Anyone make their own "deli" meat?

[mamafuko]

I love deli turkey (nitrite free and organic). But it's so expensive. At the co-op I shop at, it's over $12 a pound. They also sell turkey breasts, which I want to buy and make into deli meat, but I'm not sure how. How do the deli meat companies get the meat seasoned all the way through? And what do they do to make the turkey so moist and soft? Then there's the matter of slicing them thin enough. And since I'm really the only one who eats it in my house (my son doesn't like it, and I'm single), can I freeze them? Will it change the texture and flavor?

Thanks for any thoughts you may have!

[425lisamarie]

I just bag the whole deli meat idea and do things like chopped meat salads. You can buy a turkey breast, roast it, dice it up like chicken salad with onion, celery, mayo and use that instead.

I know what you mean it's crazy expensive for GOOD and natural lunch meat. I have also bought a turkey breast, brine it for flavor, butterfly and stuff it and roast then slice in thick wheels. If it's just you eating it then you could probably freeze a bunch of thick slices.

[cristeen]

For seasoning - brine it. For cooking - roast it covered to keep it moist. For slicing - either practice, practice, practice, or get yourself a meat slicer.

And it can definitely be frozen. Slice it first, and freeze it in single serve portions.

And don't limit yourself to turkey. A tri-tip makes a lovely roast beef.

[velochic]

I do all sorts of homemade lunch meats. No, it's not shaved finely like you can in the deli, but it can be slice fairly thinly. It does fall apart, though and doesn't stay in these tidy little slices.

I have many different marinades and rubs that I put on meat and then (my favorite way) grill it. I let it cool, then slice thinly, freeze it or put it in the fridge and we all use it for sandwiches, quesadillas, pitas, panini, pizza, etc. I've never had a problem with them not being juicy, tender, and flavorful.

If you want that texture, I don't think you're going to find it at home. Just a week or so ago, I was watching a program on History or Travel Channel and they were showing how they do these deli meats... even the organic all-natural ones. They are still very highly processed to get the appropriate texture. They use hundreds of long needles to inject these "juices" into the meat... usually a salt solution of some sort. The meat is sprayed with an antibacterial solution, then wrapped in plastic... RAW. Then they actually cook the meat INSIDE THE PLASTIC so it maintains it's shape and is compressed during cooking. After being cooked and compressed in plastic, it goes through another antibacterial bath and is cooled down and boxed. There's just no way to replicate (and I would hope people wouldn't want to if they're going all-natural) that at home.

Natural unprocessed meat, if cooked correctly, will fall apart according to its grain when sliced so thinly (think shredded beef or pork). If it's taste you're after, go with a marinade and cook yourself. If it's the texture you want, you're not going to get it at home. HTH!

[ursusarctos]

Originally Posted by velochic

If you want that texture, I don't think you're going to find it at home. Just a week or so ago, I was watching a program on History or Travel Channel and they were showing how they do these deli meats... even the organic all-natural ones. They are still very highly processed to get the appropriate texture. They use hundreds of long needles to inject these "juices" into the meat... usually a salt solution of some sort. The meat is sprayed with an antibacterial solution, then wrapped in plastic... RAW. Then they actually cook the meat INSIDE THE PLASTIC so it maintains it's shape and is compressed during cooking. After being cooked and compressed in plastic, it goes through another antibacterial bath and is cooled down and boxed. There's just no way to replicate (and I would hope people wouldn't want to if they're going all-natural) that at home.

GROSS!!! I had no idea! We don't usually buy deli meat anyway but next time DP wants some I will bring this up.

ETA: I agree with pps about marinating, roasting, cooling, and slicing real meat for sandwiches. It's not the same thing as deli meat, but it's so much more nutritious and imo tastier. Especially with sandwich condiments

[annethcz]

I've found an electric knife to be helpful in slicing meats thinner. We also do a fair amount of shredded chicken and pork sandwiches, rather than sliced meat sandwiches.

[cristeen]

Some cuts of meat are more likely to fall apart after cooking than others. Go for single muscle cuts - tri-tip, london broil, tenderloin, entire breast, etc.

Injection brining is not that difficult to do at home, but probably unnecessary - a regular brine should be fine. Tie a roast up to compress it if it's multiple muscles, or an odd shape to cook more evenly. Don't overcook it and don't go for a low slow cooking - it's more likely to fall apart.

[BedHead]

Does anyone know if a mandoline slicer is a good thing to have for slicing up roasts for sandwich meat? I was eying them a few weeks ago and thinking about this.

[lil_earthmomma]

We slice our own lunch ham. We do not slice it thin, but since we've gone grain free that's actually a good thing, as the thick slices of ham are sort of the bread!

As far as what we used to do for sandwich meat (now used to top salad greens), I agree with pp that said make turkey salad, chicken salad, egg salad. Mmmmmmmmmm... You can make so many different varieties just by flavoring the mayo (spicy southwestern, chili lime, roasted garlic, sundried tomato) and the add ins (celery, purple onion, green grapes, green onion, tomato, walnuts, spinach...) . On sunday nights I make a couple bowls full to last the work week. Efficient, and so much healthier.

(BTW, EW EW EW!!! to how lunch meat is made! Blech I grew up eating lunch meat and cheez wiz. *gag* I ate it every day of my life in school.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by BedHead

Does anyone know if a mandoline slicer is a good thing to have for slicing up roasts for sandwich meat? I was eying them a few weeks ago and thinking about this.

No - not really useful for meats. They're too pliable.

[425lisamarie]

Also, if you are just looking for something really thin like deli meat you can make thin pan fried chicken breast. I love to do this for dinner because it's so tender and the kids prefer it. Just lightly pound the fat side of the chicken breast and then slice it like you would butterfly it but all the way through to make two pieces. That makes a really good sandwich!

[mamafuko]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Velochic, thanks for that eye-opening look into the world of deli meat. Now that I know that, it'll be easy not to buy deli meat anymore. Good riddance. It was getting expensive.

So now I definitely have to try making my own. It makes sense to brine the turkey breast, and then I'll roast. The slicing is going to be tricky. The electric knife idea is good. I'm going to look into that. Or I might just accept thick slices. If it's moist enough, that's fine. I just don't like a mouthful of dried out turkey. There's such a huge difference between that and the moistness of deli turkey. But now I also know that it's because of a bunch of needles. Weird.

I'm not much of a fan of salads, so that's not an every day option for me. I can only do it once in a while.

Thanks again for all your helpful comments and advice.

[Super_mommy]

Since my DD doesn't like turkey I don't prepare, So not sure about the recipe