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If you’re not cooking for a large crowd for Thanksgiving, roasting a whole turkey might seem like such a waste. This brined roasted turkey breast might bethe best option for you!
Brined Roasted Turkey Breast
We love turkey and we find ourselves roasting or barbecuing some all year round. Because let’s be honest here, turkey isn’t just for Thanksgiving and Christmas! But turkey can dry out even if you cook it low and slow. Plus, most times a whole turkey is a bit too much for us, it’s just not justifying the time and efforts involved. This brined roasted turkey breast recipe will solve all problems.
Brining will add moisture and if you add flavoring to your brine, it will give you a deliciously flavored turkey meat too. A brined roasted turkey breast will turn out tender and juicy on the inside, with a beautiful, slightly crisp skin if you decide to keep the skin on. As I’m watching calories these days, I removed the skin but the outside of my turkey breast still got the right amount of crispiness, just as I needed.
As for the rub in this brined turkey breast recipe, I used chili and paprika powder, dry thyme, black pepper, sugar and brown sugar but you could obviously adapt it to your liking. I think a little orange zest would also work wonders to this recipe. And don’t even get me started on garlic! If you are a garlic freak as myself, you know what I’m talking about; pure heaven!
So if you’re looking for some versatile, flavorful turkey recipe, this brined roasted turkey breast is it. Give it a try, you will want to make this over and over again, not just at Thanksgiving! We served this with a cranberry orange sauce which recipe I’ll be sharing tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Brined Roasted Turkey Breast Recipe
Ingredients:
For the brine:
1/3 cup salt
1 cup boiling water
1 cup ice cubes
cold water to cover turkey
3 lbs turkey breast, boneless and skinless (you can keep both bone and skin on if you prefer)
For the rub:
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp dry thyme powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
cranberry orange sauce for serving (recipe follows)
Place salt and boilingwater in a tall pot. Stir until salt dissolves. Add ice cubes and stir until water is cold. Place turkey in pot and add enough cold water to cover. Stir brine around turkey, cover pot and refrigerate overnight (anything between 12 and 24 hrs works).
Preheat oven to 350 C = 180 C
Make the rub: mix dry ingredients, in a bowl then stir in oil.
Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Rub spice mixture over breast then place in foil pan.
Place pan in the middle of the ovenand cook for about 1 1⁄2 hours, bastingevery half an hour.
Remove turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Serve with cranberry orange sauce.
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5 from 8 votes
Brined Roasted Turkey Breast
Author: Petro Neagu
Ingredients
For the brine:
1/3cupsalt
1cupboiling water
1cupice cubes
cold water to cover turkey
3lbsturkey breastboneless and skinless (you can keep both bone and skin on if you prefer)
Place salt and boiling water in a tall pot. Stir until salt dissolves. Add ice cubes and stir until water is cold. Place turkey in pot and add enough cold water to cover. Stir brine around turkey, cover pot and refrigerate overnight (anything between 12 and 24 hrs works).
Preheat oven to 350 C = 180 C
Make the rub: mix dry ingredients, in a bowl then stir in oil.
Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Rub spice mixture over breast then place in foil pan.
Place pan in the middle of the oven and cook for about 1 1?2 hours, basting every half an hour.
Remove turkey to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
Place your bone-in turkey breast into the mixture (depending on its size, you may need to pour out a little so it doesn't overflow!) so that it's fully submerged in the brine solution. Cover and store in the fridge overnight, for 12 to 24 hours.
Do You Rinse a Turkey After Brining? You should always rinse the turkey after wet or dry brining. Once rinsed, you can let the turkey air dry, uncovered, in the refrigerator for several hours, or pat it dry with a paper towel.
Brining for too long can result in meat that tastes overly-salty and has a spongy texture. If you're not ready to roast the bird after 18 hours, remove it from the brine, rinse it, pat it dry, and refrigerate for up to two days.
After 12 to 18 hours, remove the turkey, dry carefully with paper towels, and roast. For crisper skin, brine a couple days in advance, and let your turkey air-dry at least overnight and up to two nights, uncovered, in the refrigerator on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.
Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.
But a brined turkey that is not rinsed would be too salty to eat. Brining slows down the growth of bacteria but does not kill it, said Linda Harris, a microbiologist at the University of California, Davis. She and other food scientists have been trying to get Americans to stop rinsing poultry since the late 1990's.
Once the dry-brining waiting period is up, there is no need to rinse off the surface of your food. The meat will not be overly salty, and rinsing the surface with water will undo all of the surface-drying achieved by the dry-brine process. That, in turn, will prevent browning.
As the turkey cooks, the proteins won't tighten up as much, helping keep the meat moist. Drier, leaner meats benefit from brining, so try this method with turkey crowns and breasts as well.
If you have a favorite spice blend, you can feel free to rub it on or mix it with butter. Just avoid adding more salt, she notes, since you already salted the bird during the brining process.
If your brine recipe calls for heating the mixture, be sure to cool it to room temperature before using it. Then place the turkey in the brine and place in the refrigerator. Don't leave the turkey sitting out at room temperature while brining.
Brining involves soaking a turkey in a very salty solution for a certain length of time, long enough for the salt to infiltrate the turkey and actually alter the molecular structure of the meat. It doesn't turn it into a salty mess, either. It just results in a juicy, fantastic.
Next day, an hour before you are ready to cook the turkey, remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the turkey well with cold water and pat dry. Place in a roasting pan, I used a cheap disposable aluminum one to show you that it doesn't have to be fancy.
For flavorful, juicy meat and rich, crisp skin, brine the breast, loosen its skin, and roast it on high, then moderately low heat. The challenge: Even for those who love turkey, roasting a whole bird is often more than people want to take on. Roasting a breast is a more manageable undertaking.
No basting required. Thomas Keller's favorite roast turkey has you brine the bird for a day, then air-dry it for another day to achieve that dry skin before roasting. Once again, no basting, and ridiculously juicy, crispy results.
As a general rule of thumb, you'll want to let the turkey brine for at least 1 hour per pound of turkey. Here's a breakdown of how long to brine a turkey based on size: 12–14-lb. turkey: 16–18 hours.
The salty briny flavors will have absorbed into the meat so you're not removing those flavors by drying the bird before roasting. Dry brine the turkey breast for a minimum of 24 hours, but 48 hours works even better.
Brining seals in the moisture and prevents the white meat from overcooking. You can also take it apart and cook the breasts and legs separately. A brined turkey is flavorful and moist … well worth any extra time it takes to get it ready for the oven! I have a cooler that I use …
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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