I have an ancient electric knife but the only time I drag it out is when we're making a large quantity of London Broil. Otherwise, we go manual with a long, thin knife.

Manual. I'm terrified I'll get halfway through a finger with an electric knife before I realise what's happening :-O

Should I start cracking jokes about 'hand jobs', LOL? Especially on prime meats?

I use an electric knife when I have large pieces of meats to deal with (ha!) and I know it will take me forever and a sore wrist to get through it. DH uses a well sharpened carving knife. I know electric knives are good for soft breads and some cakes.

I have the Cuisinart and I HATE it, it is very hard to hold and heats up. Somewhere I have a Hamilton Beach that I got for free as a promotion. It was rated tops by Cooks Illustrated.

There is room in my kitchen for both.

I use a 10" Wusthof Carving knife to carve turkeys and roasts.

I also have a 12" Wusthof Salmon slicer that also slices ham beautifully. And great for thin slices of cold chicken and turkey.

Ann

My 8" Wusthof carving knife is among the least used knives in the block but I definitely use it. I tend to use my boning knife more when cutting apart a chicken, and my 14" graton edge slicer for neatly cutting through hunks of meat.

Electric knife - I own one only because the prior homeowner left it behind. (Same one my parents have had for eons, I think HB, only mine is harvest gold or something.) I find the opposing sawing action particularly effective for leaving the skin intact when slicing up think cuts of poultry. Specifically for turkey, I like to use it on the breast after I've removed the breast with another knife.

I don't carve the poultry, that's my husband's job. He likes the electric knife on those. Whichever one of us does a roast beef will usually use a manual knife. When I make a loaf of bread, the electric knife is the one of choice for either of us.

Donna

Manual...I too use a 10" Wusthof Carving knife for carving roasts and turkey.

Manual all the way here.......our 10" Wustof is the weapon of choice for DH who is in charge of all things carving.

We do have an electric knife here somewhere, it was a wedding present to one of us ( not both of of us, but not sure which of us! LOL). It is still in it's original box which should do it well on the Antique Roadshow!

My brother-in-law - he uses an electric knife on the turkey.

My son - he uses a regular knife on the roasts.

I don't carve the meats any more.

"Carving"?

I always think you use chisels to carve and knives to slice. :-)

I have an electric one, but I don't like the lines it leaves on the meat.

I use a sharp 10" thin blade to slice meats. I don't need an extension cord for my 10" blade either.

dcarch

Many knife manufacturers use the term "carving knife" for their thin bladed knife, used for "carving" or "slicing" meats. Many also make a "carving set".

Ann

I always used an electric knife from the 1960's that was my mothers. I loved it for turkey, brisket, large roasts, and fresh bread. About four years ago after Christmas dinner others were helping clean up whe the cord to my knife disappeared. I think one of the cousins damaged it and then took it home with them. That has forced me to use a regular carving knife, and I find it works fine. I always thought that I did not know how to carve with a carving knife, but it is no big deal. I do have very nice quality knives, and that is key.

Posted by ann_t "Many knife manufacturers use the term "carving knife" for their thin bladed knife, used for "carving" or "slicing" meats. Many also make a "carving set".

I know.

I like the French better "Tranchelard" (Slice).

dcarch

Manual! Cutco.

The only thing my electric knife is used for is slicing corn off the cob during canning season. Works beautifully for that, but too scary and unwieldy otherwise.

Deanna

Manual, I don't own an electric knife. We used to have one when I was a kid and the blades would pop out and get stuck in the turkey or roast, LOL, fun but ineffective.

I have a really old carving knife, extremely sharp, given to me by Dad. He sharpened it well before he gave it to me and I use it for many things. Elery has "unknown name" boning knives too, used since he was a kid working at the Italian grocery in the meat market.

I did buy Elery an electric fish filet knife, but it's never been removed from the box, it'll go on Antiques Roadshow with Sharon's electric knife in a few years down the road...

Annie

Manual.
I have a hand crafted stainless steel Chef knife.
It is 12 7/8 inches long with a all purpose 7 7/8 cutting blade like a Santoku chef knife.
It was made from Japanese stainless steel by Timothy Peake of Columbia, S.C.
It has a Rosewood handle & the first time I used it was on a Christmas turkey & I cut though the ribs like butter.
To my knowledge it is one of a kind.
I have never use a electric knife.

As anyone who knows me I love to live life better electrically.. but not when it comes to cutting meat with an electric knife LOL

The only time I ever use mine is to cut fresh baked soft and mushy white bread. They work well for that. No squishing.

Carving knives are good for cutting the tails
off of blind mice.

I use the electric one for biscotti. Grew up with parents using an electric one each holiday and I still dislike the noise, aside from the fact I don't think it works any better than a sharp knife.

i've never owned an electric knife and it's too late now. I do enough damage with a regular knife I can't imagine what I'd do with an electric one. I saw Mario Batali carving a prime rib with an electric knife. He loves them.

I prefer manual though certain things like hams or boneless roasts I would do on a slicer.

Had turkey this year as a guest and totally cringed as I watched the host hack the bird apart. It is alleged that he is a chef, or was at one time, although there is no evidence of it whatsoever.

We usually do Thanksgiving with my sister. Her husband likes to carve the turkey. No big deal to me, because I don't really like turkey and they bring it. If I carved the bird, it would look different. I like to preserve the shape of the major pieces, while portioning them into pieces of manageable size that, when assembled back together on the platter, look like the whole breast or leg or etc. in the end, it doesn't affect the taste.

IMO that is the proper way to carve a bird. While slicing across the grain may not effect the taste per se it most definitely effects the texture and moisture content. How you cut meat is just as, if not more, important than how it is cooked. If you had carved the rib roast by slicing through the sides it would have had a dry texture and indeed would have dried out as well.

Wayne does the carving/slicing of our meats. We have never owned an electric knife, always sliced by hand. My mom and sister have an electric one that is old as the hills. It still works well. They usually host the family gatherings and it looks pretty easy to use. Slices come off as thick or thin as they like. Cutting through leg joints is no problem. But I think in our home we will probably remain a manual carving family. That' just what Wayne prefers so far. NancyLouise

I never cook prime rib, but for other meats, I use a manual carving knife or else a serrated bread knife.

If you have an electric knife, it is very handy for cutting foam for your upholstery projects. When I made my brother's headboard (which you can still see in the gallery side), I used a Cutco serrated bread knife, which worked okay but was more effort than an electric knife would have been.

Lars

OMG.....this thread opened!!! Been clicking every day since it started.
electric knives are good for plastic upholstery foam, oasis foam for flower arrangements, slicing many loaves of French bread for garlic bread for a mob, and cutting a double batch of biscotti.

Sharp knife. I have an electric. A cheap one that I find to be a crude tool. Maybe not cheap ones are better?