Delve into a great range of lunch & deli meats, from pastrami and salami to prosciutto and pancetta. Then head to the kitchen to try our handy tips and deli-cious ideas.
Do you know your chorizo from your pepperoni? In this essential guide, you’ll find the deli dozen – 12 types of lunch and deli meat – plus storage tips and great ways to use each one. Handy for everything from lunches and dinners to snacks and canapés, deli meats add flavour to lots of recipes. So, if you like your meat spicy or salty, in sandwiches, pasta, or on its own, there’s a type to suit your tastebuds.
To help you get to know the different types of deli meats available, we’ve put together this handy guide. It features 12 varieties with hints for use and storage information for each one.
Chorizo is a cured Spanish sausage made from pork, garlic, black pepper and smoked paprika, which gives it a red colour. It has a strong flavour and a firm texture. Chorizo can be eaten raw but is better cooked. It’s available at the deli counter or in packets in the chilled section.
Tips for use: Slice or chop chorizo and serve it cold as a starter, or pan-fry and enjoy as a tapas-style dish. Add to omelettes, soups, casseroles or pasta dishes.
How to store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. For pre-packaged chorizo, follow the use-by date and once opened, eat within five days.
The Italian version of bacon, pancetta comes from pork belly. It’s dry cured in salt and spices such as nutmeg, pepper and fennel, and left to age for at least three months. Sliced pancetta is available at the deli counter or in a 100g packet from the chilled section.
Tips for use: Coarsely chop pancetta and add it to homemade pasta sauces, casseroles and soups. You can also use it wherever you’d normally use bacon.
How to store: Keep in the fridge. Once opened, use within four days.
Prosciutto is similar to pancetta, but contains less fat as it comes from the pork leg. After being salted, the ham is left to age in a cold climate for nine to 18 months and sometimes for three years. In Italy, prosciutto is called prosciutto crudo, which means “raw ham”. Sliced or shaved prosciutto is available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Prosciutto is best uncooked. Arrange slices over a cooked pizza, or wrap it around grissini or wedges of rockmelon as part of an antipasto platter.
How to store: Keep prosciutto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Ham is cured pork leg. To preserve it for long periods, pork was traditionally dry cured – rubbed with a salt mixture then smoked and left to slowly air-dry and mature. Today, it’s usually wet cured, which means it’s treated with a salt and sugar based solution before cooking. This faster process makes it moister and less salty, but it has a shorter shelf life. Sliced or shaved ham off the bone is available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Add to sandwiches and salads, or pizzas, quiche and pasta dishes.
How to store: Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to two days.
A favourite pizza topping, pepperoni is a spicy cured sausage that’s made from pork or beef, or a mixture of both meats, with added pepper and spices. Prepackaged pepperoni sausages are available from the deli section.
Tips for use: Thinly slice pepperoni and use as a topping for bought pizza bases, or finely chop then pan-fry and add to pastas, pies or frittatas.
How to store: Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Mortadella is a type of cooked salami and the largest of all the sausages. It’s made from a mixture of minced pork, pork fat and sometimes peppercorns, olives or pistachios. Mortadella is traditionally cut into paper-thin slices and enjoyed as part of an antipasto platter. Sliced or shaved plain, pepper and green olive mortadella are available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Enjoy on its own, wrapped around grissini, or on a slice of crusty bread.
How to store: Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to two days.
A budget-friendly alternative to chicken breast supreme, chicken roll is made from a mixture of chicken meat and seasonings that’s pressed into shape before being baked. Sliced chicken roll is available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Add chicken roll slices to sandwiches, or coarsely chop and use in salads or as a topping for bought pizza bases.
How to store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Salami is a type of cured sausage made from pork, beef or veal that has been flavoured with garlic and various herbs and spices. The raw sausage goes through stages of salting, drying, and sometimes smoking and fermentation, to become a hard sausage. The word salami comes from the Italian word sale, which means salt, but cured sausages are enjoyed all over Europe.
Tips for use: Add salami to pizzas, or use in sandwiches, pastas and canapés.
How to store: Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to two days.
Chicken breast supreme is made from whole chicken breast fillets that have been pressed and steamed. Sliced or shaved chicken breast supreme is available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Add chicken breast supreme to wraps, sandwiches and canapés.
How to store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Beef pastrami is made by coating corned beef with pepper and spices then smoking it to add extra flavour. The word pastrami comes from the Yiddish language and the meat was introduced to the US in the late 19th century when Jewish people migrated from Eastern Europe. It’s now a popular sandwich meat, especially in New York where it’s famously served on rye bread. Sliced beef pastrami is available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Add beef pastrami to sandwiches and wraps, or slice and use in canapés, salads or as a pizza topping.
How to store: Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to two days.
Turkey breast is 100 per cent turkey breast meat that has been roasted in the oven. At 97 per cent fat free, it has less fat than many other deli meats, making it a healthy option for lunch boxes. Sliced or shaved turkey breast is available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Add sliced or shaved turkey breast to sandwiches and wraps. Alternatively, chop or slice turkey breast and use in salads, canapés or on pizzas.
How to store: Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to two days.
This is made with a roasting cut of beef – usually silverside – that has been roasted in the oven then sliced thinly. Sliced or shaved roast beef is available from the deli counter.
Tips for use: Add roast beef to sandwiches, or coarsely chop or cut the slices into strips to use in canapés for entertaining.
How to store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Tip: Keep deli meats well-chilled in the fridge so they stay at their fresh and flavoursome best.
Easy ways to use lunch & deli meats
Deli meats such as pancetta, prosciutto, chorizo, ham, salami and bacon can be tossed through pasta, mixed through salad or sprinkle over soup. Given that much of the flavour in deli meats comes from fat, less is more when adding them to meals. It’s also important to remember that they’re usually cured with a substantial amount of salt, so always take care not to over-season dishes.
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