not always accurate. The buyer should also consider the working plane. Straight planes require longer blades for accuracy and efficiency.
4. Cutting Edge Sharpness And Retention
Tough and resilient steel makes ideal cutting edge for cleavers that withstand repeated impacts with bones and cartilages. The steel should also be tapered to reduce chipping, rolling and buckling, easy to sharpen and not brittle. Cutting edges assumes V shapes or slightly curved belly. However, most people prefer the curved belly edges since they work best in finishing chops that remain on bony foods.
Cleaver models such as Top Chef Master Cutlery have hollow ground cutting edge to minimize risks of ingredients sticking. You should also go for blades with higher retention of sharpness to minimize time loss during repeated sharpening.
5. Versatility
In as much as meat cleavers are meant for slicing thick meats and splitting bones from meat, some people use meat cleavers to chop fruits and splitting large vegetables.
With this in mind, a versatile cleaver should have a broadsided back edge to crush spices such as garlic, sharper to cut vegetables and tiny spices instead of using Chef’s Knife. Blunt cleavers will smash rather than cutting the spices to the required pieces.
6. Weight Of The Cleaver
In most cases, the weight of the cleaver varies with the blade length. You will find that, the longer the blade the heavier the cleaver. It is the same with the height of the blade too.
Heavier cleavers cut through almost everything. However, if you aren’t strong enough, a heavier cleaver will be cumbersome and tiring. This brings you fatigue around the forearm and wrist.
Efforts to try to balance a heavy cleaver are tricky to many users. This is the trickiest part that results in inaccuracy whose effects may be an injury in the form of deep cuts to the user.
PS.1. Most 8-inch blades weigh approximately 2.5 pounds and remain the heaviest in the market.
Light, 6-inch blades are easy to maneuver but are too light to provide the needed pressure to cut through extra large and medium-sized bones. Because of their lightweight, you need to provide extra efforts to cut through the bones and cartilage hence cumbersome and fatiguing.
One-pound cleaver is enough to provide the needed power to slice through bones and cartilage with a lot of ease and they still afford a lot of accuracies.
7. Cost
Like any other commodity, the cost of the item or the purchasing power of the buyer will determine whether they will take the item or not. It is the same with meat cleavers. Quality meat cleavers range in cost from as low as $12.99 to as high as $250.99. The nature and scarcity of material used explain the huge gap between the highest and lowest priced cleaver.
However, quality demands to break loose the pockets hence for a durable, resilient and non-corrosive cleaver, the potential buyer shouldn’t fear using any amount.
A meat cleaver remains to be a necessity in a modern kitchen since you will encounter hard bones, cartilages, and tough fruits on a daily basis. You definitely need one from the above list.
Sharpening a meat cleaver can be demanding since in most cases, you need to follow a set of procedures. A sharpening procedure is not laid down but in most cases, manufacturers indicate how to sharpen the product in the user’s manual.
Conclusion
You cannot say that you are okay with that single chef’s knife in your kitchen. From this write-up, it is evident that you need the best meat cleaver. The good thing is you have learned how you can source out one. I wish you luck as you embark on finding the ideal meat cleaver.
Rita C. Donnell (Jennifer) has spent the last 26 years studying and practicing nutrition science. She has used a larger part of this time in improving people’s livelihoods. She has done so by coming up with unquestionable ideas on how to tackle food problems in her community. Readmore