Logo of Old Way Farm featuring illustrations of a pig and chickens, promoting the values of happy animals and healthy food in a circular design.
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Logo of Old Way Farm featuring illustrations of a pig and chickens, promoting the values of happy animals and healthy food in a circular design.
M

The Best Turkey Breast Lunch Meat

Recipes

Last year, requests came rolling in for bone-in, skin-on turkey breasts to make lunchmeat at home.

This year, we finally tried it out. Buy it here.

Admittedly, I was a little nervous to try my hand at homemade cold cuts. Thankfully, a brave customer tried it out for her family first. She loved it! Oh, and she came back and reported to me the big secret to her success:

After baking, put the turkey breast in the fridge overnight to cool completely before removing from the bone and slicing.

BRILLIANT! IT WORKED BEAUTIFULLY! So, plan ahead, and make this the day before you need it. Don’t worry, it’ll make enough to last your family a while. My family of 5 can eat it for lunch for 3-4 days. (And we eat a lot of meat.)

Nervous it will be too much? Customer tip: you can slice it and freeze it in smaller portions (using an air tight container / freezer bag) for your family to enjoy later!

I’ve shared those two big tips and this recipe with some other mommas since then, and they LOVE IT!

Here’s the recipe. I’ve modified a bit from the original, but the bottom will have a link to a video by Chef John, showing how it’s done.

Turkey Lunchmeat with Bone-In, Skin-On Turkey Breast

  • Prep time: 10 min hands-on, plus 15-20 min to allow meat to rest.
  • Baking time: about 1h 30min – 2h
  • Chilling before slicing time: minimum of 8 hours

Ingredients

  • 3.5-4.5 lb bone-in, skin-on turkey breast
  • 1.5 T Olive Oil
  • 3 ¾ tsp Kosher salt
  • 1.5tsp – 1.5 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper **** (Jon and I like more pepper, but the kids like us to stick to 1.5t or less of pepper).
  • 1.5 tsp dried thyme
  • 1.5 tsp dried rosemary (lightly crushed or chopped if preferred)
  • 1.5 tsp dried oregano
  • 1.5 tsp smoked paprika

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450.
  2. Pat (fully defrosted) bone-in, skin-on turkey breast dry with a paper towel, and place in a baking dish that just fits the whole breast.
  3. With a small sharp knife, poke holes in the skin of the turkey breast all over (30-50 times).
  4. Drizzle olive oil over the breast, rubbing in to coat the whole surface.
  5. Set aside for 15-20 min to rest.
  6. While resting, mix salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and paprika together in a small bowl.
  7. After turkey has rested… sprinkle the spice rub evenly over the entire surface, including the sides. Finish with the skin side facing up.
  8. Add about ½ inch of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Yes, this does mean your turkey breast will be sitting in ½ inch of water. It’s going to be okay.
  9. Place prepared turkey breast into the center of the oven, and immediately lower heat to 300 degrees F.
  10. Roast until the thickest part of your breast reaches 150 Degrees F. (Try not to go over too much).
  11. LET the breast COOL on the countertop BEFORE transferring to a clean dish and WRAPPING with plastic wrap to sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours.

NEXT DAY, AFTER REMOVING BREAST FROM THE FRIDGE:

Using a knife or your fingers, remove the meat from the bone. I like to separate mostly with my fingers.

Slice the meat to your desired thickness and enjoy!

OH! And hold onto that bone, it’ll make some fabulous bone broth or stock. You could even grab some turkey feet from us to make it extra nutritious boost the collagen. (Hi, healthy gut and glowing skin!)

Here’s a link to the original video by CHEF JOHN showing how it’s done.

Here’s Chef John’s original recipe. I modified to clarify some instructions and accommodate the average size of our breasts.

Happy Lunches to You and Your Family!

~ Stephanie