Anybody use a “deli meat press” at home?

November 19, 2024, 11:05 PM

I was thinking I might pick up on of these types of devices to use at home… deli meat is very expensive and full of gosh knows what. I really like the idea of making our own. Seems easy enough to feed some meat through our meat grinder, season, and pack it in the device.

Anybody use one? Any pitfalls?

https://a.co/d/5APiUeO

November 20, 2024, 08:51 AM

mark60

I never heard of such a thing but as someone that's been trying to thin slice chicken breast for a while, I'll be finding out.
I mill my own flour for bread and have tried thin slicing cooked chicken breast (doesn't work very well) and pounding it thin before cooking (better but a lot of trouble) This contraption looks like it might do what I want.

November 20, 2024, 01:39 PM

Gascan

Ummm... I grew up eating cheap deli meat, progressing from the bottom of the barrel, highly processed & formed sliced turkey that came in ziplock-able bags to pre-sliced (still highly-processed) meat that had actual texture and came in plastic tupperware like containers; to Boar's Head sliced in front of me at the Publix deli counter.
For same reasons as you (price and a long list of ingredients that likely won't do me any good), I've cut back on buying deli meats altogether.

With all that said, I think the solution for you is to buy a good (commercial grade) meat slicer. They can be found used if you're on a budget; give it a good cleaning and it'll be good to go.
Then, buy a large chunk of whichever meat you want for sandwiches, marinate and bake/smoke/grill however you want; let it cool and then slice it up to that perfect thickness.

The biggest downsides of a meat slicer is its size & weight; you need to find a place to store it when not in use.
Thoroughly cleaning it after each use is also time consuming (though I look at that in the same way as cleaning firearms after a day at the range - it comes with the territory)

Lastly, stainless steel gauntlets when slicing and then cleaning the circular blade are a MUST!

November 20, 2024, 02:22 PM

mark60

I have the slicer and it's great for things like roast beef and turkey breast but chicken breast is a little on the challenging side.

November 20, 2024, 10:28 PM

thumperfbc

quote:
Originally posted by mark60:
I never heard of such a thing but as someone that's been trying to thin slice chicken breast for a while, I'll be finding out.
I mill my own flour for bread and have tried thin slicing cooked chicken breast (doesn't work very well) and pounding it thin before cooking (better but a lot of trouble) This contraption looks like it might do what I want.

Yea, I’ve been sous vide cooking chicken breast (1 per pouch) and throwing them in the freezer. Then I’ll just take them out the day before to thaw. When it is time to slice I get my best thin and floppy slicer, turn the breast on edge, and start shaving. It helps if you toss it back in the freezer for 15 minutes right before slicing. This process is certainly good enough.

But I’m always looking for something better.

November 20, 2024, 10:31 PM

thumperfbc

quote:
Originally posted by Gascan:
Ummm... I grew up eating cheap deli meat, progressing from the bottom of the barrel, highly processed & formed sliced turkey that came in ziplock-able bags to pre-sliced (still highly-processed) meat that had actual texture and came in plastic tupperware like containers; to Boar's Head sliced in front of me at the Publix deli counter.
For same reasons as you (price and a long list of ingredients that likely won't do me any good), I've cut back on buying deli meats altogether.

With all that said, I think the solution for you is to buy a good (commercial grade) meat slicer. They can be found used if you're on a budget; give it a good cleaning and it'll be good to go.
Then, buy a large chunk of whichever meat you want for sandwiches, marinate and bake/smoke/grill however you want; let it cool and then slice it up to that perfect thickness.

The biggest downsides of a meat slicer is its size & weight; you need to find a place to store it when not in use.
Thoroughly cleaning it after each use is also time consuming (though I look at that in the same way as cleaning firearms after a day at the range - it comes with the territory)

Lastly, stainless steel gauntlets when slicing and then cleaning the circular blade are a MUST!

A few years back I had a consumer grade meat slicer. Was totally not worth the cleaning hassle. I got rid of it. I would think a commercial one would be easier to clean but no room in this house.

But the next stage of life will have an entire “food processing” shop and that’ll for sure have a commercial slicer.

January 28, 2025, 06:57 AM

mark60

Finally got around to trying this and I'm very surprised. Pleasantly surprised. My plan was to use chicken breast but for a trial run I grabbed 2# of ground turkey at the store. Seasoned with a little sale to help bind it, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika and a bit of honey. Cooked it with the sous vide to about 170 degrees than ice bathed it and refrigerated overnight.Sliced it up the next day and my wife and I both thought it was great. Great flavor and nice neat slices. I took chicken breast yesterday and tossed it in the food processor with the same same seasonings and will cook it today. I think the food processor is gonna be better than grinding it, we'll see.

January 28, 2025, 08:33 AM

Aglifter

Seems interesting.

Essentially, it looks like you’re making a…. Pate? Can’t remember, the thing covered in aspic.

Anyway, adding some gelatin might help with chicken breast/other cuts which are low in collagen/cook down high collagen pieces - beef knuckle, chicken feet, etc in a pressure cooker, and add that to the shredded/ground meat…

Actually, that sounds pretty tasty…

January 30, 2025, 11:41 AM

thumperfbc

quote:
Originally posted by mark60:
Finally got around to trying this and I'm very surprised. Pleasantly surprised. My plan was to use chicken breast but for a trial run I grabbed 2# of ground turkey at the store. Seasoned with a little sale to help bind it, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika and a bit of honey. Cooked it with the sous vide to about 170 degrees than ice bathed it and refrigerated overnight.Sliced it up the next day and my wife and I both thought it was great. Great flavor and nice neat slices. I took chicken breast yesterday and tossed it in the food processor with the same same seasonings and will cook it today. I think the food processor is gonna be better than grinding it, we'll see.

I'm curious to your findings with the food processor vs the grounding. How long do did you cook it for in the sous vide? When I do chicken breast sous vide I usually do 155 for 3-4 hours.

I haven't bought the press yet but it remains in my shopping cart... one of these days I'll get tired of it in there and just buy it.

January 30, 2025, 11:49 AM

jhe888

quote:
Originally posted by Aglifter:
Seems interesting.

Essentially, it looks like you’re making a…. Pate? Can’t remember, the thing covered in aspic.

Anyway, adding some gelatin might help with chicken breast/other cuts which are low in collagen/cook down high collagen pieces - beef knuckle, chicken feet, etc in a pressure cooker, and add that to the shredded/ground meat…

Actually, that sounds pretty tasty…

Agreed. It looks like this thing is a way to make something like bologna or salami, but perhaps on a coarser scale, without a casing. A form of sausage, in essence.

I guess you could make chopped and formed ham (homemade Spam) or chopped and formed chicken, too.

January 30, 2025, 02:17 PM

barndg00

Curious, did you take it out of the mold before sous vide? Or just submerge the whole thing? How long did it cook?

January 30, 2025, 03:19 PM

mark60

Coming out of the food processor it was pretty much a pate. There wasn't too much difference between the ground and the food processor, the food processor is easier to clean than my grinder though so I'll probably go that direction.

We did one batch in a bag designed for the can and one without a bag. Cleanup was easier with the bag, it kept all the gunk off the spring so the bags are worth the cost.

I set the sous vide at 190 and it cooked to 170 in right about two hours. I put the can in an ice bath for a bit to stop the cooking and put the whole thing in the fridge overnight.

It is basically a "sausage" and sliced they both came out with bologna texture and consistency. Very easy to slice thin with the meat slicer, tastes great, much cheaper than deli meat and can control what's in it. Overall I'm pretty pleased with it.

We packaged it up between sheets of deli paper and froze a bunch so we can pull some out every few days.