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

What

Making deli meat at home by combining different cuts of meat (can be same kind of meat or a mixture) with and without a Ham Maker

Why

Ability to control what’s put inside your own cold cuts, and can be cheaper

Time and Effort

Time: A few hours

Effort: Easy

Ingredients

Meat

Seasonings

Supplies

Mixing Bowls

Cutting Board

Knives/Meat Grinder/Processor

Ham Maker

Plastic Wrap/Sausage Wrapping

Foil

Pot/Rice Cooker/Oven

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:

Whole Meat – an entire piece of meat, uncut (e.g. pork loin, pork shoulder, whole breast)

Mixed Meat – a formed mash of different cuts or combinations of meat types

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

Prepare Meat

*Pictures below

Remove any veins, sinews, and bones. Remove or use fat as desired

Choose your meat:

Whole Meat – an entire piece of meat, uncut (e.g. pork loin, pork shoulder, whole breast)

Mixed Meat – a formed mash of different cuts or combinations of meat types

If using Mixed Meat, prepare a [diced: minced: ground] meat ratio of [¾ : ½ : ⅓ lb] or [350 : 250 : 150 g]
Season the meat, to taste (If desired, season each texture a bit differently for a combined complex flavor)

Wrap

Set out a double layer of plastic wrap and sprinkle half with smoked paprika and whatever else you’d like
Turn out meat mixture
Tightly roll into desired shape and size

NOTE: Make sure wrapped meat log(s) will fit into your cooking implement so it can be covered in water!

Secure the ends

Cooking

Here are 3 methods of cooking the meat ham without dedicated Sous Vide equipment

Pot Method

Fill with water
Bring water to a boil
Place meat log into the water (make sure meat is and will be fully submerged the whole time)
Bring to a boil again
Turn off heat and place lid tightly on top
Leave for 45 minutes to 1 hour
Check for doneness with thermometer
Repeat if necessary
When done, let cool and enjoy, or chill in refrigerator

Oven Method

Preheat oven to 215 – 220F (100C)
Select a deep dish or oven safe pot
Boil enough water to fill
Pour in boiling water
Place meat log
Cover with parchment paper
Cover that in foil and/or a tight lid
Cook for 1-3 hours until 160F (75C)
Remove from oven
Place in an ice bath and/or refrigerator until internal temperature is 50F (10C)

Rice Cooker Method

Boil water
Pour boiled water into rice cooker
Using a thermometer, mix in cold water until water temperature is somewhere between 175-195F
Place meat log into water
Close
Set rice cooker to Keep Warm
Cook for about 2 hours
Be sure temperature is safe for choice of meat
Let cool then enjoy or chill in refrigerator

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

NOTE: For 1lb of meat, add 20ml (⅔ oz. or 1⅓ Tbsp) of water

Total ratio is 40mL water per 1lb (40mL = 1⅓ oz = 2¾ Tbsp)

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

Overview: 1 hour Dry + 1 hour @ 130F + 1 hour @ 145F + 1 hour @ 160F + more @ 175F

Total: ~5 hours

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

Tag: press

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Process

Step 1 – Undo Side Stops

Step 2 – Release the Crossbar

Step 3 – Collapse the Stroller

All Done!