Deli Sandwich Spread / Ham Salad

Submitted by Kit_Kat

"One of the favorite lunch items in our house is the ham salad / sandwich spread from the deli department. After my mom took a brief part-time job at a local grocery store deli and learned how the sandwich spread are made. I had to come up with a recipe so that I could make my own and know what went in it--and how old the ingredients were."

 

• Ready In: 21mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Yields: 1 1/2 pounds

ingredients

• 1 lb ham or 1 lb bologna, ground
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, diced fine
• 1⁄4 cup sweet relish
• 1⁄4 cup onion, grated
• 1⁄2 - 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper

directions

1. Any type of lunch meat may be used for this spread. I use bologna, boiled ham or a combination of both.
2. run meat through grinder with the fine blade, or use a food processor and process until very fine.
3. Boil eggs in advance and allow to chill for at least 20 minutes.
4. Combine mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip), relish, onion, salt, pepper and eggs.
5. Stir in ground meat to combine.
6. Chill for at least one hour prior to serving.
7. (My mom tipped me off that the way that they were able to get the grocery store version of this dish to look so beautiful, pink and fresh is that they add beet juice to it! So I add a bit of red food coloring if I am serving it on a buffet so that it looks more appealing.
8. Cooking time listed is chill time.