How To Form Ham Into Lunch Meat

We have been raising and processing our own pork for years. But this year we have made a big leap toward being more sustainable. We have learned how to form ham into lunch meat with the help of Duncan Henry and the book Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages. Watch how easy it is!
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[@kellyname5733]

You can use gelatin as a binder to hold things together. Gelatin is very nutritious and works great. Cook the meat with what ever spices first and puree or chunk the meat or do a little of both. Then add the gelatin using a broth for extra flavor, and put it in the press and refrigerate overnight. You could skip the press part and just fill up your press tube if you wanted. Comes out perfect every time. I learned this way on YT at My Kitchen Tanja.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Great tip! Thanks for sharing

[@jeanb7464]

What you need to do is grind it in a blender or food processor. That’s how you get the deli. Looking meat ! Yours looks good though

[@bigbearhomestead]

You are not the first person. To suggest that, I am going to have to give it a try and see how it turns out. I will make a video on it as well

[@patpowell862]

Yes, grind 1/3 of total gram weight, then mix with your cubed ham, them finish as recipe.

[@kellyname5733]

Agreed Jean. I use my Vitamix to make a smooth paste. Maybe even add a little gelatin with some water or broth so it processes better in the Vitamix and it binds well. Better to do it in small batch so not to overwork the Vitamix motor, which I have done, lol. Turns out well.

[@TravisInCanada1]

Dude that turned out great! You should be happy with those results, provided it tastes good. Call it "Artisan Ham" cause it has a nice rustic appearance. Also Scrambled Egg Skillet with some of that? LETS GO!

[@bigbearhomestead]

It tasted amazing thanks for the uplifting comment

[@morrismonet3554]

I love the ham maker, I make all kinds of things, from Bologna to Spam. Don't boil, you want a slow simmer. Check the internal temp, pull it at 155 F. Never use anything with less than 20% fat. More is even better. Pork shoulder is the best cut for sausage and lunch meat.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@TheWhitetailrancher]

I just finished making formed ham again within the last week or so. I made my own molds out of old Farmall "M" cylinder liners. Bla bhlah....if you want to know more about it I'll lwt you know. Anyway directly to your comment. I used exactly 1/3 of a loin in 3/4" chunks, 1/3 into 1/2" cubes and of course the last 1/3 cut into 1/4" chunks. Came out just beautifully Very close to no air gaps at all. Like maybe 2 tiny gaps per "ham". Hope that helps you out a little bit friend! BTW I only mentioned the whole Farmall thing because I was making a point that a guy can almost always do a work around for not having every little Piece of equipment others may have.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for sharing

[@JohnWegener-bc8dn]

I have not done a ham yet but for chicken and turkey, i blend it up into a paste. Makes it look much closer to the store bought stuff!

[@bigbearhomestead]

How much do you blend it, and do you worry about the protein extraction?

[@meatdog]

@@bigbearhomestead theres no protein extraction. You add ice cubes to the grinding process to keep the blades and the meat cold. Plus the meat must be very very cold when you grind it. Then for the second grinding to the paste stage, the meat again must be as cold as possible without being frozen and add ice cubes to the process to keep everything cold. Then add your salts spices then mix well. Pack the ham press, refrigerate overnight, cook the next day, cool again the the refrigerator then remove and run it through the meat slicer. You can't take shortcuts for quality lunchmeat at home.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for sharing this information, I am going to give this a go

[@brwhyon]

Thanks for the post ! Try cutting the meat into three sizes, they pack into the tube better with fewer voids in the end product and give some smoked salt a try, holy crap what a difference. If you're having issues with any separation at the end try working the cubes in a large bowl for some extra protein extraction, helps to bind it all together. Thanks also for turning me on to the book, just ordered it with the link, thanks.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for the tip!, and thanks for watching

[@craigbrown5359]

Looks awesome the way it is!!!

[@bigbearhomestead]

I'm about to start another one to see if I can get it looking better

[@kellyname5733]

I have watched your video 4 times and every time I love it! Your final product turned out great. Some folks like big chunks and some dont. I actually put my meat in my Vitamix (smaller batches so not to freeze up the motor) to make a smooth paste. Works every time.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thank you so much!

[@eyesopen6110]

It looks great man! Never saw this before..

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks! It tasted great as well thanks for watching

[@TheWhitetailrancher]

Duncan Henry is the canadian bearded butcher! I'm a HUGE fan of both channels! I have personally made every single sausage of BOTH Marainski March series. That book is priceless to the home sausage maker! Good foe you friend! Have fun!

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes he is, thanks for watching

[@kellyname5733]

No more beard. Its gone. great channel

[@johnvernalls7609]

That chunk is perfect

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

I have found that using a Sous Vide Cooker and a tub that the ham mold fits in works better than boiling it on the stove! I can cook it at a lower temp than boiling water and I don't cook out nearly as much water and collagen as when I used the stove! It takes a little longer to cook, but by using a temp probe set to the temp I want it to reach internally it works just fine literily set it and forget it till it beeps. I usually set the cooker to around 190 to 195 and let it cook until it reaches a temp of no higher than 165. I usually pull it a bit before that and let the residual heat finish it, I get much juicier meat that way.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for sharing, gonna have to try that way.

[@morrismonet3554]

I don't have any problem maintaining a slow simmer at 170 F. on my stove using the smallest burner. I pull the ham press out at 155.

[@kellyname5733]

About how long does it take to Sous Vide at 190 to get an internal temp of 165? Thanks

[@tuandao5093]

Let me ask, what app did you buy the mold for pressing meat on?

[@bigbearhomestead]

Amazon. The link should be in the description.

[@kimroot8883]

Looks good! Practice makes perfect! I'm hoping to be more independent from the stores eventually too. I'll be watching you guys!

[@bigbearhomestead]

Just take baby steps and don't ever stop learning and trying. You will get there, and with each step you will love the freedom you find. Thanks for watching. And if you ever need any help on your rd to freedom just reach out and we will do the best we can to help.

[@kimroot8883]

@Big Bear Homestead thanks, I'll keep that in mind! Ive always thought about stopping by to see how you guys do things in person. I'm only 4 hours away! 😉

[@svaughan41]

This might be a dumb question, but could you grind the meat first? How would that come out?

[@bigbearhomestead]

No such thing as a dumb question I am going to try that soon

[@shadowbanned-iq4fl]

My work friends used to love me because I would bring in 10-20 pounds of different kinds of sausages that I tried to make that weekend,and in my mind they didn’t come out the way I wanted it to so they were wrong. My coworkers disagreed adamantly. Without using preservatives and additives homemade stuff looks homemade, not a bad thing.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes, we don’t realize how much additives and preservatives are in food. It skews our expectation of what is “right”. Thanks for the words of encouragement!

[@merryanneadair4451]

Would it work better to grind the meat? It certainly looks good!!

[@bigbearhomestead]

I thought that as well but the book and Dungan said to use chunks. I think it has something to do with protein extraction. Thanks for watching.

[@jisaac2890]

The end result looks delicious

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks, and it absolutely is very delicious. Thanks for watching.

[@ToddIngham]

Dude, great book on your counter...

[@bigbearhomestead]

I love it

[@pjac317]

Boiled ham is always good . Hansel and Gretel makes a great one and of course Board Head.

[@bigbearhomestead]

We are trying to get away from buying our and more of making our own

[@ToddIngham]

i would think if you just put in more meat under full compression, it may help also try adding california ham spice...WOW is all i'm saying...

[@bigbearhomestead]

Might just try that, and I will look for that spice.

[@MamaZsTexasKitchen]

That looks good 😊

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thank you 😋

[@jackieunderwood4893]

Looks good to me. I would like the more lean cut. I think I will try this with beef and my beef jerky recipe. Make a Philly cheese kinda thing only beef jerky and peppers.....

[@bigbearhomestead]

Sounds good!

[@eileenfb1948]

As you suggested to try cutting your cubes of meat with some larger and some smaller to fill in the spaces between the larger ones. If you put the meat in a food mixer for a couple of minutes, using the beater, it will help to make the meat more sticky and therefore it will stick together better. Today I made my first ham using minced pork and chicken cut into cubes - worked out fine. Much easier than I thought it would be. Now I need to work on the recipe.

[@bigbearhomestead]

We will give it a go

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

You can also grind some of it to fill in the gaps better.

[@KarlKarl-im4yd]

You need a variety of different size chunks if you want to eliminate air gaps

[@bigbearhomestead]

You are right, we learned that after we made this video. We will be doing an updated video soon. Where we show some other things that we learned. Thanks for watching and we hope you hit that subscribe button and rang the bell.

[@3252fly]

From This Elder Canadian, 's View== ALWAYS PUREY any meat before putting it in meat press!!. Like your video.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Ok..may I ask why?

[@benzoverakers1877]

Looks yummy to me!!!

[@bigbearhomestead]

It was!, I just had a mental block of how it looked. But it taste amazing. Thanks for watching.

[@CopperKettleFarms]

I love this! I've always wanted to learn how to do this. Let me know if you do one on chicken or turkey, cause I'm hella interested in some lemon pepper turkey or chicken lunchmeat lol

[@bigbearhomestead]

You got it! Especially lemon pepper

[@carfvallrightsreservedwith6649]

Three days curing not necessary when meat is cubed. General rule of thumb is 24 hours per inch of thickness.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Ok, but what if you have different sizes? Should we just stick to three days?

[@Granny1375]

Noticed that the puppy came in for his bite.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes Lagertha loves ham. She hears the slicer and she knows there ham!

[@debc8402]

nice job!!

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@lendouma3224]

That meat reminds me of the Old Fashioned Loaf from Oscar Mayer. Looks great.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Really, I am getting ready to try it again.

[@jamiealfenso737]

Is the curing salt a must?

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes

[@stevenkolb812]

How did it taste?

[@bigbearhomestead]

It was actually good

[@haji727]

You could have ran it through a food processor to make the meat more fine, then go through the process of cooking, chilling and so on.

[@bigbearhomestead]

That might work, I just followed the directions this time.

[@jessicawaschek1912]

Does anyone know how well this freezes? 💡

[@bigbearhomestead]

We ate ours to fast but in the future we will be freezing some, it should do fine

[@daniellapassarelli5169]

We’re making our own Coldcuts now too. I haven’t done the ham yet but I did make chicken. Instead of chopping it in chunks I put mine through the blender and it came out very well. Have you tried that with the ham or is there a reason why the cubes worked better?

[@bigbearhomestead]

I have not tried that yet, but when I do I will certainly post the video! Thanks for watching!

[@emoneyblue]

Usa food processor or if you're like me i own a bowl chopper and you will make REALLY good DELI MEATS. Cheers

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for the encouragement. We will be trying a different method soon. Be sure to subscribe and hit the like button so you don't miss it!

[@johnvernalls7609]

Big is good, means more meat on your sandwich yum yum

[@bigbearhomestead]

It was tasty

[@laurenreed4561]

Can you do this with chicken? Also do you have to add all the salt and let it sit for 3 days?

[@bigbearhomestead]

We have not tried it with chicken yet, that is going to happen this summer along with turkey in the fall. And yes you add the salts and let it sit

[@carfvallrightsreservedwith6649]

Letting it sit is for the #1 curing salt to work and allows for the meat to remain red when cooked. Leave out the curing salt and your end product will be brown like a hamburger.

[@sheprd]

Looks good to me. The big question I have is how did it taste? Gotta answer that man!

[@bigbearhomestead]

It tasted great, I am making it again with some different flavors. Hope you hit that subscribe button so you won't miss it

[@lelianewman3818]

Hello, what book are you using?

[@bigbearhomestead]

The link is in the description

[@jimbop4499]

You done the math??? I didn't see the salt and cure measured??? just tipped in from the bags!

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes we did the math, some things are done off camera or don’t make the Final Cut in order to help the video go smoothly and to keep audiences engaged. Thanks for watching

[@rustic35]

2/3 minced and 1/3 chunks.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for the suggestion, we will be trying a different method soon. Be sure to like and subscribe so that you don't miss it

[@REALenvizible]

Did it taste good?

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes it was delicious!

[@NewEnglnd-kk9zz]

Can I cut up and trim the pork butt I have? Do I just cube it or would running it through a meat grinder be better?

[@bigbearhomestead]

I have several people suggesting to run it through a grinder. I have found that cutting up pieces of different sizes helps too. I think a pork butt would be fine.

[@candygrant8738]

Where can I find the book you refer to?

[@bigbearhomestead]

We got ours on Amazon. The link for the book is in the description of this video.

[@oioiber]

It's not the fat that binds. Sizes are ok, you don't need to cut them smaller. Well maybe just 1/3 of the amount. For better binding you need to spend some time mixing it, in room temperature until chunks start to stick to your hands and each other. Also it is common to add some extra protein as binder, like soy protein - that's what commercial meat processors do

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for the information, I am going to be trying this again real soon.

[@saramontemiglio1063]

Could you put the meat press in an insta pot?

[@bigbearhomestead]

Hmmm I am not sure about that.

[@suzannehurley8473]

I miss “spiced ham” have you ever made it?

[@bigbearhomestead]

Not yet

[@johnvernalls7609]

Thicker slices please please please

[@bigbearhomestead]

Lol

[@bobmarchetti8878]

I would base success on how it tastes

[@bigbearhomestead]

True thanks for watching

[@RobertSmith-ub6tk]

You need to grind your meat in a meat grinder. I made a lot of German baloney and lunch meat when I worked in the butcher shop.

[@bigbearhomestead]

A lot of people have suggested that we were just following how Duncan did it on his channel to see if we could replicate it

[@chrisr4804]

it doesnt look like a deli ham because there arent a ton of binders and preservatives in it. Good work.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks and thanks for watching. Hope you hit that subscribe button and rang the bell.

[@juggernautblue]

After it cured, should've blended it into a paste.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Just something about making a meat a paste...sometimes I have to decide just how "processed' I want my food. What makes us different than the commercial stuff?

[@juggernautblue]

@@bigbearhomestead true

[@carfvallrightsreservedwith6649]

That would turn it into bologna and texture (chew) would be completely different.

[@meatdog]

I grind my meat into a fine paste then continue the process. I find just chopping it isn't going to give you "lunchmeat" results.

[@bigbearhomestead]

I am going to try that, thanks for sharing and for watching. Hope you hit the subscribe button and rang the bell

[@IzzyEatz]

Wait until 2023 prices on lunch meat in December it’s insane

[@bigbearhomestead]

Price on everything has gone up! Hopefully this is one way to avoid the high prices and trashy food.

[@IzzyEatz]

@@bigbearhomestead I buy .59 turkeys. Debone. Brine smoke. Slice. For cheap lunch meat. And I make venison summer sausage….. lunch meat prices are epic high like Hunter…..

[@iceman22m]

So, you would pay around $8 for 2lb in store.

[@bigbearhomestead]

No that's why we raise and.make our own

[@TURTLEORIGINAL]

Let me go out quickly and buy me a meat slicer.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Lol meat your maker .com is the best for the money.

[@justmejust4553]

you would see a better result if you grinded your meat and keeping some pieces cut very small to mix in. It will bind it much better as you press in filling the tube. Made these many times. will never buy store bought sandwich meat again

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks for sharing your experience

[@davidmcouch7453]

Try grinding it instead!

[@bigbearhomestead]

We might do that

[@davidslivinski7690]

Love your video. I also follow Duncan Henry. You may also like to check out 2 guys & a cooler

[@bigbearhomestead]

Thanks and I will check them out

[@meatdog]

I make my own preservative, sugar, filler free lunch meat and it tastes so much better and CHEAPER. I have a ham press and it works great. press

[@bigbearhomestead]

Do you happen to have a video or blog with your recipe?

[@meatdog]

@@bigbearhomestead no. Sorry.

[@arthurleslie9669]

So ... In reality, you're simply taking a ham and transforming it into a round loaf to slice. Correct?

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes and no, we chose to use the hams but you could use other cuts.

[@arthurleslie9669]

@@bigbearhomestead ... Understand

[@jeffsmith783]

You can use iodized salt. It will ruin the flavor of the meat.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Then why would you use it?

[@JonO387]

Why not just use ham as a lunch meat?

[@bigbearhomestead]

You would still have to cure the ham. Besides we did use the ham in this video. Thanks for watching

[@KL4life]

Bruh 😂 you're supposed to process it. The chunks aren't gonna magically mold itself into a shape if the meat isn't puree down to a paste.

[@bigbearhomestead]

Well that’s not how he did it Bruh and his turned out better I have to cut the chunks into different sizes next time

[@helenegarcia8679]

did this dude kill his own pig?

[@bigbearhomestead]

Yes, we raise our animals to be food

[@coryquenell4046]

Idk maybe ground your meat

[@bigbearhomestead]

I am going to try that the next time we do this

[@blackstonecap]

Not iodized salt!!!!!!

[@bigbearhomestead]

Why not

[@rustic35]

Of course, metric is easier. 😂

[@bigbearhomestead]

Definitely with meats and charcuterie processing!