Hand slicing prosciutto

I have acquired a leg of prosciutto but am without a meat slicer. Any suggestions for how to slice?

Ali Slagle
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8 Comments

bigpan
bigpan September 21, 2015
Use the longest thinnest knife you have drawing it towards you in one nice slice- thin, of course.
 
Jan W.
Jan W. September 18, 2015
I'm assuming this is a boneless leg? If so, agree with Cynthia. If not - totally different tools and method required.
 
702551
702551 September 18, 2015
Just use a knife. This is what restaurants do.
 
702551
702551 September 19, 2015
Some restaurants serve prosciutto or similar hams tableside, sliced to order by the waiter or maître d'. The meat is at room temperature -- not chilled/frozen -- and mounted on a wheeled cart in a stand like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Lilly-Codroipo-Trieste-Tradition-Prosciutto/dp/B00OTHKPPA/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1442677978&sr=1-3&keywords=prosciutto+stand

They will use a long slicing knife. Here's a photo of it being done:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8418/8698759984_08d5c3e9fb.jpg

As you can see, the person here is using a flexible slicing knife.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube. Just search for "slicing prosciutto."

Chilling/freezing may make handling easier, but clearly it is not necessary.
 
PieceOfLayerCake
PieceOfLayerCake September 18, 2015
Interesting....I've had consistent results with my method.
 
boulangere
boulangere September 18, 2015
So have we.
 
boulangere
boulangere September 18, 2015
At work, we freeze proscuitto and pancetta both overnight, then pull them to room temp in the morning for a couple of hours. The perimeter will have begun to thaw, while the center is still largely frozen. If you do the reverse and freeze for the minimum amount of time, the opposite will occur: the edges will have begun to firm, while the center will be soft and gummy. Like trying to evenly slice pre-chewed bubble gum. What you're trying to do is ensure that you can achieve the uniform thickness/thinness that you need. A soft center will not yield that result. If using a slicer, it's going to sound like you're slicing bricks. That's exactly the sound you are looking for. If using a knife, use a good sharp chef's knife of a comfortable length. I've experienced some serious (as in stitchable in the ER) cuts while using a serrated knife on a chef's recommendation. Serrated and boning knives are far too flexible for slicing anything semi-frozen.
 
PieceOfLayerCake
PieceOfLayerCake September 18, 2015
Freeze slightly (30ish minutes depending on the size) and then use a very sharp knife. I would use a granton-edge slicer or a sharp flexible boning knife.
 
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