How can you get really thin deli meat at home?

Don't ask the deli person to slice it at any number setting( every machine is different).

If they're not calibrated correctly, even the number 1 setting can be thick.

Just tell them you want it "paper thin" or "shaved" and piled one on top of the other.

On our machine's( which are the best you can buy), its under the number one setting to make it paper thin.

So, forget numbers.

Use words.

"super thin"

"shaved"

"paper thin"

"almost invisable"

You ask them to slice it however you like ... shaved is the very thinnest slice. You can even find shaved deli meat in the packaged deli meat section.....The meat slicer in the deli section at Kroger starts at 1, and 3 would actually be a very thick slice.....

OR you can buy a small inexpensive slicer and cut it at home your self.

But that is almost to much work!

shaved meat actually falls apart thin is the thinnest. like on #3 setting on the professional deli slicer have them hold up the slices and you tell them exactly how you want it

Well you would need a smoker for pastrami. You take a brisket which the breast of the cow and brine it. then roll it in corriander and black pepper then hot smoke it until it reaches the internal tempature of 150. then braise it until it becomes tender. Bologna is an emulsified sausage. Emulsification is the suspension of combining to ingredients that would not normally mix together like oil and vinegar. You have to Grind Beef and pork fat seperetly on a fine die grinder and in a buffalo chopper add beef, ice, and seasonings and mix until it reaches 40 degrees then add fat and mix until it reaches 45, then add a binder like nonfat dry milk solids and mix until it reaches 50 degrees. these tempatures i just gave you are critical and can not be altered in any way. i know this from experience. Salami would be the hardest to make because you need a drying room. which is typically 60 degrees with 60% humidity. you would need to grind your pork and pork fat seperetly to get the right fat definition. plus you need to use a very dangerous chemical called sodium nitrite AKA Pink Salt and some type of lactic bacteria such as fermento or baco ferm. it takes weeks to months to let a good salami hang dry. and if you get a drying room or make one be sure it is steril at all times because mold loves drying rooms its the perfect environment for mold growth. white mold is good it eats away at green mold which is bad. if salami gets green mold throw it out and if it gete white mold its safe to eat. slicers are various look at ebay theres hundreds of them there.

I don't think any meat comes really thin, but you can ask the butcher to cut it any way you like.My mom does that all the time when we go to the grocery store.Good Luck!=)