Can someone explain the concept of thinly-cut luncheon meats?

It lasts longer using less per sandwich.

As someone who does not care to too-thin cold cuts, I am not sure I can shed light on it. You should see the trouble I have when I want to make a chef’s salad and ask for ¼ lb in one large slice so I can dice it.

I have wondered that myself. I can’t come up with a rational reason. (I can invent some really wacky ones that are just silly.)

I’m not sure it’s a concept so much as a preference.

But @janbb – there has to be some logic behind the preference. If I order pizza and there are young kids who are going to consume it, I may ask for it to be double-cut. I know I’m not getting double the amount of pizza. It just means that it will be easier for the kids with smaller hands to handle, and it will allow for sampling of different flavors, since small kids can’t really commit to large slices without getting full quickly.

I think there must be something like this going on, yet I can’t figure it out. Someone here must have ordered thinly-cut mean and they likely have a good reason for it. What if I’m missing out with my luncheon meats of pedestrian thickness?

Well, if it’s too thick, sometimes it’s more difficult to separate the bite of meat from the not-bite in one bite, which requires a bit of dental sawing action, which is really kind of unnerving, or one risks pulling a floppy piece out from between the bread slices that then kind of smacks one’s chin. Very attractive, especially if mustard is involved.

Personally, I just like it shreddy. It’s not a logical decision on my part, I just like it that way.

I like thin-sliced turkey and ham because I’ve always found the texture of pressed meat unpleasant for some reason, and it being cut thinly mitigates that. And with roast beef, getting it thin-cut allows the embedded fat to fall off much more easily. I’m just a picky eater, what can I say.

@canidmajor and @wildpotato – That makes sense. Thanks!

As a follow-up, it sounds like you don’t take multiple super-thin pieces and treat them as though they were just one slice, right? You like the texture of shredded meat, so when it’s ordered super-thin, the gathering of that meat to put on a sandwich breaks it up so it’s more a shredded product than slices of meat? In other words, that’s the goal – not the problem with thinly-sliced meats?

My sandwiches are constructed as if I were in pre-school and they an art project. Each piece of shreddy meat is piled with no regard to symmetry. The thinly sliced cheese, however, is applied with mathematical precision, to balance the overall philosophy of the meal.
I have way too much spare time. ;-)

And I’m going to Subway for dinner!

I once ordered a Philly steak sandwich at a hole in the wall cafe. They served the steak in small chunks, rather than sliced. Jut reminded me too much of vomit so couldn’t eat it.

Thanks again. This completely answers my question. I’m going to have to try this. I wonder – can you just ask for it shredded?

Hm, that’s a good question.

Most deli cold cuts are very high in sodium and fat. If a person is trying to control their weight or they are counting calories thinly sliced cold cuts
just means they can make a sandwich with less cold cuts.
Where I shop the deli person always shows the customer the first slice.

@hominid I usually take a slice and layer it back and forth over itself, repeating with several more slices. The more fold-backs the better. I try to get a uniform amount of meat over the whole surface area, then make a cheese mosaic on top. Sandwich-making is a fun little ritual.

@hominid – you can only shred fowl – not ham or roastbeef.

Haven’t you heard on shredded tweet?

You can shave ham and get basically the same effect as shredded.

Meat with more surface area has better flavor to most people, myself included.

Agree about the increased surface area. Plus it adds fluff. (A cloud of fluffy ham vs a ham steak.) Texture definitely affects taste.

@hominid

The term that will be understood best by Deli counter personnel is “shaved” if you want it shredded.

That’s the term commonly used.

I prefer mine either thinly sliced or shaved because if it’s in thicker slices it’s a totally different chewing experience.

If it’s shaved or thinly sliced, it’s easier to spread it out thinly over the bread and have the mayo mix in with it. That doesn’t happen if it’s one thick slice. Texture really does affect taste, at least for me it does.

Another think that greatly affects taste for me is how dry or moist it is. When I first moved here, I had a terrible time finding stores which carried Deitz and Watson brand which is much moister than many others.

If it’s too dry, it’s basically like eating sawdust for me. I usually get either Turkey Breast or Chicken Breast which are drier to begin with

Plus, back East, the small sheets which they place upon the scale were always made from plastic.

However, here it’s a thin paper. Because they normally place it in the plastic bag along with the sliced meat, it ends up sucking even more moisture out of an already dry product. So it took quite a while for me to remember to request that they please not put it into the bag along with the meat.

What can I say ? I’m just picky about my deli meat. But all these various details make a difference in how enjoyable my sandwiches are.

And, let’s face it, for the high price they’re charging, I should be able to specify the particulars of how I’d like it :)

(This is likely WAY MORE info than you bargained for, but there it is :)

When I buy ham, I’ll often ask for it to be shaved. I prefer how it goes on the sandwich when it’s more finely sliced.

I think when I first started buying it that way it was in part because it went further. Money was tight so buying lunch meats shaved meant they went further.

Easier for teeth to rip finely sliced meet than it is to rip fat slices (for example, with roast beast).