This chicken sandwich deli meat takes just a handful of simple ingredients to make and is healthy and delicious! It is the perfect alternative to store-bought deli meat and is lower in salt, lower in cost, and has no weird preservatives!
Reader Testimonial: "Yessss! This recipe came out wonderful and it had such a lovely flavor. I can enjoy sandwiches again!! We do everything from scratch do avoid any chemicals in our foods. So glad I decided to make this recipe. Definitely a keeper!" - Cas
Did you know that you can make your own sandwich deli meat at home?
And that you can make it with something as simple and as readily available as chicken breast?
You don't need to make those giant deli loaves they have in the market, nor do you need a giant meat slicer.
All it takes is 5 ingredients, some patience, and a very sharp knife and you are winning!
Preparing and Curing
This deli meat is prepared using the Torihamu method, which I learned about through Just Bento's Homemade Chicken "Ham" recipe*. It involves marinating the chicken breasts for at least 24 hours in salt, honey, and other seasonings. The purpose of this step is not only to flavor the meat, but also to give the meat a slightly longer refrigerator "shelf life". Call it a homemade way of curing the meat, but without any chemical preservatives!
The marinade is made of honey, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder, and will be a very thick paste-like consistency. It might seem as if there's not very much to coat two chicken breasts, but never fear!
Spread the marinade all over the chicken breasts (I find that using my hands work best), and then place everything in a zip top bag (I use a quart-sized freezer bag). Squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing the bag and let the chicken hang out in the fridge for 2-3 days.
After the 2-3 day curing period is done, it's time to rinse the chicken and let it soak in a water bath for a bit. This additional step of soaking the meat in water before roasting is to desalinate the chicken, or remove some of the excess salt, while also balancing out the flavors.
Pat the chicken breasts dry and then simply roast them as is, or coat them in herbs, spices, ground black pepper, etc.
Cooking and Slicing
An important detail in this recipe is to roast the chicken breasts low and slow as it ensures the meat doesn't dry out and become tough. You could roast the chicken breast at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time, but in the case of this deli meat, you don't want to rush it.
After roasting, let the chicken cool down to room temperature before storing in the fridge, waiting to slice it after they are completely chilled. And VOILA!
For those of you wondering how to slice them thin without an actual meat slicer, I use a sushi knife as you can see pictured below. The blade is thinner than regular knives, and I think the holes in the blade and the nonstick surface contribute to not grabbing the meat as you slice. I also don't rush the slicing...going a bit slower gives you greater control and it's helps get those nice thin slices.
I've used chicken for this recipe because chicken breast is readily available in the grocery store at any time of the year. It's also easy to handle (compared to a big turkey breast) and yields a decent amount of sliced meat without feeling like you have too much.
Also, as you can see from these photos, if you make two chicken breasts at once, you can make each one a different flavor!
Both chicken breasts started in the same marinade, in the same bag. But then I coated one in crushed black pepper because it is super tasty and we are all fans of pepper-crusted deli meat! You could do the same, or coat the chicken breast with spices or finely-chopped herbs for that added bit of flavor. I have also, in the absence of garlic powder, added Italian seasoning to the marinade, which imparted a delicious flavor to the meat. So you can play around a bit!
While my boys love to nibble on the meat straight from the fridge from a snack, let's not forget that it makes for awesome sandwiches, especially with homemade gluten-free bread, like my Soft Homemade Gluten-Free Bread pictured here!
A sandwich isn't complete with a nice stack of thinly sliced deli meat, but sandwich meat can be expensive, and this is especially the case here in Hong Kong where so much of the food is imported. Aside from cost, deli meat often contains ingredients you don't want, like too much salt and nitrates. But with this recipe, you don't have to worry about things like that any more!
This has got to be one of my favorite recipes that I make all the time. Easy, tasty, and healthier and more affordable than store-bought deli meat...what's not to love?
~ Lisa.
Watch How To Make It
Recipe
Easy Homemade Sandwich Deli Meat
Ingredients
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (approximately 1lb. or 450 g total)
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Optional coatings prior to roasting:
- Black pepper
- Dried herbs
- Spices
Instructions
Marinating:
- Combine honey, sea salt, onion powder, and garlic powder and mix well.
- Coat chicken breasts thoroughly in the honey marinade.
- Place chicken breasts in a zip-top bag. Press air out of the bag and seal.
- Refrigerate for 48-72 hours (2-3 days).
Preparing:
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and rinse with cool water.
- Place the rinsed chicken in a dish of cold water (make sure the chicken is submerged) and soak 30 minutes for every 24 hours you marinated it. (See note below.)
Roasting:
- Preheat oven 250 deg F (125 C).
- Remove the chicken from the soaking water and dry well with paper towels.
- Place the chicken on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Press black pepper or dried herbs into the chicken breast, if desired.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the internal temperature taken with an instant-read thermometer is 165 deg F (74 C).
- Let cool at room temperature about 30 minutes.
- Place chicken breasts in refrigerator until completely chilled before slicing.
- Slice the chicken breast at an angle, as thin or as thick as you like. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- The honey marinade will be a thick and paste-like. I find it easiest to spread over the chicken breasts with my hands to make sure covers the whole surface.
- When soaking the chicken in fresh water, soak 30 minutes for every 24 hour period it was marinated. ie. 72 hours marinating = 1.5 hours soaking
- When soaking the chicken in water, I put the chicken and water in a sealable container and place it in the fridge, making sure the chicken is submerged in the water. The purpose of this soaking step is to desalinate the chicken while also balancing out the flavors.
- You can marinate it for as little as 24 hours, but I find the best flavor comes from marinating it for 48-72 hours.
- Depending on if the thickness of the chicken breasts, it may take longer than 50 minutes to roast. The most dependable way to make sure they are done is to make sure the internal temperature is 165 deg F (74 C).
- I have found that dried herbs work better than fresh when roasting the meat.
Nutrition
Video added June 9th, 2023.
Arina says
I really want to try it because it seems like with today's prices on lunch meat I will go bankrupt let alone they are full of weird preservatives.
I was wondering: my oven has a roast setting and the default temp for it 410F, and in your recipe you use just baking. If I use my roast setting, what temp and how long (approximately) do I need to cook it?
Hi Arina! Thanks for your question. Do you mean that your oven only has one temperature setting and you can't change it? My use of the word "bake" is the same as roasting. If you can change the temperature on your roast setting to 250F, then that will work. If you cannot change the temperature from 410F, I would only cook the chicken breasts for maybe 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature taken with an instant-read thermometer is 165F. Because 410F is such a high cooking temperature, the texture of the chicken will not be the same as slow-roasting at a lower temperature for longer. I hope this helps!
Arina says
No no, I can change the temp on the roast setting, I was just wondering what temp it should have in this case. I, for some reason, didn't think that it still would be the same as with bake:) Thanks, I'll try it!
micki says
We make this exactly as is, every two weeks in my house. It's so delicious, the sliced meat freezes nicely and thaws quickly, so we can keep it super fresh. My kids love it. We toss it on salads, pizzas, or of course, in sandwiches. Thank you so much for a better alternative. I'm treating our Thanksgiving turkey thighs with this method as we speak and hope it will deliver a delicious turkey.
Hi Micki! Thanks so much for making the deli meat! I'm so glad you and your family like it and have figured out other ways to enjoy it outside of sandwiches! Please report back on how the turkey thighs turn out! Happy Thanksgiving!
Donna says
Hello, the chicken taste best marinated 2-3 days. Is it safe to leave raw chicken like that? I am always afraid after one day un the refrigerator. Thank you.
Hi Donna! As long as the 2-3 days falls within the date marked on the package of chicken, I think you are fine. The salt in the marinade does help preserve the meat a little bit longer, however you can also marinate for fewer days and see how you like the flavor of it. Thanks for the question!
Erika says
How long can you keep this in the fridge before going bad?
Hi Erika! You can store the sliced deli meat in a sealed container in the fridge for up to one week. You can also freeze it! Thanks for the question!
Cheryl Keeney says
Super easy and it works..thanks for the recipe.
I have two expensive Japanese knives and this knife you recommended works amazingly well for the task of cutting thin slices.
I did not soak the chicken after marinating but I'm wondering if I can brine the chicken before marinating or if that would affect the texture. Will try that.
Hi Cheryl! Thanks for making the recipe, and I'm glad you tried the knife, too! I'm not sure what, if any, effect brining will have on the chicken texture/flavor, but if you try it, please report back!
Gracia says
Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe with us! It turned out very good! Instead of using honey due to having a mild reaction from it if consumed, I used 1/8 tsp of my natural sweetener (a blend of Xylitol from Birch tree & Stevia powder) to substitute the honey. Then I added the spices you mentioned to make the paste. And I made a homemade Italian rub that I used for on one of the breast. It was a great success!
file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/cb/11/5F10FA78-6583-4199-AFD4-30BDF5B83B1A/77613268563__969D68DE-3E0C-4DE0-9BDE-FADA6D8D6E2E.HEIC
Hi Gracia! Thank you for making my recipe and for sharing your modifications...I'm so glad that it worked out and I'm sure other readers will be glad to learn about a successful alternative to honey. I think you might have tried attaching an image to your comment? Unfortunately, images can't be shared here, but if you are on Instagram, please share there and be sure to tag me @dayinthekitchen!
Jenny says
How do you get the honey mixture to spread? I can’t get it to stick.
Hi Jenny! I know the honey mixture is quite thick and slippery. I find that using my hands can help to massage and spread it all over the chicken. Thanks for the question and I hope that helps!
Alina H. says
I've never used a meat thermometer before. Is it necessary to use one in this recipe?
If so, I put it into the thickest part?
Is there one you recommend?
Thanks very much
Alina
Hi Alina! It is good to use a meat thermometer to make sure that the chicken meat is done before removing it from the oven, and yes, you would insert it into the thickest part, about halfway in. I have an affiliate link to the instant read thermometer that I use under "Equipment" in the recipe card above. Thanks for the questions!
James says
Use this for all my chicken or turkey lunch meats. Season to taste. Excellent. Make several pounds at a time. Portion it out vacuum pack and freeze. Pull out my packs to make sandwiches for work. My go to recipe.
Thanks so much, James!
TAMI O’BRIEN says
With deli meats costing so much these days, I have begun to try making deli meats. Yours is a technique I have not heard of, so happy to find your post. My question is; will this technique work for turkey, pork or beef also?
Thanks for the question, Tami! I have had readers use this recipe successfully with turkey (they just had to adjust the roasting time to make sure it was cooked all the way through). I would not use this recipe for making ham from pork as that process is completely different. I do not have any experience or knowledge about making deli-style roast beef, so you might want to do a search online for that. I hope this helps!
Ginny says
What could be used in place of salt? I have made in the past very good! but would like kidney heart friendly version. Thank you.
Thanks for the question, Ginny! Unfortunately, I can't really think of a substitution that works like salt in terms of flavoring. I think that if you want to eliminate it, you could use other spices and herbs to try and build up flavor that way. I hope that helps.
Will says
Consider replacing some of the recipe’s tablesalt (sodium chloride), with calcium chloride, which is a salt with similar functional properties and flavor. It’s just a salt that’s 1 part calcium (which many Americans are deficient in) instead of 1 part sodium. Great way to reduce the sodium levels of homemade pickles as well. I wouldn’t recommend replacing any more than about half of the table salt in the recipe though.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Will! This is great to know!
Madeleine says
How much does the honey impact the flavor? I’m not a huge fan of honey roasted deli meat. If it makes it sweeter— does the honey have to be part of the curing process? If not, what is the non-honey method look like?
Thanks for the question, Madeleine! The honey adds moisture to the chicken breasts, but also lends a bit of sweetness. If you are not a fan of honey roasted meats, I have had readers also use mayonnaise or mustard as an alternative. I hope that helps!
Nate says
Hey what's the point of all that soaking and washing? Can't you just cook it and put the spices in, then slice it? Seems like extra work for... I don't know what?
Thanks for the question, Nate! This additional step of soaking the meat in water before roasting is to desalinate the chicken, or remove some of the excess salt, while also balancing out the flavors. If you'd like to try skipping the step and jumping straight to seasoning the chicken breasts (do it before roasting) and then cooking them, let me know how it turns out!
Mary says
Can the sliced meat be frozen?
Yes, it can, Mary! I freeze the slices in portions, and then defrost them in the fridge when I'm ready to use. Thanks for the question!
Natasha says
How long does the lunch meat last in the fridge after slicing?
Thanks for the question, Natasha! You can store the sliced deli meat in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week (if it doesn't get all eaten up before that!).
Angel says
Hi! Can i check if i should place the marinated chicken breast in cold/ice water in room temperature or i place it in cold/ice water in fridge? Thank you for the recipe, i will try out soon!
Hi Angel! Thank for the question. Place the chicken breast in cold water (does not have to be iced) and then place it in the fridge.