Madax Ham Maker - Stainless Steel Meat Press for Making Healthy Homemade Deli Meat with Thermometer and Cooking Bags

This item works great! If you are unsure of what to do, then make sure to use a recipe and not make one up yourself.I have made Spam, Cotto salami, Chorizo, Breakfast sausage, and a few other things. The only one that did not work was the turkey sausage. The problem was that I overcooked it and it lost all the fat. The dogs loved it, thought.So watch your cooking temps. Remember that after you pull it off of the heat the temperature will continue to rise. So either pull it before it reaches the correct temperature, OR place it in ice water to cool quickly.Hope this helps!-John

I've had the Madax Ham Maker since May 2023. My initial attempts, failures, were my fault (not enough meat, too much meat, the video clearly states 2 pounds, that is what it holds. After I got the weight right all went well.). At the time I bought it I either didn't know about the cooking bags or chose not to buy them. Instead, after I oiled the container, I lined the bottom with a circle of parchment paper and lined the sides with parchment paper too. It made getting the finished loaf out after I ran the canister under warm water to loosen the solidified (congealed) juices.I used my food processor to chop the meats, some fine, some coarse. After seasoning the meat I put the meat into the container in batches using a spoon to spread the meats evenly. This greatly reduced the number of air pockets in the finished product.One thing to note: Do not have the thermometer in the canister when boiling it. The thermometer steams up and is impossible to read. Instead, when it gets close to completing the cooking time, insert the thermometer into the top of the canister and get the internal temp reading that way.I've made lunch meats from ground chicken, turkey, beef, beef with pork (2/3 to 1/3), and chicken with pork tenderloin and ham. By changing the seasonings we've enjoyed many varieties of "bologna".Thank you, Madax, you've saved me a lot of money and the time I used to spend at the deli counter is now looking at what is new so I can replicate them at home using ingredients I choose to use. Also since I got my Ham Maker, there are a lot of videos w/recipes for anyone to try.

I'm still practicing with this lunch meat maker. The first batch was ground rabbit with chicken and it was a bit dry. The product was super easy to use and meat was easy to remove as well. I will keep working with recipes for sure.

We bought this to make an attempt at reproducing the old 70's vintage Swift Hostess Ham in a round can. Then I decided an American style bologna would be fun too. I've made three batches (two pressed ham and one bologna) in the five days we've had it. All were nearly perfect and a breeze. I'm considering buying another so that I can run two batches at a time.Pros: excellent size makes a 4" round loaf. Stainless is a snap to clean. Dishwasher safe. Price is excellent. 2# batches is a great size for home production.Cons: there's no stop on the lid so it's easy to open when you don't mean to. The thermometer hole isn't big enough for my probe thermometer (fixed with a needle file). The instructions aren't very thorough and offer only limited options. I wish it had more "weight" to the spring press to get a firmer form.We are home makers of sausage and curers of meats so we have all of the things, like a meat grinder and curing salts, needed to cure and press meat at home on hand as well as most of the spices one might need. We also have a collection of plenty of recipes for pressed and formed loafs that this device is for and a good meat slicer to cut it on. I suspect that if you're new to this hobby then instant cure #1 (or Morton Tender Quick) and unflavored gelatin might not be things you are accustomed to trying to find - outdoor outfitters and hunter supply stores have it). I also suspect that if you're attempting this with a food processor instead of a meat grinder (or using grocer ground meat) that you might get frustrated. In effect what this is is just a 2" round stainless steel sausage casing for poached sausages and meatloaves. If you don't have the other materials needed to make your product, it will be a challenge. It's not exactly plug-and-play, you'll need some things for success.So far I'm very pleased indeed. A great addition to our meats making hobby.

I despised buying deli meat knowing the carcinogens in them. This Ham Maker Press is great for all types of meat and is the only way to make healthy deli meat blends for sandwiches and subs or charcuterie! I love the quality of the stainless steel and the parts are so easy to clean!

Vietnamese's Tết Giò Thủ is a tradition must for our family for Lunar New Year, I have struggled wrapping and tying each Tết for years. I just happen to see it for something else from a food youtube but thought about my Giò Thủ for coming New Year back in November 2022 . I ordered 6 of 1.5L, returned the 2.5L, was too big.I tried making my Head Cheese/Giò Thủ for the first time this passed Lunar New Year. I just love, love it. It made my task so much easier and faster, I just have my hub pressing to lock for me as I filled this hot meat all the way full, it is easier if you fill less, but than you may need more ham press for repeat your task, which is not very good idea as you have to cook the meat right at the time molding it, just make a longer over night messy task. I want to clean the kitchen right after task is done.So glad I ordered them and spent that much money for them. But it will last me for years...Money was well spent.

100% quality..this is a fun and cool contraption..its nice to make various types of pressed meat products, using the ingredients you want to use..it takes some time, but you get to enjoy a product you made without using a bunch of chemicals that factory's use, for example, Nitrates..