Chicken Breast, Mashed Yams, Apple Cranberry Stuffing, and Squash Medley
Today rather than post a specific recipe I’ll talk about the general preparation of roasted turkey breast. The ones I made today worked out beautifully, they were extremely tender and flavorful. The picture here shows a roasted chicken breast that I also prepared today. I posted it as one interpretation of a traditional holiday meal that I think worked out well. But when it comes down to it, ’tis the season for Turkey, is it not? Oh, and let me know your own methods for cooking up a delicious Thanksgiving bird, too!
Roast Turkey
I roasted both chicken and turkey breasts for two separate entrees. The chicken was good, but the turkey came out great. I baked two huge turkey breasts in a deep roasting pan with chopped carrots, celery, and onion in the bottom, as well as enough chicken stock to cover the veggies. I baked at 350 until the turkey had a nice, golden top. Then I took it out, covered it with aluminum foil and returned it to the oven until it was about 150 degrees in the very center of the breast. Poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees, but remember carryover cooking! It’s going to keep cooking for about five minutes after you take it out of the oven. Especially with turkey breasts, because they are such large pieces of meat.
I strained the drippings into a pan and thickened with a cornstarch/water slurry to make a sauce, which I seasoned with salt and pepper. You can thicken with a roux to make a more traditional gravy instead. After taking the turkey out of the oven, I let it sit for five minutes before cutting it. Those few minutes of rest give it a chance to reabsorb its internal juices, so those tasty fluids stay inside the meat instead of dripping out all over the table when you cut it. (And the same is true for steak!) That’s it! This simple preparation made some of the best turkey breast that I’ve ever eaten. Just remember the key points – don’t overcook and rest before slicing. Those two things alone will do wonders!
Oh, and one last note: those automatic pop-up timers on turkeys? Bull. They can get stuck, they can go off at the wrong temperature, and they’re just no good. Get a good thermometer that you can stick right in to the meat to measure the temp, and live by it!
I always brine a whole turkey in salt water (1 cup kosher to 1 gallon cold water) for about 6 hours, then rinse it and let it dry in the frig overnight. I throw in some carrot, celery, onion, thyme both in the cavity and in the roasting pan, then brush the skin with butter and sprinkle with kosher salt. Then I roast it breast down for a bit, then rotate to wing up for a bit, then flip to the other wing, then finish it at higher temp with the breast side up.