# Homemade deli style meat



## inchrisin (Feb 10, 2012)

I've been looking into saving some money and skipping the deli at the local supermarket.  I can do better at home and for a whole lot cheaper.  I'm wondering if anyone has a good recipe for deli style meat.  I've done roast beef that was amazing and I'm looking into doing a turkey breast next.  Any other recipes for sandwich meat, or lunch meat are welcome too.


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## Izghoga (Feb 10, 2012)

Can the such will approach.
And in general, lard fat garlic and carrot and bake in an oven.


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## Rocklobster (Feb 10, 2012)

You could do a porchetta with a pork loin. I do them up and then wrap them tightly in tinfoil and put them in the fridge. Then, I slice them up after a day and eat them cold.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 10, 2012)

A good way to make deli loaf-style meats is to cut thin strips of beef, pork, turkey, or ham.  You then layer the desired strips (you can mix and match as you like), along with mined onion, garlic, olives, pimentoes, all in a bread pan that has been well buttered.  Season with salt, pepper, sage, etc., between each layer.  Place in the oven and bake until cooked through.  Let cool ovenight in the fridge and remove the loaf from the pan.  Then slice thin for sandwiches. The collagen and juices from the meat should be sufficeint to hold everything togeth.  But if the meat is very lean, go ahead and mix in some unflavored geletine into the mixture.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind fo the North


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## Chef Munky (Feb 10, 2012)

inchrisin said:


> I've been looking into saving some money and skipping the deli at the local supermarket.  I can do better at home and for a whole lot cheaper.  I'm wondering if anyone has a good recipe for deli style meat.  I've done roast beef that was amazing and I'm looking into doing a turkey breast next.  Any other recipes for sandwich meat, or lunch meat are welcome too.



Boneless turkey breasts, ham is pretty easy to do.

If you have the time, equipment, spices. You can make your own deli meats at home. Check out some sausage making supply company's. They usually carry everything needed to get the job done. It's actually a lot easier to make it yourself. At least you'll know what exactly goes into the product.

Munky.


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## inchrisin (Feb 10, 2012)

Heh, I'm getting really tired of standing in line for 20 minutes to get some stuff that is sub-par to what I can make at home.  It only takes me 20 minutes of active work to do it at home.


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## HistoricFoodie (Feb 10, 2012)

Chief Longwind: You don't use a weight when making those laminated loaves?


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## Aunt Bea (Feb 10, 2012)

Any roast or whole bird is a good option.  Also meatloaf or pate is a good choice.  James Beard had a recipe for one in Beard on Pasta that contained shell macaroni among other things, he called it Beach Pate.  It is a hearty rustic pate that is sturdy enough for sandwiches.  Chopped chicken liver is a nice change, egg salad, ham loaf. etc.  Look for ideas in cookbooks that are WWII era or before.  Ask your grandparents for some ideas, people have been toting food for along time.


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## Caslon (Feb 10, 2012)

HistoricFoodie said:


> Chief Longwind: You don't use a weight when making those laminated loaves?



I'm wondering that too.  Right now as it is, I buy an eye round or top round roast, marinate it awhile with some vinegar and oil, and then salt and pepper it. I oven cook it at 325F and then slice it paper thin with my old plastic Krups kitchen counter slicer. I portion it into bags and freeze it for later us.

While very good, I wish I could do more to make it a bit more deli shop flavorful for my sammies. I should explore the above method, but am very in the dark about it.

I mostly cook eye round and top round roasts because they come in a good shape for slicing. I'd like to try a roast with a bit more fat in it, but they are so deformed looking. Maybe the loaf method would be good for odd shaped roasts that have more fat in them (flavor) , seeing as I doubt I could get uniform sandwich sized slices from odd shaped roasts that I see for sale.
I see some roasts that are almost squashed down looking.


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## roadfix (Feb 10, 2012)

Thinly sliced cold tri tip is what I like.  Awesome deli meat.


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## Caslon (Feb 10, 2012)

roadfix said:


> Thinly sliced cold tri tip is what I like.  Awesome deli meat.



Thanks, I'll see if I can get a roast like that in reasonable shape for slicing with my Krupps. I believe that cut has more fat in it. Eye round and top rounds are much more lean (almost too lean). While they are still tasty, I'm looking for more flavorful cuts now (fat content) for making deli meat.


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## HistoricFoodie (Feb 10, 2012)

Caslon, have you ever considered rolling and tying those odd-shaped roasts before cooking? Not only will that give you the kind of shape you're looking for, but you can use all sorts of flavorings as fillings. Or even stuff them.


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## SherryDAmore (Feb 10, 2012)

I don't know about making special food for deli cuts, but here's some good news: JC Penney has a Cook's brand meat slicer on sale for $40!!!

I bought one for my son and is fiancee. I already have one, and use it to slice corned beef, turkey breast, and prime rib. Tastes pretty close to the deli to me, plus it doesn't have a ton of salt and preservatives in it.


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## Caslon (Feb 10, 2012)

HistoricFoodie said:


> Caslon, have you ever considered rolling and tying those odd-shaped roasts before cooking? Not only will that give you the kind of shape you're looking for, but you can use all sorts of flavorings as fillings. Or even stuff them.



I would think the roll would fall apart upon slicing.  That's why I'm somewhat intrigued about the aboved mentioned loaf method. I had never head of that before. That way (as my thinking goes), I could layer oddly shaped slices that would end up in something more substantial (holding together) when I go to thin slice it.

This is the first I ever heard of loafing slices to be able to slice again. Wouldn't the slices tend not to hold together enough to run thru a meat slicer? 

The above tip about weighting them down seems like a good one.  Also, adding gelatin (Longweed) for that extra holding power. But can you really hold that made up thing with your hands? on a slicer? without it falling apart after slicing it and handling it to the the bread?


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 11, 2012)

Think of meat loaf, hot dogs, head cheese, etc.  These are "meats" that are made of individual meat pieces, either ground or cut up, that are cooked together.  In the cooking process (especially in the head cheese) the collagen that melts our of connecting tissue, and cartilage form bonds with the meat tissue, gluing it together, so to speak.

And no, I didn't have to weight anything down when making my pate'.  It was simply baked until well done all the way through.  It sliced very nicely.  But your knife does have to be very sharp.

The beauty of this method is that it allows versatility.  If yo wanted, you could cut the meat pieces short, and layer 1/3 of it with pork, 1/3 of it with beef, and 1/3 of it as beef, all laid end to end.  Add small bits of veggies and seasonings as required by each part.  Make sure there are no gaps in the loaf, and bake.  You then have three different luncheon meats from one loaf.

You can be extremely creative, using cracked pepper in your loaf, or minced garlic, or onion, whatever you want.

Oh, and another addition to your oaf recipe that will help hold everything together is a raw egg mixed into the meat.  You won't be able to tell it's there.  Try to cut the meat strips with the meat grain.  That way, they are layered with the meat grain oriented on the long axis.  You will be slicing against the grain, which will make your meat slices tender and delectable.

oh, and just so's you knows, the loaf I made was comprised of chicken and pork, layered in a buttered loaf pan and seasoned with salt, pepper, sage, and thyme.  It was very good.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## inchrisin (Feb 12, 2012)

Caslon:  For my roast beef I just use salt pepper rosemary and garlic powder.  Wrap it and set it in the fridge overnight.  In the oven at 500F for 15 to sear and 350F till you hit your desired internal temp.  The best juiciest meat you've ever had!


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## Bigjim68 (Feb 12, 2012)

If you are a little bit adventursome, you might want to try to corn beef briskets.  Prep time is short, but it takes a couple of weeks to cure.  Way better than the store bought stuff.  I do it with a dry rub, no water added.  Cure in a ziplock bag.

If you are really advetursome, take the corned beef, smoke it, and turn it into pastrami.


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## Caslon (Feb 12, 2012)

inchrisin said:


> Caslon:  For my roast beef I just use salt pepper rosemary and garlic powder.  Wrap it and set it in the fridge overnight.  In the oven at 500F for 15 to sear and 350F till you hit your desired internal temp.  The best juiciest meat you've ever had!



Thanks. I've been meaning to try that hot start method for roasts. I have a 1.89lb  eye round roast to try it out on. I also have a thru the door thermometer probe. I hope I take it out at the right temp.  I'm dismayed when it turns out without much redness (med). 

My roasts at 325F work ok, and the roast has a nice redness at the center that becomes not so red and nice towards the outside. Perhaps searing the outside at 500F will allow the roast not to look like a cross section of the earths core, but rather cook all one nice color inside (without being undercooked too).  Here's hoping.   At what internal temp do you like to remove it from the oven and let it self cook a bit longer (for med-rare)?  I keep trying for just beyond rare for nice and juicy red-pink, but not undercooked and definately not anywhere near medium.


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