I quit eating lunch meat when I learned about nitrates, but when I learned how to cook paper-thin slices of turkey at home, homemade lunch meat was on! You will also save money! Make the best homemade white sandwich bread and a side salad and you have a tasty meal!
Turkey on whole wheat. No cheese, a little bit of lettuce, lots of pickles, lots of olives, just a few jalapenos. Mayonnaise and mustard.
Back in my college days, that was the turkey sandwich I ordered every time I went to Subway and I loved every bite.
Until I learned about nitrates. I immediately broke up with all lunch meats and never looked back. That is until my kids started going to a peanut-free school.
Not being able to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made me feel incapable of making lunches altogether. Like someone was holding my hands behind my back and telling me to make lunch with my feet.
I know it sounds strange, and it sounds strange to type it out.
OF COURSE, there are other things kids can take to school besides a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
I know this first hand because 4 of the 5 days of the week they’re NOT taking a sandwich. They love homemade Lunchables, Italian meatballs, or chocolate chip hummus in their lunches.
But it was a mental block. Not being able to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made making lunch those other 4 days seem practically impossible.
DIY Lunch Meat
With PBJ out of the question, I went back to my favorite lunchmeat again – turkey. I’m still not okay with buying processed meats.
I don’t know about you, but my budget can NOT afford to pay $12 per pound for ultra thin slice turkey every week! I knew there had to be a better way.
My first attempt was to buy a whole turkey. I bought the smallest one I could for just over $1/lb, roasted it in the oven the same way I make oven roasted chickens, cut off the wings, and legs, and set the breasts aside to slice thin for meat sandwiches.
Although this sounds good in theory, it didn’t work how I had hoped.
- There are tendons in the dark meat that made it tough to get even slices for the kids’ sandwiches. Even if I did get a decent slice, the kids kept finding even more tendons in their sandwiches. (The Girl kept spitting them out, saying there were “bones” no matter how careful I was when I cut the turkey).
- The breasts were easy to slice through, but the natural grain of the meat made a single slice fall apart into smaller pieces. The kids would have to reassemble their sandwiches at school because the meat would fall out of the bread.
- Using a whole turkey would have been fine if my goal was to make turkey salads, dice turkey for dipping or salads, or even eat the pieces whole. But using a whole turkey to make lunch meat simply didn’t work.
Ingredients for Homemade Lunch Meat
- 1 whole turkey breast (approx 48 oz)
- homemade seasoning salt (or sea salt and black pepper)
- olive oil
How to Make Homemade Deli Meat
Next, I tried a whole boneless turkey breast. They come in a single package, ready to roast all by themselves. There are no bones to deal with and thanks to the salt, the slices won’t fall apart when you cut them.
Here are the instructions:
Step 1. Season the outside of the turkey breast with homemade seasoned salt.
Step 2. Roast it in the oven for 90 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165-170F.
The resulting oven roasted turkey breast was so moist and so flavorful, I knew the kids would love it in their lunches!
Except that the slices were too thick!
My goal in making homemade lunch meat was to re-create floppy thin sliced lunch meat like you would find at the deli counter. Fresh out of the oven, the turkey slices weren’t thin at all. They more resembled the slices you get when you carve the Thanksgiving bird – and you and I know that this wouldn’t pass as “lunch meat” for the kids.
So I threw a Hail Mary pass, stuck the breast in the fridge, and tried to slice it thin again after it had been thoroughly chilled.
And it worked!
With a completely chilled turkey breast and a very sharp serrated knife, I was able to cut thin sliced oven roasted turkey as thin as you’d expect to find in any deli meat package. They folded, flopped, and made delicious turkey sandwiches and wraps – without nitrates or preservatives!
FAQs for Homemade Lunch Meat
Is homemade lunch meat healthier?
Yes! According to this article, two chemicals that are linked to increasing the risk of bowel cancer are added to store-bought meat. When you make your own with good quality meat, you are not consuming these chemicals. Roasted turkey will have lower sodium than store-bought cold cuts as well. Whole foods for the win!
Is it cheaper to make your own deli meat?
The turkey breast I bought was 48 oz (or 3 lbs) and I got it for $8. Making my own lunch meat is the equivalent of paying $1.33 for an 8-ounce container of processed lunch meat. Compared to the store-bought all-natural variety, I’m saving 78% by making my own homemade lunch meat!
How long is lunch meat good for?
Lunch meat can be refrigerated for up to three to five days in an airtight container.
Can you freeze lunch meat?
Absolutely! Sliced or unsliced meat can be placed in the freezer. It can be kept there for up to one to two months.
Can I make lunch meat with season chicken breast?
Somewhat. Chicken breast is much smaller than turkey breast making it a little more challenging to get a good cut like sliced deli meat. Although I haven’t tried a thinly sliced rotisserie chicken, I bet you can get some great lunch meat from the chicken breast!
Can I make other homemade deli meats?
Yes! There are excellent recipes for homemade pastrami and roast beef and smoked turkey breast on the web. Experiment and let me know!
Recipe Notes
- I recommend slicing up the whole turkey breast at the same time. You might as well if you’ve already got the tools out!
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh the slices into 8 oz portions.
- Place each portion into a freezer-safe container and pull out one portion each week. This is how we made one turkey breast last a whole month.
Watch How to Make Homemade Lunch Meat
DIY Homemade Lunch Meat
I quit eating lunch meat when I learned about nitrates, but when I learned how to cook paper-thin slices of turkey at home, homemade lunch meat was on! Make the best homemade white sandwich bread and you have a tasty meal!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 lbs 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Rinse the turkey breast and pat dry. If yours comes with a twine casing, leave that on.
- Rub the homemade seasoned salt – or another seasoning of choice – all over the turkey breast, massaging it as you cover the meat.
- Place the turkey breast in an 8×8 glass pan and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil. Turn it over and drizzle with the remaining olive oil.
- Roast in the oven for 90 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165-170F.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Cut off the twine, if necessary, and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, use a very sharp serrated knife (I have this one) to cut very thin slices of turkey breast, aiming for a slice that’s as wide as the knife blade.
- Store in the fridge, freezing any portions that won’t get eaten within a week.
Notes
- I recommend slicing up the whole turkey breast at the same time. You might as well if you’ve already got the tools out!
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh the slices into 8 oz portions.
- Place each portion into a freezer-safe container and pull out one portion each week. This is how we made one turkey breast last a whole month.
Nutrition
- Calories: 250
J
try to purchase Turkey bread w/o the bones , but I found carageenan in the ingredients.Please be careful. My wife feels much better not eating carrageenan.
Tiffany
Absolutely – ingredients always trump labels!
Annabelle
My sweet love, John says his favorite kind of lunchmeat is bologna. When I told him last night just how many preservatives were in there, his immediate reaction was, “Oooooooooh myyyyyyy gooooooooosh!” I told him that you’d have to have a Ph.D. in science just to figure out what all those ingredients are made of! Let alone how they’re pronounced! I even told him just how fattening the stuff is, but he still can’t resist. He has made a promise to me, however, that if and when we live together, he’s gonna trade store-bought preservative-laden lunchmeat for the all-natural kind! I wonder if there’s a way to make preservative free, homemade bologna? My favorite kinds of lunchmeats are: turkey, ham, barbecued pork, hotdogs, salami (though not recently, thanks to my American sister calling me “fatso!”), pepperoni, summer sausage, bologna (sometimes), roast beef (not too spicy), and my most recent fav, London Broil! I even wonder if I could find a way to make a lunchmeat version of one of my favorite cuts, prime rib.
Collette
I am so excited to find this recipe from you! My son has Addison’s Disease (adrenal glands don’t work), and I have recently started trying to help him make better choices, while keeping with foods he likes. Our first switch was buying organic apples. I can’t afford to buy all of our fruit organic, but he does eat an organic apple daily. Then I switched his bread to sourdough. Now I’m working on the lunchmeat! I can’t wait to try this! Next will be homemade granola bars. Baby steps!
Tiffany
Baby steps is right Collette – kudos to you!! The ones you’ve picked so far are great. Keep it up!
Lori Collier
I did a search for ‘turkey breast for slicing’ & yours was the 1st post. I bought a bone in turkey breast on sale mainly for sandwiches & wasn’t sure what would be the best way to cook it. My search is over! Thank you for your time & effort to detail this recipe so well. I think I’ll cut out the bone before I cook it… what do you suggest? Thanks again!
Tiffany
Hi Lori! If you want lunch meat, I’d definitely cut out the bone first. As a warning, it may or may not slice like you want it to. I tried doing something similar with bone-in turkey and it was more like Thanksgiving pieces than sliced lunch meat. Boneless was the only way to get it to work right, BUT, if you already have it and don’t mind shredded turkey JUST IN CASE it doesn’t work out, then what can you lose?
sarah riesgo
Which way did you slice your turkey?
Tiffany
I honestly don’t remember Sarah, but I usually slice against the grain to get a more tender piece of meat. Try that first, and if the pieces start crumbling, rotate the meat and try a different way.
Jacqui
Delicious! I made it last week and it turned out delicious! My husband enjoyed heavily with this and this is a unique recipe. Thanks for the share.
Grammyprepper
This is a fantastic post! But for those who don’t want to put in the time/effort, I can tell you that there are many deli meats that do not contain nitrates. You have to go to the service deli where they actually slice meat for you. I happen to work in one, and I can tell my customers which meats do not contain nitrates. You would be surprised. You may always ask your deli counter person to show you the label on the meat. I am always happy to help a customer compare one brand with another whether it’s nitrates or sodium content or whatever that they are looking at. While it may not be as good as home made, there are still alternatives out there, you just have to take the time to ask the questions!
Tiffany
Thanks so much for sharing this with us!!
emily
Hi there! I am desperate for turkey sandwiches and clean lunch meat is so expensive so I am excited to try this! Is there a particular brand of turkey you purchase? All I am seeing in my grocery is butterball and I’m not too thrilled about that brand.
Tiffany
Hi Emily! I bought the turkey breast at ALDI. Throwing away the gravy packet improves the list of ingredients tremendously!
Cassidy
This did not work at all, and I was so excited! I bought a whole young turkey with rib bones and skin. I skinned it and cut the breasts off the bones before preparing and cooking it according to your recipe. What I got was thanksgiving turkey that could have never hoped to have been sliced like yours in the picture. Very disappointing 🙁 If you do this recipe again, more pictures or a video would be very helpful.
Tiffany
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you Cassidy, but if you read the post, you would have seen that my first attempt was to do exactly what you did, and it didn’t work for the same reasons you quote. In fact, I specifically wrote,”… using a whole turkey to make lunch meat simply didn’t work.” That’s why I recommended purchasing a whole turkey breast, then cooking and slicing according to the recipe. If you followed the recipe as written, I’m sure you would have had a better turn-out.
Liz
But she cut the breasts from the bird before baking? ! Why Is that different to buying the breast separately? Are the breasts frozen?
Denise
When you purchase the turkey breasts separate from the carcass, they’ve already been brined to preserve moisture in the meat. That’s the salt difference that Tiffany referenced in the original description. Whole birds don’t have the same brining solution as the breasts alone.
Tiffany
You’re very welcome!
jamie murphy
hi tiffany!
Found you on pinterest. I love this idea. I too hate all the additives in food. I removed package food from my diet about 80% a few years ago but still bought lunch meat. Bought a 3lb butterball at Food Lion for 9.99(thru away the packet yuck!!) and I’m crock potting it. Fingers crossed. I’ve actually made roast beef before and it worked great every time. roasted tho. Thanks again
Rachel Simmers
Hi there! Is it better to leave the skin on or remove it? Thanks!
Tiffany
Skin on the meat? Can you explain, Rachel?
Kimberly
This is the best thing I’ve read ALL freaking day. I get SEVERE black out migraines and I’ve been told nitrates could be to blame. It’s worth a shot, and hey, if it’s not the cause, I’ve cut at least one bad thing from mine and my family’s diet. Have you tried this with ham?
Tiffany
I have not yet Kimberly – waiting for a chunk after Christmas! 😉
Christine Lund-Molfese
Any idea if there is a “chunk of ham” available without nitrates and without spending a fortune? My husband loves ham for sandwiches, so I have been buying Aldi’s “Never Any” nitrate free ham…but I bet I could save so.much.money if I got a “chunk” and did this. Found your blog yesterday and I’ve been reading ever since! Thanks!
Tiffany
Hi Christine! I’m sure there is, it’s just a matter of finding it! I’d look near the meat section – my Kroger has ham, but I haven’t read the ingredients. Thanksgiving and Christmas might be a better chance to find higher quality, and I’d keep my ears open for anyone that’s offering “natural” ham around the holidays. That’s probably going to be the best you can get!
Zena
Hi Tiffany. I just want to ask if you could follow this recipe but use chicken breast instead of turkey breast?
Tiffany
I think so! The grain of chicken is slightly different, but I think you’ll get a similar result. 🙂
Annette
My daughter loves Boars Head deli BBQ chicken. I think I’ll try this and brush BBQ sauce on the turkey breast.
Abigail
Hi Tiffany- where do you typically buy your turkey breast? My husband is starting classes this semester and we need an easy packed lunch solution (he doesn’t like peanut butter). I love this idea! Thanks.
Tiffany
Hi Abigail! I’ve bought mine at ALDI. I’m sure other grocery stores would have it, I just haven’t purchased elsewhere yet. I’ll keep an eye out though the next time I’m at Kroger!
Jackie Peterson
Love the idea of making my own lunch meat (and would also love the ham & roast beef alternative). Years ago I had a turkey sandwich at a little deli that also had a bit of pineapple on it and was sprinkled with sunflower seeds. Delish. I’m going to try a version of that with a grilled pineapple salsa and either some sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. Could be great cold with lettuce or arugula or warm/panini with swiss or brie cheese.
Tjet
Instead of peanut butter use Biscoff Spread it’s made out of cookies.
http://www.biscoff.com/indulge/biscoff-cookie-butter
No nuts!
Tiffany
Not a bad idea for those who are nut-free Tjet, but I’d caution against the excess ingredients. Maybe a sunflower butter or pea spread would be a healthier option?
Tjet
Excess ingredients? Just a suggestion, as you said no pb allowed in school. Thanks for the sunflower butter suggestion as well I will look for it!
Theresa
Have you tried freezing the turkey slices? I have a Food Saver. I am considering cooking a turkey and roast beef, then freezing the slices. It is just my huband and myself.
Tiffany
I haven’t tried this Theresa, but it should work. You can freeze store-bought lunch meat, so there’s no reason why you couldn’t do this too. I’d portion out enough to serve your family for a week and freeze in that portion, so it’s easier to thaw and serve. 🙂
Sarah
Aww rats. I was so excited to try this.. but I think I bought the wrong turkey breast… maybe not? Mine has the actual bone underneath. 🙁 I’m confused. Turkey’s are not my strong point 😛
Tiffany
If you can cut the breast off the bone Sarah, you can make it work! Either cut it off before or after you cook, and let the meat chill thoroughly before cutting.
Nancy hughes
Love lunch meat, was raised on it, -( I’m from Philly PA!) and love turkey breast, can’t wait to try this! Thanks, Nancy