Slicing Beef Jerky With a Mandolin

The popularity of beef jerky is on the rising.

At more than $1 billion in sales in 2017, beef hasty is just entering the growth stage of its life bike.

According to research from Technavio, global meat snack sales could striking $9.47 billion by 2021, which would be a 9.4% compound annual growth charge per unit. Roughly one-half of global meat snack sales are jerky products.

All this growth means one thing — jerky producers, especially smaller companies, are looking for means to optimize their operation, increment product, and take some of the market place shares.

Poor Slicing = Poor Profits

One of the areas jerky producers need to optimize in order to calibration upwards production is slicing.

Side by side to cooking, slicing chunks of beef into jerky size strips takes the well-nigh time and coin. Depending on the size of hasty processor, y'all'll probable find a few methods for slicing beef jerky.

Slicing by Hand

Near smaller processors are still slicing beef jerky by hand — using nothing more than than a knife and cutting board.

For the start-upwardly beef jerky processor operating out of their house, this is likely the best pick. Information technology's the to the lowest degree expensive selection (a good knife and cutting board are relatively cheap) and the easiest to offset implementing to get your jerky product out there.

Slicing by hand does have its downsides, especially if yous're looking to increase production:

• Inconsistent slices. Information technology's near impossible to go the exact same thickness on every slice. It'south normally not an issue for home-made or small processors, but when scaling up your production, inconsistencies will crusade issues with your customers.
• Slowest slicing manner. Slicing by hand takes time and significant effort — something y'all want to trim downwards if you're looking to increase production.
• Highest adventure of injury. Fifty-fifty beyond the obvious risk of cutting yourself, slicing by manus poses other serious risks, such as musculoskeletal disorders from bad-mannered angles, repeated motions, and overexertion of the wrist.
• Highest operating toll. While a pocketknife and cutting lath are cheap, the operating cost of slicing past hand is the highest — scaling upwards production requires more people slicing, increasing labor expenses.

Slicing with a Modified Cutting Board

In order to combat some of the disadvantages of slicing by paw, some jerky processors accept opted to use a modified cutting board.

Designed with rails to go along the knife at the same thickness when slicing through the chunk of beef, a modified cutting lath helps keep hasty slices consistent.

While this mode of cutting board solves the inconsistent slice event that happens when cutting past hand, it still shares a lot of the same disadvantages:

• Slow slicing. You tin can see in the gif how much time is required to brand just one slice — something you won't exist able to proceed up with increased product.
• High risk of injury. The bending of the operator's wrist is a take chances cistron for developing musculoskeletal disorders. With increased production, an injury is very likely to occur.
• High operating cost. Simply like cut by hand, the operating cost is incredibly loftier — scaling up production requires more people slicing, increasing labor expenses.

Slicing with a Deli Style Slicer

The side by side step most processors have in optimizing their beef jerky slicing is past investing in a deli-style slicer.

A deli-fashion slicer solves a lot of the disadvantages of the other 2 slicing styles — i operator can piece more than in less time, slices are consistent, lowered take chances of injury and operating costs every bit the automobile does the majority of the work.

While this method of slicing is great for small processors operating out of their homes, when information technology comes time to abound your business and increase production, cafeteria slicers have disadvantages as well:

• Limited slicing capabilities. While you can piece more with a deli slicer than by hand, you are withal limited to how rapidly an operator can slice the beef. Turning the chunk of beef, moving sliced pieces, loading and unloading product all takes time.
• Toll vs reliability of equipment.Industrial cafeteria slicers needed for increased product are expensive — some base models go for over $12,000. Cheaper models, similar seen in the gif, are more cost-constructive merely aren't designed for the continuous employ that would exist needed when increasing production — significant they are likely to break down oftentimes from overuse.
• Risk of injury. Any time you lot have an exposed blade, there is the run a risk of severe operator injury. It only takes a second for a severe cut or amputation to occur, and drain out can happen in 3 minutes or less.

Losing Money

Any beef jerky slicing process that requires intense labor will eventually eat away at profits.

The more people you lot need to hire to scale upwardly production, the more costs y'all will incur, including:

• Wages
• Benefits
• Vacation and sick time
• Injuries and lost fourth dimension
• Training and onboarding
• Decreased footstep when bringing a new person on
• Human being error

Co-ordinate to research done by The Boyd Company, the weighted average hourly earnings of general help / cutting workers in food processing range from $xv.74 to $xix.05. Assuming an 8-hour shift, that's $125.92 to $152.forty per day.

As you scale upward beef jerky product, the number of people you need to slice jerky increases.

Eventually, cutting by mitt, using a modified cutting board, or a cafeteria slicer will become too costly.

Slicing Costs, Literally

Labor is ane of the largest expenses when it comes to beefiness jerky production, and reducing the amount of labor needed to slice hasty will save you immensely.

Have a circular blade jerky slicer for instance.

One of these machines ranges anywhere from $8-50,000, depending on the style and manufacturer, and is capable of slicing 2,000+ pounds of beef per hr.

Let'due south just say you become a smaller model that handles up to 2,000 lbs per hour.

Over an 8 hour shift, that's roughly 16,000 pounds of beef per twenty-four hour period.

For number'southward sake, allow'southward say an employee can slice upwardly to x pounds of beef per hour by mitt or with a modified cutting board — a high gauge given the fourth dimension needed to align the beef, slice, move slices away and finish up.

That'south fourscore pounds of beef sliced per viii-hour shift, not bookkeeping for slow downward due to tiredness or mistakes.

If we assume there are 261 working days in 2019, taking weekends and holidays off, the daily toll of a jerky slicer ranges from $31 to $46 per mean solar day.

For example, a unit costing $12,000 or costing $50,000 is cheaper per day than paying for 1 person at $15.74 per hour — and can piece 200 times or more as much beef jerky in that twenty-four hours than an employee can cut by paw.

A circular blade hasty slicer non only slices jerky but operating costs as well — adept news for meat processors in areas where the minimum wage is on the ascension.

Advantages of Jerky Slicers

Hasty slicers accept a number of other advantages over cut operating costs, including:

• Safer. Enclosed blades and safety paddle wheels go along operator hands away from any moving parts, greatly reducing the risk of cuts or amputations.
• Greater output. One pocket-sized jerky slicer can slice up to ii,000 pounds per hour — numbers yous can't get cutting by manus or with a deli slicer.
• Economical. Whether buying a $12,000 model or a $fifty,000 model, y'all're all the same saving money over hiring someone to slice for you.
• Consistent slices. Each slice thickness is exactly the same as the next.
• Faster. But drop the meat into the machine and inside seconds, information technology's perfectly sliced and ready to cook.

Invest in Growth

When scaling upwards your beef jerky production, investing in a jerky slicer is a wise — and money-saving! — choice.

We encourage you to do the math:

• How many pounds of beefiness are your employees cutting past hand or with hand-operated cut equipment per twenty-four hour period?
• How much are you paying in labor for hasty slicing?
• Is minimum wage going upwardly whatsoever time presently, increasing your labor expenses?

Compare those answers to the benefits of a beef jerky slicer:

• xvi,000 pounds in an 8-60 minutes shift
• $8-$50,000k toll tag
• one operator per machine

Chances are, you will save quite a flake of money upgrading your beef jerky slicing operation with a batch-mode jerky slicer.

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Source: https://ftiinc.org/the-best-way-to-slice-beef-jerky/