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The Feed's Daily Sifter, with America's Test Kitchen featured my electric knife post.
My post is mentioned about halfway down the page and entitled "Electric Knife Love Affair".
I can't recommend getting yourself an electric knife enough.
Here's my original post, too.
Enjoy!
I made two roasts recently (roast pork and roast beef). In the midst of preparation, I came across an America's Test Kitchen review of electric knives. It had been a long time since mine had seen the light of day. I was glad for the timely reminder to get my out of the cabinet.
I'm so happy I did. Check out these slices of meat. They were thinner and more even than I could've managed with my carving knife alone.
Joe (my dad) used to be in charge of the electric knife. I've mentioned before that Gran Fran is anti-sharp anything, and that she doesn't like gizmos or gadgets in her kitchen. The only electronic appliance I ever see her use is her Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Even her coffee is made with a filter set on top of her mug. Needless to say, there was often a lot of drama around Joe using the electric knife. Gran Fran would clear the room of all children and hold her hand to her mouth, cringing all the while Joe was cutting up whatever nice roast they had made for dinner.
Fast forward to present day SF. I called Gran Fran in NY to get her advice on the cooking temperature for the roast beef and mentioned I'd be using my electric knife to slice the roast. After an audible gasp, Gran Fran told me to call her after I had finished slicing the roast so she knew I'd made it out with all of my fingers and limbs intact.
Guess what...I made it out alive, all limbs and digits still adhered to my body, with a perfectly sliced roast on my table.
I've told the tale more than once about Gran Fran's aversion to sharp knives. She winces whenever I take one out of my knife block. My brother once demonstrated how much more dangerous her butter knives were than his super swanky sharp chef's knives. To no avail, she continues to believe it's safer to have dull knives in her kitchen.
I have had some of my knives for almost twenty years and they've never been sharpened. It occurred to me that on Christmas Eve several years ago my friends and family showed up with their own chef's knives. When asked why, they all said that my knives were too dull and they refused to cook with them. I didn't agree, and stubbornly refused to get them sharpened.
The other day, I was walking to my neighborhood farmer's market and saw the knife sharpening truck. I remembered stories from Gran Fran's childhood that included the traveling knife sharpening man. She had described a horse drawn truck of sorts with some sort of a sander, which I believe was powered by a foot pedal, but not too sure. You'd drop your knives off and a bit later, you'd get them back. I'm a little hazy on the details, but the truck in my neighborhood seemed to fit the bill. You can read her post about the sharpening man here.
If this truck was close to what Gran Fran was describing from a good 60 years ago, I figured I'd give it a go. It was time, I decided, to see if my friends and family were right. So I packed up all six of my knives and handed them over to Saucy Joe for some sharpening.
Let me tell you, when I picked them up from him, he showed me that they could cut through paper, like nothing at all. I got them home and cut some veggies and meat. The slices were thin, even and incredibly easy. The knives were better than new (though maybe they were once this sharp, I clearly can't remember). And, I didn't even use a serrated knife for the tomatoes, just my regular chef's knife!
Saucy Joe has a video on his site that shows one and all how to sharpen your knives in between professional sharpening appointments. If you have a traveling sharpening truck in your town, please, go get your knives sharpened. You will be amazed!
