Best Knives for Trimming and Cutting Meat in 2023

If you’re a meat lover, you’re likely aware of the significance of owning the appropriate knife in your kitchen. Whether you require turkey strips, a steak knife, or a tool for removing meat from bones, having the right knife can make a world of difference. Picture this — you want to slice your favorite chicken or steak using the best knife for cutting meat, but it’s not up to par.

After conducting thorough testing on various types of knives based on their features, I am excited to provide recommendations for the best knives in different categories, including chef knives, butcher knives, bone knives, and meat knives. Our review has concluded that Dalstrong is the top-performing knife for meat cutting, while Dexter Russel offers the best value for a meat or boning knife. To ensure that these recommendations align with the experiences of other users, I also relied on feedback from various platforms like Amazon, eBay, and other online retailers. This approach allowed me to further refine my recommendations and provide the best possible guidance to those in search of quality knives for their kitchen.

The Best Knife for Cutting Meat in My Opinion

If you are in search of an affordable knife to help with cutting meat or chicken into thin slices, look no further than this intriguing option. Despite its relatively low price point, this knife is attractive and performs exceptionally well, thanks to the high-quality steel it is made of.

One of my favorite aspects of this knife is how comfortable it is to hold. With a plastic handle, even when it gets oily due to meat or fat, the knife remains secure in my grip without slipping. The handle also features ridges that help prevent my hand from sliding onto the sharp blade, which is essential for safety.

In addition to cutting raw meat and fish, the wide blade is also suitable for slicing vegetables and fruits, making this knife incredibly versatile. It performs exceptionally well in the kitchen for cutting, chopping, dicing, trimming, and any other job requiring a sharp blade.

Comparison and analysis

Comparison and analysis of the reviewed knives:

Blade quality

• DALSTRONG 12-inch Chef’s Knife and Slicer: high-carbon stainless steel, nitrogen cooled, hand-polished
• Dexter-Russell 8-inch Chef’s Knife S145-10PCP: high-carbon steel, individually ground, honed, and tested
• DALSTRONG Meat Slicer: high-carbon stainless steel, nitrogen cooled, hand-polished
• Classic Wusthof Chef’s Knife: high-carbon stainless steel, precision-forged and tempered
• Mercer Culinary Millennia Granton Edge Slicer: Japanese steel, stain-resistant, razor-sharp
• Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Boning Knife: high-carbon stainless steel, laser-tested, tapered

Comfort and ergonomics

• DALSTRONG 12-inch Chef’s Knife and Slicer: ergonomic handle, finger guard, perfect balance
• Dexter-Russell 8-inch Chef’s Knife S145-10PCP: non-slip grip, comfortable handle
• DALSTRONG Meat Slicer: ergonomic handle, finger guard, perfect balance
• Classic Wusthof Chef’s Knife: ergonomic handle, full tang
• Mercer Culinary Millennia Granton Edge Slicer: ergonomic handle, non-slip grip
• Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Boning Knife: ergonomic handle, non-slip grip

Versatility

• DALSTRONG 12-inch Chef’s Knife and Slicer: multipurpose, suitable for meat, fish, and vegetables
• Dexter-Russell 8-inch Chef’s Knife S145-10PCP: versatile, suitable for meat, fish, and vegetables
• DALSTRONG Meat Slicer: specifically designed for slicing meat
• Classic Wusthof Chef’s Knife: multipurpose, suitable for meat, fish, and vegetables
• Mercer Culinary Millennia Granton Edge Slicer: versatile, suitable for meat, fish, and vegetables
• Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Boning Knife: specifically designed for boning meat

Value for money

• DALSTRONG 12-inch Chef’s Knife and Slicer: high-end, premium price
• Dexter-Russell 8-inch Chef’s Knife S145-10PCP: affordable, good value for money
• DALSTRONG Meat Slicer: high-end, premium price
• Classic Wusthof Chef’s Knife: mid-range, good value for money
• Mercer Culinary Millennia Granton Edge Slicer: affordable, good value for money
• Victorinox Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Boning Knife: affordable, good value for money

What do I have to consider when buying blades for trimming raw meat?

Do you need a chef’s knife or a butcher’s knife? What is a boning knife?

If you’re already a meat fan, you probably have an arsenal of knives at your disposal. But for those of you still on your way to the BBQ world, here are some tips to help you prepare.

The first thing you need to consider when choosing the perfect knife for cutting meat: How it feels in your hand. Your personal best boning knife is well-balanced, and you feel comfortable and safe using it. It needs to be strong enough to cut the meat easily, but light enough to be handy and precise. If you haven’t used many knives before, you may need to try a few to really understand what you like best.

Boning Knife balance

How balanced it depends on you, or rather on which knife you choose and which knife you are comfortable with. A well-balanced knife can be of different proportions and it takes some experience. Try several knives before you answer yourself – which knife’s balance suits you better. The main thing you should pay attention to the weight should not be completed on the handle or completely on the blade, because either of them can make cutting difficult and uncomfortable if you have no experience in using it.

Knife Comfortable Handle and grip

If you choose a handle, you will likely see it is made of wood and plastic. What’s better is really your personal preference, but you should look for one with a good grip, one that won’t slip, and of course, that is comfortable. Some knives have multiple finger grooves and ergonomic handles for better handling.

Also, pay attention to the tip; The depth of the blade handle can have a major impact on the durability of the entire knife and its handle. A full grip spike is stronger and safer than a short one.

And a top tip. Take a knife in your hand and try to cuts of meat from bone with it. Feel how it sits in your hand. It should be something like the Jedi feel when he picked up his lightsaber for the first time.

A good knife must have a special handle design. It should provide a comfortable grip and be anti-slip at the same time. Notches and relief notches on butcher knives are not welcomed, as they can cause discomfort when gripping the handle tightly and rubbing the palm. A convenient butcher knife has a rounded handle, but its surface must be rough.

Knife bolster for Boning knife

The bolster is the thick part of the blade that helps it fix the handle smoothly and serves as both a reinforcement and a counterweight to the blade. This will help maintain balance, better control of it, and increase overall strength. It also acts as a guard to keep your fingers from sliding over the blade while cutting.

Blade and Edge

It does not have a curved blade, as some professionals usually recommend. And that’s okay. I purposely chose this knife, without the curved blade, so that its functionality would be more extensive than just slicing meat.

Sharpening is easy. Just use a sharpening steel or a stone and hone it regularly. The sharp edge of the knife allows you to cut ultra-thin pieces of meat, as well as not to damage its appearance when cutting.

Important: Do not sharpen the knife with an electric grinder or other machines! For safety reasons, you want to avoid sparks and electricity around the knife.

Forged carbon knife or punched knife — which options better?

A good knife should be made of carbon steel. Since it is used for cuts of meat, a forged knife is better than a stamped one. Perfect for a knife for trimming meat.

Stamped knife

A die-cut knife is cheaper to make, so you will have to pay less, but it will put weight and balance at a disadvantage. While there are many low-quality die-cut knives out there, some good ones made my best knives under the $50 list.

An industrial stamped knife is literally made by stamping a blade out of a sheet of stainless steel. They are much cheaper to make, resulting in a cheaper knife that loses strength and quality. They’re also more flexible, don’t have a sharp edge like a well-forged blade. Often they lack good reinforcement. Their manufacturing process can lead to larger impurities in the final product, making them undesirable.

Forged knife

A forged knife is made from a single piece of steel. In contrast, punching knives are made of sheet steel. Hence, you get a stronger and more balanced knife that will retain the advantage longer.

A forged knife is essentially a single piece of hot forged metal cut into the shape of a precise knife. As a result, they are more durable because, thanks to the forging process at high temperatures, they are made from a single piece of metal and are harder. They keep their cutting edge much longer, they are more balanced in hand and cut more precisely than punch knives.

Conclusion

Both DALSTRONG and Dexter-Russell are super meat-cutting knives. And I would choose both for my kitchen without a doubt. They each have their own special features, but I like using both of them. But if you are looking for an inexpensive but quality knife, then choose the Dexter-Russell, it will serve you not only for cutting raw meat or fish but in other cases. And if you are not strapped for cash, then DALSTRONG 12″ Chef’s Knife & Slicer is the best knife for cutting meat.

Honorable mentions

And it just so happens that both of my choices are American brands, apparently, it’s because I’m from here. But let me add a few words in favor of German, Swiss, and Japanese knives. They are incredibly cool knives for working with meat that has stood the test of time. In that regard, I can recommend the to you:

• German Knife – Mercer Culinary M20206 Genesis 6-Inch Flexible Boning Knife.
  
• Swiss Knife – Victorinox 47602 Swiss Army Cutlery Fibrox Pro Curved Boning Knife, Flexible Blade.
  
• Japanese Knife – TUO Boning Knife 6 inch – Flexible Fillet Knives Profession Kitchen knives fillet fish chicken bones.

This was all you needed to know about the best knives for cutting meat. If you have any questions, write in the comments or personally to me.