It’s confusing to pick out a meat knife for your commercial kitchen. There are several types of meat knives that all have different uses. We’re here to take out the hassle in buying professional knives for cutting, preparing, and carving meats.
Types of Meat Knives
Boning Knife
A boning knife is designed to remove meat from bones. This knife allows you to cut around the bone while getting as much meat as possible.
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Butcher Knife
Use a butcher knife to cut through large sections of meat and break into smaller portions.
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Cleaver
Cleavers are large knives that can cut easily through meat and bone. These knives are often used to cut a carcass into smaller parts.
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Cimeter Knife
A cimeter is a variation of a butcher knife. The cimeter knife is made to cut and trim meat for retail service.
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Fillet Knife
The fillet knife is specially designed to skin and de-bone a fish. The sharp blade is flexible for precision cutting.
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Carving Knife
Use a carving knife to cut cooked meats like roasts and poultry. This knife is often used with a carving fork to anchor meat while slicing.
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Slicing Knife
A slicing knife is perfect for cutting cooked, boneless meat. The blade has a narrow, rounded tip.
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Caring for Your Knife
Taking care of your professional meat knife is almost as important as choosing the right one. Make sure to consider these areas of care to be sure that you’re giving your knives the best treatment!
You should always keep your knife sharp to ensure the best performance. Dull blades can lead to lost time, wasted ingredients, and injuries. Make sure to find a professional knife sharpener in your area if you’re unfamiliar with how to sharpen your knife yourself.
Even if your knife is dishwasher safe, it’s not good for the blade to use a dishwasher with your professional knives. You should also avoid leaving it in the sink. Anytime your knife bangs against stainless steel or other dish wares, it loses some of its sharpness. Wash, dry, and store your knives immediately after use to keep the blade sharp.
The best place to keep your professional knives is on a wall-mount made specifically for knife storage. These typically have a magnetic strip that allows you to easily access and store your knives. This also prevents them from banging around in a drawer and losing their sharpness.
Summary
Make sure that you understand what each knife is best used for before buying. We’ve laid out the basics on buying meat knives to give you information at a glance.
Knife | Use it For | Don’t Use it For | Best Brands |
Boning |
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Butcher |
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Cleaver |
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Cimeter |
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Fillet |
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Carving |
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Slicing |
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Looking for more tips on buying commercial kitchen equipment and supplies? Check out the Buying Guides section of our resource center!
Kelsey Moriarty is a Content Specialist at Central Restaurant Products. Her focus at Central is in the Food Prep and Furniture areas. Kelsey’s background is in technology and marketing with particular experience in SEO and E-Commerce. She enjoys helping customers make better decisions as well as working on her copywriting skills!