Slicing

THE STRAIGHT SLICE—Used to cut meat or vegetables into the desired size, using the given thickness of the ingredient. Meats are easier to slice when they are frozen and much tenderer when they are cut across the grain. Put the ingredient on your chopping board and hold it with one hand, fingers tucked under, so that the middle knuckles of your index, middle, and fourth fingers form a protective shield as well as a cutting guide. The flat side of the cleaver will rest ever so slightly against your protruding knuckles as you cut straight down. Slide your fingers back evenly with each cutting so that the slices are uniform. When cutting meat, as you finish each slice press it over onto the board with the other side of the cleaver, so that in the end you will have a slanting stack of meat. This makes any further shredding or dicing easier. “Paper-thin” means the slices should be about 1/16 inch thick; “thin” about ⅛ inch thick; and “medium” about ¼ inch thick.