Anyone make deli meat?

[RamaJama]

I’ve recently discovered these meat presses on Amazon and I’m thinking about buying one. My kid loves a deli ham sandwich but I would like to make it at home if possible. Any experience with these?

[randy.56]

Not with something like that. But have cooked/smoked turkey breast, and beef roast, then thin sliced on a slicer. Smoked ham would be good. It will not have a long shelf live in the fridge, but you can freeze it, for later. Looks like spoil your kid month. We all do it.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

Same here.

[Donw]

I know DaveD was making his own deli meats awhile back. I know I enjoyed his posts.

[McFlyfi]

you don't need this device. It helps to have a slicer though. Top to bottom:
Tri tip pastrami
Top round roast beef
Pork loin Canadian bacon/ham.

[cruiseplanner1]

Wow those look great! I am planning on doing the Canadian bacon this summer but have always wanted to do a smoked Turkey Breast and slice it. Your pics have me thinking now.

[DaveD]

Never heard of that device, but I do keep us stocked in sliced lunchmeat as Donw mentioned. I use turkey, beef, and pork loin: turkey via the Butterball "breast roasts", which are deboned breasts packaged in a net mesh to hold shape; chuck roast and eye round/london broil; and pork loin. These cuts are of a shape that is conducive to slicing.

And like McFlyfi said, a slicer is a must. Carving with a knife is fine, but I do believe the sandwich experience is better when the meat is sliced uniformly and thinner than you can get with a knife. The mouthfeel is very different.

I cook the turkey breasts on the SnS kettle 2-zone, and the pork and beef via SVQ: sous vide at their appropriate ITs for about 8 hours, then sear, chill, and slice. I vac seal up 6oz portions, suitable for making two sandwiches at a time. The sliced vac-packs keep for many weeks and I never freeze them, because we use them up easily during that time.

I'll make two breast roasts, a hunk of loin, and a chuck and an eye round and have them all ready to slice, to get the most out of each session and cleanup. Slicing/packaging day is all-day affair, but it sure is worth it to always have fresh, tasty lunchmeat free of all additives for no more than half what it would cost to buy sliced from a deli counter, if that.

Good luck!

[DavidNorcross]

Dave after a days worth of packaging you freeze the sliced meat?

[DaveD]

DavidNorcross No - as I wrote in the post "The sliced vac-packs keep for many weeks and I never freeze them, because we use them up easily during that time."

[TripleB]

As mentioned, a slicer is very good to have if you want deli sliced meat. Grilled a Tri-tip the other night for dinner with some friends. Last night took the TT and sliced the meat with my slicer and we had cheese steak sammys.

[mrteddyprincess]

I have two of them. Make 1974 bologna like I had in Morgantown, IN growing up. Love them!

Brian

[RamaJama]

Would you mind sharing your bologna recipe?

[mrteddyprincess]

RamaJama no I don't mind sharing it, but I don't think I can get it into a replay because I'm limited to 500 characters. I'll send you (and anyone else who wants it) a private message with the recipe. B

[jfmorris]

Brian,

Post your bologna recipe to the recipes area, rather than as a comment here, then no limit! I am sure your recipe is much healthier than the store bought stuff made from the scraps/parts they can't sell.

[johnec00]

We make our own sandwich meat frequently but don't use a press
Here's roast beef

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/beef-steak-brisket-roasts-prime-rib-etc/1565896-does-anyone-have-a-recipe-for-cured-deli-style-roast-beef?p=1566314#post1566314

And loin ham

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/recipes-technique-food-cooking/pork-recipes/1060680-pork-loin-city-ham-sandwich-slices

[RamaJama]

Y’all bring up another good point, Im looking for a slicer too. Anyone have one they recommend? Or will any old slicer be fine for home use?

[jfmorris]

I think the biggest differentiator is that many "home" oriented slicers have limited capacity in the movement of the "sled", and have trouble with large cuts like homemade bacon. That said, I bought a 7" slicer for $49 on Woot.com a number of years ago, and for the price, I will live with its limitations. I've used it to slice pastrami a few times, but that is about it.

[DaveD]

Y’all bring up another good point, Im looking for a slicer too. Anyone have one they recommend? Or will any old slicer be fine for home use?

You'll want to spend some time researching this. I spent siginificant time comparing models, features, prices before settling on my Beswood 250. Super happy with it.

[Sid P]

Hey Dave, what’s the thickest cut you’ve done, and what’s in this pic? It’s not even listed on Beswood’s website. TIA.

[rmeugene]

Google search shows the Beswood 250 on Amazon

[DaveD]

@sidp I keep it thin - about 0.5 on the dial, which corresponds to a thickness of about 1.5mm or 3/32". I haven't attempted anything thicker because that's how we like our sliced meats. If you open it up all the way, the slices would be well over 0.25"/6mm, but I've not done so.

In the picture are two turkey breasts on the left, and a beef eye round on the right, prior to slicing.

And yes, it's on Amazon now at $368, which is much better than the $458 I paid last July...