How do you handle lunchmeat?

[Jean in Newcastle]

This poll is for people who eat lunchmeat and who don't boycott it or have some aversion to it.  Just one of those things I wondered about while making dh's lunch this morning.  

[SKL]

I don't buy it, but whenever I did, I would lay it flat on the bread.

[Storygirl]

I unfurl it into single slices, and then mound it or fold it as I put it on the bread. So if I'm using two slices of ham, I don't lay them flat with one slice on top of the other but fold each slice and put them side by side. Why? I don't know! It would taste the same either way.

[Amira]

Now I have to make ham doilies to put on our sandwiches.

 

We don't eat a lot of lunch meat, but I usually don't fluff the slices.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I've done both.  There is no rhyme or reason to my methods that I can tell. 

 

 

[Farrar]

I roll it up and give it to the kids as a snack?

[Junie]

I'm voting for mounded.  That's how the dc and dh usually eat it.

I usually leave mine in a mound (as it comes in the package) and chop it into pieces for a chef salad.

 

Bologna stays flat.

 

edited for clarity

[creekland]

Ours is flat, and topped with baby spinach, then coupled with mayo or mustard pending the meat - all on a delicious whole wheat bread of some sort.

 

Now you've got me pondering lunch, but I'm too lazy to go to the store to buy lunch meat and we still have oodles of squash here...

[Lady Marmalade]

Other.

 

I un-mound the lunch meat slices and then fold them in half before putting on the bread, and then I overlap 2 or 3 slices.  It's all about volume and making a container of lunch meat last more than a day.  DH would happily put an entire package on just one sandwich by picking up the mound and moving it to the bread.  By folding and overlapping, I give the sandwiches an appearance of having more lunch meat than what is actually there. 

 

Then I bulk up the sandwiches with good cheese, lettuce and pickles.

[alisoncooks]

I unfurl it to remove it from the package... then I loosely roll 3 slices and line them up across the bread.  Then I top it with 1 unrolled slice.

 

Don't ask why.

It's what I have always done. :p

[Rebel Yell]

Other.

 

First, I DESPISE touching lunch mat- easpecially bologna. :ack2:

 

But my answer depends completely on the lunchmeat itself.  If it is sliced very thing- shaved, or as people in my city call it, "chipped" then I use a fork and dump it on the sandwich in a lump, roughly of even thickness, as best as I can get without touching it.

 

SLiced meats will depend on the size of the slice itself compared to the bread/bun/etc. it is being placed on- small-ish end slices of meat would go on flat. Larger 'center slices' would get folded on the bread/bun to fir without too much hanging out the sides.

 

But in a perfect world, each person makes their own sandwich and does whetever the heck they want with the meat. And I sweet-talk them into making mine while I go do other "important" lunch things. :coolgleamA:

[Rebel Yell]

Other.

 

I un-mound the lunch meat slices and then fold them in half before putting on the bread, and then I overlap 2 or 3 slices.  It's all about volume and making a container of lunch meat last more than a day.  DH would happily put an entire package on just one sandwich by picking up the mound and moving it to the bread.  By folding and overlapping, I give the sandwiches an appearance of having more lunch meat than what is actually there. 

 

Then I bulk up the sandwiches with good cheese, lettuce and pickles.

 

Sounds like you've worked at a Subway. :glare:

[Lady Marmalade]

Sounds like you've worked at a Subway. :glare:

 

LOL!  That WAS my first job as a teenager!

 

However, the summer I worked there, the meat was laid out on wax paper flat and overlapped, and then then the whole paper would be folded to be later "applied" to a sandwich.  So I actually think there was more meat on their sandwiches back then.

[The Girls' Mom]

Usually mound, but depends on the lunchmeat.  If it is sliced deli thin, then definitely mounded.  If it is in thick slices like bologna, then just lay it flat.  

 

(suddenly seriously craving a fried bologna sandwich on white bread with tomato and mayo....none of which I can have..lol)

[Daria]

I had to pick other, even though I do not make doilies.  I have been known to take a slice of a bologna and decorate it with little pieces of cheese so it looks like the face of a cat, and also to cut pieces of salami into stars before I put them on pizza, but that's the extent of my lunch meat art work.

 

But I don't usually buy my lunch meat in a "container", I buy it from the deli counter, and it comes in a little baggie, already flat.  So, I peel off the slices I need and lay them on the bread.  They are flat, but there's no "unmounding" because the meat I buy is never mounded at any point.

[Orthodox6]

We have moved away from lunchmeat because of its high cost.  (For home use, we eat only chemical/hormone-free meats.)  The paper-thin slices annoy us because they stick together.  So I have the deli slice the meat "thick".  Not only does this avoid the sticking problem, it speeds up the sandwich making.  Each person takes one slice of meat because no more than that is needed. 

[ScoutTN]

Dh and I like lots of thin layers in a sandwich, so I spread out some deli meat and keep building.

 

I often just make a meat and cheese roll up and skip making the sandwich part.

 

I do try to make my own by roasting an extra turkey or beef roast (from a local biodiverse farm) and slicing it up, but sometimes I don't have the time or energy to do that.

[Daria]

I had to pick other, even though I do not make doilies.  I have been known to take a slice of a bologna and decorate it with little pieces of cheese so it looks like the face of a cat, and also to cut pieces of salami into stars before I put them on pizza, but that's the extent of my lunch meat art work.

 

But I don't usually buy my lunch meat in a "container", I buy it from the deli counter, and it comes in a little baggie, already flat.  So, I peel off the slices I need and lay them on the bread.  They are flat, but there's no "unmounding" because the meat I buy is never mounded at any point.

 

OK, I'm quoting myself, because reading later answers I realize that maybe "lunch meat" is not a synonym for "deli meat".  I've never used the word "lunch meat", so maybe I'm wrong.  Does it only apply to the thinly shaved stuff that comes in containers?  

[shawthorne44]

You guys must be buying more expensive lunchmeat than I do.  

 

I do unmound it though when I get the bunched up stuff.  I am rather found of lunch meat sandwiches and I dislike the corners with nothing in them and meat hanging out the sides.  So, I quarter the meat and place the corner of each piece on the corner of the bread.  Happiness.  

[goldberry]

Nice usage of the word "unfurl" ! :)

[Julie Smith]

I'm a vegetarian. 

 

Once I was making my Dh a sandwich. I wasn't experienced with lunch meat. So I thought you were suppose to take one slice and put it on the bread.  

 

I did learn that one slice is not enough. 

 

 

[Chris in VA]

Other.

 

I un-mound the lunch meat slices and then fold them in half before putting on the bread, and then I overlap 2 or 3 slices.  It's all about volume and making a container of lunch meat last more than a day.  DH would happily put an entire package on just one sandwich by picking up the mound and moving it to the bread.  By folding and overlapping, I give the sandwiches an appearance of having more lunch meat than what is actually there. 

 

Then I bulk up the sandwiches with good cheese, lettuce and pickles.

 

This is what I do. I hate when the meat overhangs the bread.

The exception is bologna. That just lays flat. But I haven't bought that in about 25 years!

[Lady Florida.]

I'm not sure what you mean mound it like it comes in containers. I've never bought lunch meat in a container. It comes wrapped I get deli lunch meat, sliced thin (almost, but not quite, shaved), peel it off the top, then pile it in folds on the bread. 

[Guest]

Usually mound, but depends on the lunchmeat. If it is sliced deli thin, then definitely mounded. If it is in thick slices like bologna, then just lay it flat.

 

(suddenly seriously craving a fried bologna sandwich on white bread with tomato and mayo....none of which I can have..lol)

I love my fried bologna with a fried egg added. I thought I was the only one who thought those were the best sandwiches ever!

[SparklyUnicorn]

Now I have to make ham doilies to put on our sandwiches.

 

We don't eat a lot of lunch meat, but I usually don't fluff the slices.

 

LMAO

[Orthodox6]

Please explain for the Flat Sandwich Earth Society. Why mound meat onto what typically is designed as a flat (albeit often thick) structure? If a meatball sub is desired, I understand the golf balls. If a sandwich features sliced meats, I am perplexed.

 

If designs are preferred, buy some of that ghastly bologna studded with olives, pickles, and pimentos.

[texasmama]

I make doilies. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I make doilies. 

Prove it.  Picture please!   :D

[Daria]

Other.

 

I un-mound the lunch meat slices and then fold them in half before putting on the bread, and then I overlap 2 or 3 slices.  It's all about volume and making a container of lunch meat last more than a day.  DH would happily put an entire package on just one sandwich by picking up the mound and moving it to the bread.  By folding and overlapping, I give the sandwiches an appearance of having more lunch meat than what is actually there. 

 

Then I bulk up the sandwiches with good cheese, lettuce and pickles.

 

I posted that I almost always buy from the deli.  One reason I do this is because I can ask them to divide it into what I consider sandwich size bags.  I have learned that whether my bags contain 1 oz of salami or 1 lb of salami my teenager still thinks they contain 1 sandwich worth of salami.  

[Junie]

Please explain for the Flat Sandwich Earth Society. Why mound meat onto what typically is designed as a flat (albeit often thick) structure? If a meatball sub is desired, I understand the golf balls. If a sandwich features sliced meats, I am perplexed.

 

If designs are preferred, buy some of that ghastly bologna studded with olives, pickles, and pimentos.

 

I just figured out that so many people are using flat meat because they are probably using flat bread.  My dc prefer their sandwiches on hamburger buns, so a clump of meat makes more sense for them. 

[texasmama]

Prove it. Picture please! :D

It's very time consuming, and I've been so busy lately, but I'm sure I can make one next week for you. They are all the rage at baby showers.

[justasque]

I don't buy meat in containers.  I go to the deli, and I ask Shaun, the deli guy, to slice it just thick enough to be able to be picked up by the slice, and not a hair thicker than that.  Which he does, showing me the first slice to be sure it's OK, then offering it to me in case I want to taste it.  Except when I am buying a bit of beef to go into a Meat Pie (as a cheat as usually it's made with the leftovers of the theoretical Sunday Roast), in which case I ask him to cut me a slab, and I show him with my fingers how thick I want the slab.  He cuts it, and shows it to me to see if it's OK, which it always is.  I then dice it before putting it into the pie.  

I generally don't "mound" the meat on a sandwich; in fact we often eat it diced in salads, or rice bowls, or a fritatta, or rolled up with a slice of cheese.

[zoobie]

I keep reading the title and thinking YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE LUNCHMEAT!

[Daria]

It's very time consuming, and I've been so busy lately, but I'm sure I can make one next week for you. They are all the rage at baby showers.

 

Do you have an Etsy shop?  I would love to order some ham doilies for an upcoming occasion.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I unfurl it into single slices, and then mound it or fold it as I put it on the bread. So if I'm using two slices of ham, I don't lay them flat with one slice on top of the other but fold each slice and put them side by side. Why? I don't know! It would taste the same either way.

Like this.  I unfurl it then refurl it the way I like it.  Not too much meat in a bite..... sometimes I just eat it straight out of the bag though.

 

*I only buy Deli meat so it usually comes flat unless I can get the person at the counter to understand "super thin but NOT shaved".

[texasmama]

Do you have an Etsy shop? I would love to order some ham doilies for an upcoming occasion.

Oh, but of course! I would post a link but it is against board rules.

[Orthodox6]

I keep reading the title and thinking YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE LUNCHMEAT!

I know what you mean. Ah! The emotional travail I must endure as a vegan mother of carnivores!

[Julie Smith]

I know what you mean. Ah! The emotional travail I must endure as a vegan mother of carnivores!

 

My Dh is the only meat eater in the household. 

 

 

I admit I have a pair of dishwashing gloves I use when handling meat. :p The kids call them my meat gloves. 

[Tammi K]

I lay it flat if it is sliced but mound it if it is shaved or chipped.

[kitten18]

I voted that I un-furl the meat and make it flat. Though I usually buy salami cut at the deli so it comes flat.

[TechWife]

I get ours sliced fresh from the deli, so there is no mound. It is flat in the package and goes on the sandwich flat. 

[Laura Corin]

I grew up laying it flat, but Husband likes it folded over.

[DawnM]

We typically buy the Costco lunchmeat that is thicker and lays flat already, but if I buy the kind that isn't, I flatten it.

[Guest]

Other.

 

I un-mound the lunch meat slices and then fold them in half before putting on the bread, and then I overlap 2 or 3 slices. It's all about volume and making a container of lunch meat last more than a day. DH would happily put an entire package on just one sandwich by picking up the mound and moving it to the bread. By folding and overlapping, I give the sandwiches an appearance of having more lunch meat than what is actually there.

 

Then I bulk up the sandwiches with good cheese, lettuce and pickles.

Lol, we have totally had this argument here! I say to dh, "you know, the reason I buy a pound of ham is so that it will last for sandwiches the whole week. I am NOT running out to buy more on Wednesday. Are you *trying* to use up the whole pound as quickly as you can???"

[KungFuPanda]

Why would you even buy Mounds when Almond Joy is right next to it?

[Daria]

Why would you even buy Mounds when Almond Joy is right next to it?

 

Why would you buy either?  :scared:

[JoJosMom]

Hmm.

 

Interesting question.  Personally, I like to sculpt sandwich meat to add an artistic and educational element to the sandwich experience.  For example, I might sculpt a small Colosseum for DD to enhance our study of the ancients.  Homemade mayonnaise does aid in the construction, as does the structure of homemade bread made with freshly milled multi-grain flour. 

 

 

Of course, I make my own lunchmeat from home-grown, organically-raised farm animals, so perhaps my experience is different.

 

HTH. :001_smile:

[Catwoman]

I've done both. There is no rhyme or reason to my methods that I can tell.

Same here.

 

I am quite flexible when it comes to lunchmeat sandwich assembly.

 

I will admit that sometimes when there isn't much left, I will fluff it up on the sandwiches to make it look like there is more on there than there really is. :blush:

[Catwoman]

Hmm.

 

Interesting question. Personally, I like to sculpt sandwich meat to add an artistic and educational element to the sandwich experience. For example, I might sculpt a small Colosseum for DD to enhance our study of the ancients. Homemade mayonnaise does aid in the construction, as does the structure of homemade bread made with freshly milled multi-grain flour.

 

 

Of course, I make my own lunchmeat from home-grown, organically-raised farm animals, so perhaps my experience is different.

 

HTH. :001_smile:

Nobody likes a show-off. :glare:

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;)

[texasmama]

We typically buy the Costco lunchmeat that is thicker and lays flat already, but if I buy the kind that isn't, I flatten it.

This is the best type for making doilies.  It stands up to the fussing around to make intricate designs.