Olive Loaf
Aug 10, 2016
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Olive loaf has always been one of my favorite sandwich meats. While I was growing up, it was an expensive treat, only to be had once in a great while.
Finding olive loaf at the grocery was never difficult, until recently. It might disappear from the lunch meat cooler for a few days, but it would always be back before long. Lately, however, that hasn't been the case – at least at the grocery stores near my home. Even the little blister packs of pre-sliced stuff seem to be scarce, and don't even ask at the deli counter! The most frequent reply I got was “We don't even special-order that any more! Nobody wants it!”
I beg to differ. I am somebody, and I want it!
Recently, however, some of the local deli customers must have come to like it, because now, after several years of denial, it sometimes shows up in the deli.
Now the olive loaf at the deli is pretty good stuff, but I need to acquire a more reliable supply, so while pondering how to achieve that, I had an epiphany: I make my own sausage, and olive loaf is just a special kind of sausage – maybe I should try to make my own olive loaf!
So begins this story.
Following several months of research, which confirmed my suspicions that no one outside the doors of the major meat packers really knows how olive loaf is made, I combined elements of several recipes from different sources, to form what I hoped would be a winning formula.
The first item of business, once I had an ingredients list, was to acquire the necessary equipment. Only one item is odd enough that you won't likely find it in an ordinary kitchen: a “Pullman” loaf pan. To get an idea how a “Pullman” loaf pan is different from an ordinary loaf pan, go to your local grocery store and look at the commercial bread rack. You'll see at least a couple of variants on loaf size and shape. The “round-top” loaves were baked in something close to your ordinary loaf pan, while the “sandwich style” loaves have a nearly square cross-section, and were baked in something similar to a Pullman pan. I felt that I needed that square cross-section in order to carve a decent sandwich slice from my finished product.
If you don't buy your meat already ground, you'll need a food chopper (meat grinder) of some sort, with a variety of size plates. If you want to emulsify your meat mix (recommended by most DIY makers), you'll also need a large-capacity food processor.
You'll also need several bowls – preferably with covers – large enough to contain about six pounds of meat mix, and (if you don't happen to have a handy-dandy sausage mixer) at least one bowl large enough to allow you to hand-knead the meat mix.
Finally, you'll need an oven with a temperature control that allows you to achieve and maintain a steady 180° F cooking temperature, and of course, a good refrigerator.
If you have all of that, you might be ready to start making olive loaf, so assemble the following:
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Suggested Equipment:
- Cutting board and butcher knife
- Large mixing bowls
- Sausage grinder with 6, 4.5 and 3 mm plates
- Food processor (optional)
- Loaf pan(s) or mold(s)
Ingredients:
- Although I sometimes mention my favorite brands, I don't generally endorse brand-named food additives, and I get no compensation from the brands that I mention. Given the nature and composition of meat cures, however, I feel it is safer to stick to well-known brands.
- Most recipes for olive loaf also specify white pepper, whereas this one uses black pepper. Black pepper results in a spicier loaf than is usual for deli olive loaf.
| Item | | Amount |
|---|
| Pork |
Shoulder, ground |
3 |
lb |
| Beef |
Chuck, ground |
2 |
lb |
| Meat cure |
Morton® TenderQuick1 |
3 |
Tbs |
| Olives |
Green, stuffed with pimento |
2 |
cup |
| Onion |
Cry, powder |
2½ |
Tbs |
| Paprika |
Dry, ground |
1½ |
Tbs |
| Black pepper2 |
Dry, ground |
1 |
Tbs |
| Garlic |
Dry, powder |
2 |
tsp |
| Celery salt |
|
1½ |
tsp |
| Nutmeg |
Dry, ground |
½ |
tsp |
Directions:
If you purchased your meats already ground, skip to step 4; otherwise, examine your cuts closely, and remove any "silverskin". This is a tough, translucent or transparent tissue that forms an envelope around a large muscle. If you skip this step, you risk having it clog your grinding plate, and you will likely have to stop grinding and clean the plate pretty often.
Cut the meats (roughly) into 1” cubes, and place them in one of your covered bowls. Add the TQ (TenderQuick), salt, sugar and spices, and thoroughly mix by hand. Refrigerate, preferably overnight.
Grind the meat mix using a 6 mm plate. Skip to step 5.
If you purchased ground meat, and add the TQ, salt, sugar and spices. Mix as thoroughly as possible. You will most likely have to “knead” your meat mix in order to properly distribute the ingredients.
Cover the meat mix and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour (up to four would be better), before regrinding with the 4.5 mm plate. You may be able to skip this stage of grinding, depending on how finely your ground meat is already divided at this point; but you will need to put the ground meat through the final grind!
Add ½ cup chilled water to the meat mix and hand-mix thoroughly. Grind the mix using the 3 mm size plate.
If you do not intend to emulsify your meat mix, skip this step; otherwise, now is the time to bring out the food processor. Most home kitchen food processors won't be able to handle the amount of meat required for this recipe in a single batch, so you will most likely have to do it in several smaller batches. You may need to add more chilled water in order to achieve the desired consistency, but a minute in the processor at liquefaction speed should produce a fine emulsion.
When you have produced a grind or “paste” that meets your own requirements, it's time to add in the olives. In the largest bowl you can find, - or a clean, suitable surface -flatten out the meat mix into a round loaf no more than 1” or 2” thick. Distribute a quarter of the olives, more 
or less evenly, over half the upper surface of the meat, and fold other half over it. Press the folded loaf back into a 1" or 2" thickness. Repeat this process until all of the olives are embedded in the meat mix.
Line a loaf pan or mold - or as many as you need to hold all of the meat mix - with a sheet of food-grade plastic cling wrap. The sheet must be large enough to completely encase the entire 
mass of the meat mix. Transfer the mix into the lined pan(s), covering with and closing the cling wrap.
Bake at 180° F until the internal temperature of the loaf reaches 150° F (for me, this took about 4½ hours).
Remove finished loaves from heat, and allow them to cool, then refrigerate.
When your loaf or loaves have chilled to normal refrigerated meat temperatures (< 40℉), they are ready to slice and eat, just as you would eat any cold cuts purchased at your favorite grocery store.
If you'd like to hear/see more about the thinking that went into this process, you can read about it here
If you count my labor as a cost, at the hourly rate I last enjoyed before retirement, this is probably the most expensive lunchmeat ever made in the history of the world...
But this stuff actually grows on you. I find - after consuming several pounds of the stuff - that I actually like it better than the commercially available version. Yes, the loaf is a little drier, yes the grind is a little grainier, and in slicing, we find that the slices are somewhat more fragile; but overall, the effect is positive, and I think I'll make it again, with only minor mods to the technique.
I have shared my bounty with several other households in my extended family, and received rave reviews. There's no accounting for tastes, I suppose, but this stuff tastes pretty good.
Meat, Beef, Pork, Sausage, Cold Cuts