Healthy meat sandwiches on a budget

[deepflatflyer]

Sick of cheap(ish) packets of ham for sandwiches. Suggestions of joints we can roast and keep in the fridge (for how long is safe?) for sandwiches.

Have tried gammon before and it was too salty. Thinking perhaps beef but best cuts tend to be expensive.

Thanks

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

A spoonful of treacle and some cloves, peppercorns, bay has much the same effect as coke.

If you forget to soak your ham you can bring it to the boil, throw away that water, then start again.

We are quite into getting a joint, then that meat doing us for most of the week. Favourite include the ubiquitous mumsnet chicken and the aforementioned gammon. But pulled pork and pulled brisket are also good. Lamb though I think needs to be eaten warm.

[bratzilla]

Any meat from a roast, bacon, what about pate?

[OralBElectricToothbrush]

Definitely chicken! And gammon joints.

[Blondie1984]

Also consider turkey - cheaper than chicken

[deepflatflyer]

What sort of beef joint would be adequate for sandwiches? Not best sirloin obvs ..!

We don't do Mayo due to egg allergy so basically just something in a slice to shove in a roll. Might add a bit of homemade chutney and a slice of cucumber or tomato if feeling extravagant.

[deepflatflyer]

Ha! I've always wanted to try the Nigella and Coca Cola thing!

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

Well. I have a 'thing' about gammon and always do a fancy-dan one for Boxing Day, but this year completely forgot the things I needed to gently poach it in a warm bath of organic and carefully selected nonsense so... I did the Nigella ham in coke recipe and omg. Total convert. So yeah. Simmer it in coke. I don't know why it works, but it so does.

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

I’m not sure it would count as healthy but not horrific. I often cook a tray of bacon in the oven until really crisp and then finely chop.
Sprinkle into egg with low fat mayo. Gives great flavour but uses little meat.

[BiscuitDrama]

You can just stick gammon in slow cooker, as is, yes.
It’s magic.

[RosemaryRemember]

I agree about cheap chicken.

Thighs are better value and taste imo than breast.

Who!e chicken in a casserole ( presumably slow cooker would do it too) with veg is even easier to my mind than roast and provides a stew plus the poached chicken for sandwiches.

[deepflatflyer]

I'm a bit of novice with a slow cooker. Have a small one but don't use it much. So can I really just stick a gammon joint in there with no liquid?

[deepflatflyer]

Trying to get away from all packets of cooked meat tbh. Not adverse to cooking joints just trying to watch the cost and spend wisely. Haven't really got the budget for the best organic etc.

[Teddybear45]

Tinned or frozen fish / meat might be a more cost effective and time saving option. You can often get huge frozen chicken breasts from costco. One breast could probably make 2-3 days worth of sandwiches if you add lettuce or other veg.

[BiscuitDrama]

I slow cook gammon, for about five hours. Less than you think, anyway! I just chuck it in with a bit of brown sugar on it but you don’t need this. Basically you don’t need to add liquid.

[BiscuitDrama]

Wafer thin chicken and turkey in a packet would make a change.

In terms of joints, beef is great if you leave it pretty rare and then freeze potions. I think three days would be the limit to eat up cooked meat, otherwise.

Unsmoked gammon is less salty than smoked, and yes, soak before you cook.

[deepflatflyer]

Best way to cook gammon? Boil? Roast? Slow cook?

[deepflatflyer]

Thanks for the ideas. Pork also a good one as I've noticed it's quite a bit cheaper than other meat joints.

I'm a bit funny about cheap chicken though. Although perhaps all cheap meat is suspicious. Generally go for free range or organic but not often due to cost.

I'm happy with cheese sandwiches but my 14 yo DS wants meat. Tbh, given the issues we have with him generally, I'm not going to have a big fight over his lunchtime sandwich but would like to introduce some other variations on meat sarnie.

[Gingerkittykat]

Aldi cooked meat is significantly cheaper than the main supermarkets, I saw a huge pack of beef scraps (nice quality just a bit wonky) for a couple of pounds.

The Polish aisle in Tesco has nice ham around £1 for 5 big slices, I've heard Polish supermarkets are good but not got any locally.

Leftover roast chicken, I shred the legs etc and mix with mayo and some sweetcorn for a nice sandwich filling.

The flavoured tunas and salmon are in B and M pretty cheaply sometimes, a lot cheaper than the main supermarkets.

[RosemaryRemember]

Best value joint is usually pork ime. But not the cheapest, bit the outdoor reared and you get a much better moisture and flavour.
And it's still cheaper than lots of little packs.

I am feeding teenagers at the moment so it makes sense as they are eating a lot. Cooked food is covered while cooling then refrigerated. Everything is used up here by the third day, they get the sandwiches on day 2 usually.

The other thing they like on a sandwich is leftover cooled sausages!

If you are trying to avoiding the nitrites often found in ham and bacon note that normal British style sausage for cooking doesn't have nitrites as a preservative the way salami would. Check the labels.

[lazylinguist]

Roast a chicken. Or roast other joints and freeze in slices. I mostly avoid ham, salami, gammon, pâté etc because of the increasing evidence of the cancer risks of processed meat tbh.

[Hotpinkangel19]

Maybe because they want/prefer meat? X

[Hiphopopotamus]

Can I ask why it has to be meat? You can make some great veggie and vegan sandwiches that are still full of protein

[Ricekrispie22]

We have a lot of tinned tuna or mackerel fillets in a sauce. My favourites are Prince’s mackerel in a sweet chilli dressing and their limited edition tins of Brazilian mackerel www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/292444206 I also love Tesco’s tuna in a lime and black pepper dressing www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295543378
My DH has a lot of pate sandwiches.

[HermioneMakepeace]

I think “healthy meat” is a contradiction in terms.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

Nothing nicer than a thick slice of gammon. Agree with pps, soak in water for 24 hours with a couple of changes and then cook in completely fresh water. Also make sure you haven't picked up a smoked gammon by mistake, as they are obviously salty AF.