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PearBlossom t1_je2pkhg wrote

Islay’s chipped ham with Islay’s bbq sauce. Sold at every Giant Iggle and Shop n Save in the area but ya gotta buy it at the deli and make it yourself.

Im not from the area originally but I found it revolting. The ham is the most disgusting fatty mechanically separated and put back together weird hunk of nope Ive ever seen. And I come from the land of pork roll (chefs kiss) and scrapple (everything but the oink). The second ingredient in Islay’s bbq sauce is high fructose corn syrup and the fourth ingredient is corn syrup, to give you an idea.

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burghfan t1_je2sku8 wrote

The jarred stuff is gross. The ham itself is hit or miss , I like the vacuum packs from sam's club better than deli cut

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Substantial_Name595 t1_je2ptga wrote

Where are you buying your ham? 😂 never had that problem with my ham from GE and other reputable delis.

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PearBlossom t1_je2r0a4 wrote

Ive worked at Shop n Save deli for a while, I can’t even begin to tell you the hundreds of pounds of this stuff that I have chipped. The official Islay’s brand. There is an absolute clear difference between this type of lunchmeat and your standard actual hunk of whole meat. No pig is marbled in such a way that Islay’s ham looks like. Its all ground up and made into a loaf. The only ham I found worse was Bar S and it is mostly white and very light pink due to all the fat. Its the reason they are so much cheaper per pound.

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A_lunch_lady t1_je2s1lj wrote

Former GE deli worker and I agree Isaly’s is gross and all the deli workers hate it because it makes such a mess when you have to chip it!

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PearBlossom t1_je2sibq wrote

yes! It flies everywhere. Fat smeared all over the slicer. We chip multiple pounds of it and put it in containers to sell throughout the day because it makes such a mess. When I have to clean the trays and containers I have to soak them in the hottest soapy water I can to melt all the residual fat because there’s no just wiping it off.

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sonofcrack t1_je2wxr5 wrote

That’s the good stuff lmao the fat makes it fry up real nice

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PearBlossom t1_je37mo9 wrote

Don’t get me wrong, fat has its time and place. I cant eat meat any longer but I long for the days of a nice fatty rib eye or thick hunk of fatty prime rib cooked medium rare. Im a big believer in Philly cheesesteaks being fatty. Hell I picked the fatty parts off the roast hams my mom made for the holidays. But there is just something so off about the fat in lunchmeat like this. I also think their closely related cousins the dutch load, old fashioned loaf, pickle loaf etc are equally gross and they use similar methods.

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1stCaptainSkrall t1_je3phlb wrote

We just got done with a sale at my store, $2.99 a pound. Everything since last Wednesday has been coated in a thin veneer of grease and I've found pieces of the ham stuck in the grooves of my sneakers every day after work. People came and ordered anywhere from 2 pounds to some lunatic who ordered 14 pounds. I think today alone I chipped almost 40 pounds.

If that sale comes around again I'm going to work in the bakery or something for a week

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MagentaMist t1_je2rj56 wrote

You can make your own BBQ sauce. Brown sugar, ketchup (Heinz, of course), red wine or apple cider vinegar, water, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Easy peasy.

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