Lunch Meat

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Sandyj

Sous Chef
Joined
Sep 1, 2004
Messages
579
Location
Northern New Jersey
Making our own roasted meats for sandwiches....

I have to share this with you because, well, who else might be interested?

My daughters are all starting their summer jobs at a local camp, and yesterday I added things to pack for lunches into my usual Sunday grocery shop. The girls had asked for cold-cuts, but, I decided to buy fresh meat and roast it for them (for all of us) instead of purchasing from the deli. I bought a small piece of London broil (1.7 lbs on sale, 1.69 a lb), and a turkey breast.
I have an old, oval porcelain covered iron pot (about 2 qt size) that was my grandmother's (like Le Creuset, but probably bought for pennies). I put a teeny little bit of olive oil in it, heated it up, then added the salted and peppered London broil. I was in a hurry, (unpacking groceries, million other things to do - you know the drill) so I just chucked in some onion powder and garlic powder (usually would use fresh onions and garlic). I cooked this on the stove for about 1/2 hour and it came out so delish! The plan is to slice it thinly for sandwiches. I was really pleased with the cost savings and also, hopefully, it's healthier than processed meat.

Had to share that long story! Tonight I'm doing the turkey, and will freeze some.
Sandy:angel:
 
Thanks for sharing Sandy,

I get so tired of deli cold cuts, and when I want a roast beef sandwich, I want it cooked not mooing at me, like the deli meat. I've never tried london broil this way but it sounds perfect..Next shopping trip, I'm on it:LOL:
kadesma
 
Glad you liked the idea!

I'm glad you liked the idea - it was fun to "talk" about it!

BTW, London broil goes on sale all the time in the summer, here in NJ, and I've never really paid that much attention to it. One of the things that really interests me is trying to make healthy, fairly simple, fresh, hopefully delicious food on a budget. -Sandy
 
Sandy,

london broil, goes on sale here fairly often. I'm in California. I usually buy tri-tip but want to use something else as well. We try to eat healthy all week and then sundays we splurge a little:) It's hard to stay on a budget, but, it cn be fun if you let it.
kadesma
 
Thanks for posting this Sandyj - I much prefer homemade stuff. It's more satisfying even if only to the soul!! lol
 
My kids, who are now adult and live in their own homes, clamor for home-made sandwich meat. I take a suitably sized chunk of beef and throw it on my Webber, with some maple and birch branches broken to 6 inch lengths. I cover and adjust the vents for slow cooking over divided beds of charcoal (indirect method) to medium rare. I have a cheep slicing wheel that slices pretty thin.

Another great way to make your own lunch meat is to slice combinations of raw meat such as poultry, pork, ham, bacon, bulk sausage, etc, and layer them in a loaf pan with your favorite seasonings. You bake them to a temperature of 165, mesured with a meat thermometer, then chill in the fridge. When cold, the juices gell into an aspic that holds the meat together. It can then be sliced for crackers, lunch-meat, or a meal. This is sometimes called a Terrine, or Pate'. But it is very good, and you can control the ingredients.

To make something more akin to bologna, you throw the pre-cooked meat into a food processor or blender, with water, to make a slurry. This is then seasoned and baked to cook the meat and remove the water. This too makes a pretty good home-cooked luncheon meat.

It's amazing what you can do with a bit of imagination. And we all have lots of that.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Lunchmeat is so unhealthy. Even the lowfat stuff is loaded with sodium and preservatives.
Thing being, it is also less perishable than fresh meats, so be sure to pack some "blue ice" in with their lunches...or freeze a bottle of water, and it will keep the food cold, and they can drink it later.
 
slow smoking turkey breast or a whole chicken on the grill makes awesome homemade cold cuts too. But your experiment sounds great...basically a dry rub pot cooked on top of the range. will give it a try!
 
Constance said:
Lunchmeat is so unhealthy. Even the lowfat stuff is loaded with sodium and preservatives.
Thing being, it is also less perishable than fresh meats, so be sure to pack some "blue ice" in with their lunches...or freeze a bottle of water, and it will keep the food cold, and they can drink it later.

By making your own, you can control the salt content and replace fat with substitutes such as TVP. By flavoring with herbs and spices, minimizing the salts and fats, and using healthier meats, you can actually make lunch meat a healthy thing, especially if it's served on whole-grain breads with mustards, veggies, sprouts and such fare. :mrgreen:

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Constance said:
be sure to pack some "blue ice" in with their lunches...or freeze a bottle of water, and it will keep the food cold, and they can drink it later.

Constance, I agree with you about the "blue ice". I am amazed how many of my coworkers don't pack their lunches with "blue ice" or a frozen waterbottle or two. I do both. Blue ice for keeping my lunch cold and I like to freeze my waterbottles because the cooler water tastes wonderful on a hot, sunny day. :)
 
Thanks - tried the turkey, too...

Thanks for all the comments. Two things: I tried the turkey, having bought a turkey breast and slow roasted it. Sliced it up, froze some, some for sandwiches. It was lovely. Well worth the effort, which, by the way, wasn't all that much. Again, I just stuck it in the oven (pepper/sage/thyme and - I cheated (again) - experimenting with sprinkling some chicken boullion powder (Goya) over all). The girls have lunch bags that are insulated plus we have those freezable ice packs (they're soft packets when not frozen).
Next week is a vegetarian week! - Sandyj
 
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