Homemade Deli Meat – With and Without Ham Maker

written 4/15/2024, updated 7/21/2025

Ham Maker Method

Using a Ham Maker is really the easiest way to make a formed meat, especially if you want to mix several cuts or meats together. It can also be used without mixing meats or grinding them. Ham Makers make the wrapping step a cinch.

Ingredients and Supplies

Meat, Seasonings, Water, Ham Maker, Cooking Bag, Tall Pot, Pot Thermometer, Stove, Refrigerator

Time

30 minutes Prep + 2 hours Cook + overnight Chill

Process

• Wash your Ham Maker if you haven’t
• Fill a tall pot with Water, and heat it up on the stove (Target: 182-195F)
• Choose your meat:

• Prepare your selection by removing veins, bones, and sinews. Decide if you want to keep, and how much, any fat
• If using a meat mixture, chop, mince, grind, process, or any combination as desired
• Season your choice of meat, to taste
• Allow to set for a few minutes
• In the meantime, line the Ham Maker with a Cooking Bag
• When ready, place meat into the canister
• Twist the top of the bag closed
• Close the Ham Maker with the press and lid, then insert the thermometer
• When water in the pot reaches between 180 – 195F, place the full Ham Maker in the water, making sure the water level sits above the fill line of the meat inside
• Keep the temperature steady (I set my gas stove low-medium)
• Cook until internal temperature reaches the safe cooking temperature for your meat choice, about 2 hours
• Place the hot Ham Maker on a hot pad in the refrigerator and cool overnight
• When fully cooled, run canister under warm water to release the meat

Slice and Enjoy!

Pictures!!

Ta-DAAA!! The hole is where both the twist top of the plastic and the thermometer when in. You can see the texture differences from the different cuts/processing of the meat. Delicious!

No Ham Maker Methods

Sous Vide and Smoked are two methods of making this. If you don’t have a sous vide device, there are alternatives

Sous Vide Method

There are different ways to sous vide without actually using a sous vide device. You can use an oven, a Dutch oven or a pot, and even a rice cooker.

Ingredients and Supplies

Meat, Seasonings, Mixing Bowls, Water, Pot/Oven/Rice Cooker, Thermometer, Refrigerator

Time

35 minutes Prep + 2 hours Cook + Chill

Pictures (Oven Method)

Smoker Method

This method uses a meat grinder then a meat smoker. You can use a dedicated meat grinder, a meat grinding attachment for a stand mixer, or even just a food processor

Prepare Meat

• Decide on ratio of meat cuts (e.g. [½ : ½] ratio of [skinned chicken thigh : skinless chicken breast])
• Cut into small pieces

Grind/Process

• Grind/Process 1st time
• Grind/Process 2nd time
• Add any desired seasonings and half of total water

• Grind/Process 3rd time

Wrap

• Place ground meat in a mixing bowl
• Add the rest of the water, and then mix together really well (should be very sticky)
• Pump or stuff into an edible or inedible casing (100mm is the largest size I could find on Amazon)
• Secure the end

Cooking

• Set smoker to 120F (50C), NO smoke, NO humidity, OPEN dampers to dry the casing for 1 hour
• Set to 130F (55C), ADD smoke, ADD humidity (water pan), ¾ damper for 1 hour
• 145F (65C) for 1 hour
• 160F (72F) for 1 hour
• 175F (75C) until internal temperature reaches 160F (72C)
• Place in an ice bath to separate the casing and the meat

Slice and enjoy!

Notes

Attempt 4/14/24: Used Oven Sous Vide Method. Should have added something like cornstarch in the meat mixture to give it some adherence. That and/or changing the ratio to add more ground/pureed meat to fill in the gaps in the meat, while taking away from the original cubed meat. Even if cubing (altered the recipe directions to use smaller pieces), then should process a little. 3 degrees of food processor chopping to make the final product smoother would be more ideal. The way this ended up was more of a headcheese. There IS an obvious complex texture, but it all fell apart easily. The 3 different flavor profiles gave it GREAT taste. Made the mistake of not thinking about the cooking vessel until after rolling the meat. Should have cut it in half and then would have been able to have 2 smaller hams and able to cook it inside of the Dutch oven with the water filled to the top. The way I had it, the water didn’t even cover the whole meat log, so cooking was very uneven. Unsure of how to test internal temperature of meat log without making a mess. Cooking @ 215F took about 2.5 to 3 hours total. Used way too much plastic wrap and wasn’t able to use a lidded dish, just 2 layers of foil. Meat used: Chicken. 3 thighs, 1.5 breast, ¼lb ground chicken (hand squeezed to pulverize). NEXT TIME: more ground chicken, less cubed breast. Add cornstarch for smoothness and adherence. Smaller logs for more even cooking. More food processing. Maybe try using meat casing.

7/21/2025: Used Ham Maker

• Sous Vide cooking charts recommend cooking chicken at 150F for 1-3 hours.
• A Ham Maker is a MUCH easier method of doing this. It’s a metal contraption with a spring in it that fits right into a stock pot on the stove and does the same thing neatly. However, if you don’t have one and don’t want one, this is fine, too.
• There’s always the option of baking or broiling it after the fact for a possible crust or rind? Haven’t attempted that yet