Inflation continues, and it is unrelenting. We all have to eat, yet food costs continue to rise. There are many ways to economize on these expenses, one being to reduce our dependence on prepared foods.
Most of us eat sandwiches. They are easy to prepare, transport well, and can be delicious. Sandwiches are inexpensive, but all costs add up over time, and even humble lunch meat has become ever more pricey.
This Applegate oven roasted turkey breast costs over $18 a pound!
This house brand cold cut is on a special sale at $4.99 for 9 ounces, or almost $9 per pound. Many cold cuts are made from a meat slurry where odds and ends are ground with spices, placed into a form, and steam cooked into a loaf. There is nothing wrong with that, but the meat on your sandwich may not be what you think it is.
This is a real turkey breast, it is fully cooked, and cost $4.99 a pound. That’s less that $5 for a whole pound of real meat. But, how do you turn it into lunch meat?
What I am about to demonstrate is an advanced method to save money. The actual process is extremely simple, however it involves buying some equipment, so it should only be undertaken by those serious in their frugal habits. The pieces of equipment can be used for a variety of different tasks, and they will pay for themselves over time. However, if you are new to frugal living it is best to start your journey with options that use behavioral methods rather than equipment purchases.
This is what you will need:
A food scale. I found this one on Amazon for less than $6. I have used my current food scale for many years and I’m certain it cost less than $10. Food scales are useful for many tasks.
Alternatives: You can just eyeball quantities.
A vacuum sealer. This is the kind that I have, it is called a chamber vacuum sealer and it is fantastic. It is also very expensive. I have been a vacuum sealer user since the late 1980s and this habit has saved me many thousands of dollars. I can buy in bulk and divide up an item into smaller packages. I have used hamburger from my freezer that was over 2 years old, and it tasted as fresh as the day that I packed it. This type of sealer has many advantages, including the cost of the vacuum seal bags. The bags that I’ll be using in this post only cost around 4 cents each.
Alternatives:
A external sealer will also do the job. I found this one on Ali-Express for $10.38. The high quality Food Saver brand has models that sell in the $100 range, but there are many less expensive yet quality alternatives between this bargain and a FS machine. The bags used for external vacuum sealers have to be specially made, and they are more expensive than the simple bags used for a chamber sealer. If you buy a generic bag in bulk they will cost you around 9 cents/bag for the size needed for today’s example. Do you know that all of my kids have vacuum sealers? They saw how useful there were by my example and they use them for a variety of tasks, including breaking down bulk products into more manageable sizes.
The simplest option is to use freezer bags. These bags are just a bit over 11 cents/bag. They will work for this task, but they are more prone to freezer burn over time. If use decide to use freezer bags try to force out as much air before sealing the bag and try to use your frozen lunch meat withing 4-6 months or less.
The first two item categories can be used in dozens of ways. The next item is more task specific, although it also has many uses. However, this is the one thing that you need to easily convert bulk meat into lunch meat.
This slicer costs $51 on Temu. You can buy a similar one on Amazon for around $60. These machines are built for consumer use. For a few hundred dollars you can buy a more robust slicer, but that is likely unnecessary. Slicers can be used for many slicing tasks: lunch meat, roasts, cheese, bread, vegetables. Anything where uniformed slices are needed.
Alternatives:
I came upon this slicer on Walmart.com. It has a folding design. I have no idea how well it works, so it may makes sense to pony up the additional $15 and to go with a known commodity.
OK, now that the logistics are out of the way, let’s get into it.
This is the slicer that I have had for years. There are many very similar units being sold and I suspect that they are all made in the same factory. This one has worked pretty well for the light duty work that I subject it to. As you can tell it is very similar to the Temu unit. I think I got mine on a Black Friday sale.
Since this turkey is already cooked all I had to do is remove it from its package and cut it into sizes that would fit on my slicer. Costco also had boneless ham that was very reasonably priced. You could turn any meat or cheese into a cold cut. Pick up a pork tenderloin on sale, bake it, chill it and slice it. Buy a block of cheese and slice it. Uncooked boneless turkey breasts often go on sale during the holidays. Buy several and freeze them. Defrost one, and toss it in a slow cooker on low for 5-6 hours for super simple preparation, then chill it, and slice it. You can rub any spice that you like on the turkey breast to add some variety to your lunch meat. Your options are only limited by your imagination.
We are ready to rock-an-roll! This is a top view of the slicer. Note the plate to catch the slices. The red arrow points to the thickness adjustment knob. You can have very thin slices or very thick slices. Thick slices can be cubed for salads or casseroles. The thicker option also works for slicing bread. This particular slicer came with both a smooth blade for cutting meat, and a serrated one for items like bread. Always use the guard when slicing anything. That rotating blade can’t distinguish between a turkey breast or a finger. Always unplug the unit when not in use, and unplug it when you are going to disassemble for cleaning.
Here are the slices coming off of the slicer. They are real meat, not some steamed slurry. The total time to cut 4 pounds of turkey breast was under 5 minutes.
Now it is time to package the lunch meat. I’m going to pack it in 8 oz amounts. I’ll vacuum seal 7 packages for the freezer, and place the 8th portion in a zip lock bag for the refrigerator. Always label your packages with the item and date. Trust me, you don’t want to play, “What’s in the package?” This meat will stay fresh for years in the freezer if it is vacuum packed. If using freezer bags expect about 4-6 months of freshness.
I’m using my kitchen scale to measure out 8 oz portions. This doesn’t have to be exact. You can eyeball a half pound too.
With the turkey portioned out it is now time to vacuum seal the individuals packages. I have this very fancy chamber vacuum sealer, but that is completely unnecessary. You can use an inexpensive external sealer, or even freezer bags.
All done. I’ll store the vacuum sealed packages together in a grocery store plastic bag. This makes it easy to know when I’m running low and need to make more lunch meat. The turkey in the sandwich bag will go into the fridge for immediate consumption.
This slicer breaks apart very easily. All washable parts go into some hot sudsy water. The machine itself is cleaned with a damp sponge. I’ll use a toothbrush to knock out any errant meat crumbs from the slicer. That blade is super sharp, so use common sense and caution when cleaning. Some use cut-resistant gloves, even when washing the blade. I don’t, but I’m very careful.
All clean and ready to reassemble.
Cleaned and assembled, and ready for its next job.
Cutting your own lunch meat can save you 50% or much more. The whole operation took me less than 40 minutes from start to finish. And, the quality is much better than most commercial deli meats.
Clearly, this is an advanced frugal technique as it requires some serious equipment in the form of the slicer. However, if your family eats a lot of sandwiches it may be worth the $50-$60 investment.
Happy slicing!
Mike
Images are used for educational and entertainment purposes only. They are my own or downloaded from commercial websites.