Turkey Breast

memphis egg · October 2000

Found turkey breasts on sale at Kroger. It is about 5 pounds. Any suggestions on cooking it?

Mike Oelrich · October 2000

Memphisegg,[p] Scroll down the forum page and you'll find:[p] Breast Thread and the result. Archive search seems to be acting a bit weird.[p]MikeO

Car Wash Mike · October 2000

Memphisegg, I'm sure Tim M. will be contributing soon to this topic. If not go to his web site. I cooked a turkey breast (7lbs.) about 2 weeks ago using the double drip pan method with a drip pan filled with water and covered with alum. foil then the turkey breast placed in V rack under another pan with fire bricks underneath to prevent the drippings from burning. He had a great picture to explain better try to get it. Turned out fantastic.[p]CWM

Gretl · October 2000

Memphisegg,[p]I did a GREAT turkey breast yesterday. First I brined it in a simple salt and sugar solution overnight. Just before roasting, I rinsed the brine off and dried it thoroughly with paper towels. It was the kind of breast that has the wings attached, and there was enough of a cavity that I was able to put a handle-less cup full of beer and sat the breast on top. Fit great. I made up a sort of sludge with crushed garlic, black pepper, sage, and thyme moistened with olive oil which I stuffed under the skin where I could, then slathered more of it all over the exterior skin. Just for the helluvit, I lightly sprinkled some Chinese 5 spice mixture over it.[p]Into the pan I put about a cup of water, just to keep things moist. I set the whole shebang on a couple of fire bricks and just sort of forgot about it. I had made baked beans early in the day, so the Egg was at about 350 when I put the turkey in. I set the Polder probe, and took it out when the temp was about 175. I think this was about 3 hours, more or less. The breast weighed about 8.5 lbs.[p]I made gravy with the neck, carrots, onions, celery, pepper, water, and some chicken broth. I strained this, pressing all the good tasty stuff out with the back of a spoon, and while the breast was resting, I degreased the pan and put the good drippings into the gravy and thickend it with a roux. [p]The result was magnificent. I really believe that brining is the key to moist and flavorful poultry. The skin was crispy but not too dark brown (the result of not having the heat too high to begin with) and the meat was so tender you didn't need a knife. The gravy was wonderful. I didn't add any wood chips, though I had used some apple chips while I was baking the beans. The beans, BTW, were awesome. The fantastic recipe's in the archives.[p]Love That Egg![p]p.s. the pizzas I made on Saturday were out of this world. I have effectively assured that I will never be taken to a restaurant as long as these sumptuous delicacies keep coming out of the Egg. And I'm not even complaining!! I just wish I had more time to do more stuff.

Unknown · October 2000

Gretl,
Ditto on the brine! I've found that the brining is the only way to go with poultry! Even if I don't have enough time for overnight, I intensify the concentration of the salt/sugar and found the best reults. And now my question: have you noticed an advantage to the salt/sugar or salt (I use kosher only) alone brine?

Gretl · October 2000

MaryA,
No, I haven't done comparison testing. The only brining I have done is when I used a more involved spice/garlic solution (posted in the recipe section as Pastorio's Brine recipe) and more recently when I resort to just a simple salt and sugar solution. Salt by itself probably works as well. Don't know why I add the sugar, but judging by that last turkey breast (which evolved into hot turkey sandwiches last night), it doesn't get any better than that. And yes, I always use Kosher salt when brining. [p]Even thought the Pastorio brine was fine, I have to admit that the simplest brine probably does just as well, since when you wash the bird and dry it, the flavor of the brine is removed. I add lots of garlic and herbs while roasting anyway. [p]Just my 2-cents worth. And I hope you get to read this answer; I'm late in checking the forum from yesterday. Sorry![p]Happy Egging!
Gretl

Mike Oelrich · October 2000

Gretl,[p] I know why you add the sugar :-)! For some reason, the sugar seems to moderate the "salty" taste of the brine. Can't really tell you why, but my suspicions are verified by the folks who put together the [url=http://x21.deja.com/[ST_rn=if]/getdoc.xp?AN=551034924&CONTEXT=943281945.2143223815&hitnum=1]Brining FAQ[/url] from alt.food.barbecue . . .[p]MikeO

Gretl · October 2000

MikeO,
Thank you! I immediately bookmarked the site, though I hesitate to take the word of one named Wiley Coyote Mixon. But hey...my name's Gretl, fercryinoutloud.
Cheers,
G.

Turkey Breast

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