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

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.

The photos shows my first produce from this great piece of kit. I used the spicy ham recipe but modified it to add more garlic and some Prague #1 powder for safety.The result was way better than I was expecting for a first attempt. Good texture, solid mouth feel and great flavour. I used 1:1 Beef mince to Diced Pork. My wife likes it and she doesn't eat a lot of preserved meat but I think knowing what's in it made a great difference.There are some good Russian vids on Youtube that have interesting recipes and Google Translate makes a good job of making them readable.One good tip I got from them was take off one third of the mixture then blend it with some iced water until it is all emulsified then mix the other two thirds into it before filling the press.I also checked the included thermometer against my digital and much to my surprise it was very accurate.If you want to get into making your own good quality, no hidden chemicals, honest to goodness food then here is where to start. There's nothing complicated and you can do this in any kitchen.

The ham maker itself is easy to use.The recipes that are available for download are not. There are gaps in the directions that leave you guessing on how to prepare the deli meat. This is a very unique item and there is very little on the internet to support this product, video nor recipes.I have made great deli meat (bologna and turkey) and I enjoy trying something new and again, the device itself is easy to use.The plastic baggies are not needed.

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.

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..