A healthier, less processed version that is so tender and delish, you’ll be finding excuses to have sandwiches all the time!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Marinate: 5 hours

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 7 hours, 10 minutes

Makes about 8 servings

• Plain turkey tenderloin or turkey breast (about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds)

Marinade:

• Small bundle of fresh poultry herbs (rosemary, sage, oregano, or thyme)
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon (or brown) mustard
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2-3 Tablespoons water

• Marinate the turkey: In a medium bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients. Rub the mixture evenly over the turkey breast, ensuring it is well coated on all sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours (overnight for best flavor).
• Preheat oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a baking dish, directly place your marinated turkey. If it has a seam, place it seam-side down in the baking dish to prevent it from drying out.
• Rinse the marinade bowl with 2-3 Tablespoons of water and pour this liquid into the baking dish to keep turkey moist.
• Bake for 1-2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices. Use a meat thermometer to check for safe temperature. Turkey is safe at 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part.
• Rest your meat (let it sit in the pan out of the oven) once it is cooked for about 15 minutes.
• Transfer the turkey to a cooling rack or plate to cool down and juices to drain off.
• You may choose to slice it and then store in airtight container, or store your fully cooked turkey and cut off pieces as you use it. Slice as thinly as possible with a sharp knife.
• Use within 3-4 days.

• The first time I made this I used oregano (and only oregano) for my chosen herb and so far it’s been my favorite. I’ve also done it without herbs (accidentally) and it still turned out really good, just a milder flavor.
• Start off planning to cook for one hour and use the 30 minutes as benchmarks to baste and temp your meat. I have done this once with it taking almost 2 hours and again it took an hour on the nose (not including rest time), so you really just need to check it at those 30 minute marks and see what your oven does for you.
• I always choose to slice my turkey so it’s prepped and ready to grab when we want sandwiches. I usually let it cool down for 20-25 minutes so I don’t burn my hands trying to slice it and then slice as thin as possible using a sharpened knife.

Never in my life did I think I’d be making my own lunch meat, but here we are. After a series of events and several grocery trips where I couldn’t get my preference for deli meat because they were out or discontinued, I decided it was time to try and make my own to reduce cost and for a cleaner option.

This is one of those recipes that sounds really complicated and time consuming, but is actually SO easy. The longest part is waiting for it to marinade, during which you don’t have to do anything.

Even if you’re just kind of curious about trying it, or don’t do it all the time, I highly recommend giving it a shot. But beware–it will be tough to go back to the store bought stuff!

Until next time,