I don't think it's too early...my 15 month old only has her four front teeth, but I give her meat. Well, not steak... :)
I do ground hamburger from casseroles, tacos, etc, and she'll eat that. I give her is lunch meat (I only buy Hormel Naturals and Land O'Frost Bistro Favorites, because both are gluten free and relatively healthy), and she LOVES it. You can tear it into small pieces, and it's perfect.
Also, try fish...regular white fish, tuna, salmon, etc...that's very easy to mush, just make sure there aren't any bones.
We don't eat Turkey except for Thanksgiving...and I haven't braved chicken yet because it's so stringy.
Oh, she also loves sausage...I buy WalMart's generic brand sausage patties and do them in the microwave, and they're very soft. I guess she also likes hot dogs (I only buy Fit and Active turkey dogs, gluten free), but I cut them lengthwise, cut them lengthwise AGAIN (so, into quarters) and skin them, then slice into small chunks. She'll also eat Vienna Sausages, Spam, and sardines. Before you get the idea that we're really unhealthy, this whole paragraph is full of meat "treats" that don't happen often...maybe twice a month, I'll pick one of these and give her.