cooking cold cuts to make them healthier?

christinezappella

Hi everyone--I was wondering if frying cold cuts like salami or pepperoni in a non-stick pan reduces the calories from rendering out all the fat. Basically, I'm wondering if I'll ever eat sopresatta again. Please help!

tig_ol_bitties

Never in my entire life or nutritional educating have I ever heard of "frying" something to lessen the calories...

nickscutie

yeah, this seems plain silly.

Just eat SOME sopresatta, not ALL the sopresatta, and you'll be fine.

dalzinho

Not eating stuff you love *ever* is a one-way street to mental health problems. Of course you can have sobresada (I'm guessing it's the same thing!) the way you like it. Just on occasion though!

philOHIO

try buying LEANER CUTS of meat and seasoning them to taste similar. There is a turkey pepperoni that isn't bad either.

CakeFit21

Do not ruin the beautiful cured meats. Fit them into your macros and enjoy them they way they were meant to be enjoyed.

christinezappella

not in oil--in a nonstick pan. Like, how crispy bacon has less calories than uncrispy bacond or how cooked sausage is lower in calories than uncooked sausage. (in weightwatchers, cooked sausage used to be less points than uncooked--who is eating sausage raw??)

dalzinho

In theory it's right though—if you cook it in a dry pan, and there is fat in the pan at the end, then it follows that an amount of fat that was in the sausage is now not in the sausage.

Best to grill it though, so the meat isn't in contact with the rendered fat.

christinezappella

grilling--that actually sounds delicious. mmmmmmm.....

sjohnny

In for the sopresatta. Mmmmmm..... God help me I do love it so. With some talleggio and fresh bread.

bcattoes

It makes sense to me, especially if you cook them on a broiler pan, grill or something else that allows the fat to drip off, since that is fat you are not consuming.

frugalmomsrock

Never in my entire life or nutritional educating have I ever heard of "frying" something to lessen the calories...

Well, technically, pan frying is going leave more fat than broiling because it sits in the fat during frying and during broiling, the fat is drained off. However, some of the fat does, indeed, fry away--hence the big frying pan of fatty grease left behind.

To the OP: I am pretty sure this doesn't happen with meats that are already cooked.

Eat what you like--just do it in moderation. This is not about depriving ourselves for a lifetime; it's about learning to moderate ourselves forever.

76tech

makes absolute sense, you're rendering the fat from the sausage. but to do that to a nice sopresatta, just eat less.

bbbgamer

No

nickscutie

Buy some of the Applegate Farms cured meats at Whole Foods. They have the nutritional info available on their website, so you can easily figure out how to fit that in to your day without having to "release the fat".

susanswan

I've heard so much bad press about the cancer causing potential of "cured" meats such as cold cuts. I cut them out of my diet and my husband's diet for lunch.

Save them for a very occasional splurge from a party platter, etc.

Just saying. = D

Contrarian

The difference in calories will probably be inconsequential.

SergeantSunshine_reused

No don't ruin it!! sopresatta is delicious :D:D

Just make room for it and enjoy :]

AZKristi

In this instance, you are clearly using the term fry to mean "heating in a pan." Because the meats you listed are already so fatty, there is no reason to add oil. And if fat is released from the food and remains in the pan as fat (grease) ,clearly some portion of the calories are not ending up in your body. But, I don't know that this necessarily makes the food healthy. The effect on the total number of calories involved would totally depend on how much fat was actually removed and this could be pretty difficult to quantify. I know that when I cook ground beef, I always decant the grease into a jar and throw it away. Sometimes there is up to a cup of grease that I remove which is significant. I am not sure you would get this much of a reduction from lunch meat, but you could try.

Keep in mind that it isn't just the fat that is a problem. They also tend to have tons of preservatives and salt that may be equally problematic. Plus, the fat is probably why it tastes so good. Rather than focusing on what you'll never be able to have again, focus on all the great new things you can eat daily. You can still have your old favorites every once in a while.

jamiesadler

Hi everyone--I was wondering if frying cold cuts like salami or pepperoni in a non-stick pan reduces the calories from rendering out all the fat. Basically, I'm wondering if I'll ever eat sopresatta again. Please help!

Cooking it with no oils or butter may pull some of the salts out but I doubt it. You can eat anything you want in moderation. If I want ice cream I eat it, just not the whole container anymore. If I want a burger I eat one. Depriving yourself is what makes most diets fail. You have to look at losing weight as a life long change not a temporary fix. Everything is ok in moderation.

KyleB65

I doubt that you could fry/render the fat content out of cold cuts.

If anything, you might be able to boil out part of the fat & sodium. However, who would want to eat boiled cold cuts?

Better to juts eat lean baked meat with no preservatives.

Gt3ch

Cooked sopresatta?

Fuhgettaboudit!!!

The calories from fat are the least of your worries. Cured meats are inherently unhealthy and shouldn't be eaten regularly. Cooking will not remove the nitrite, nitrate, etc. If you really love it just have a reasonable portion once in a while. Enjoy it and move on.

ShelleLP

Hi everyone--I was wondering if frying cold cuts like salami or pepperoni in a non-stick pan reduces the calories from rendering out all the fat. Basically, I'm wondering if I'll ever eat sopresatta again. Please help!

What I would suggest instead, would be to put it in the oven over a rack. A pan will catch the fat and that might help a little. Frying it, even without oil will leave it rolling it in it's own fat. So that really wouldn't help all that much. Even full calories and fat content, eating what you want in moderation is the way to lose weight. Denying yourself is the road to failure.