topic Re: cooking turkey breast help in Kitchen

cooking turkey breast help

mollymaggie — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 18:02:18 GMT

Over the years I have heard all kinds of cooking techniques on cooking turkey Brown bag, upside down slow temp etc Has anyone found a way to cook a turkey breast that is flavorful and tender every time

Re: cooking turkey breast help

Kitlynn — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 18:17:42 GMT

I always cook mine in a roasting bag. I put real butter under the skin and then add my poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. I put it in the oven and let it bake. They always turn out juicy and moist with a lot of flavor.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

fthunt — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 18:27:49 GMT

In roasting pan breast side up - no cover or it will be stewed bird. Salt/pepper cavity after rinse - pat dry - rub turkey with butter or olive oil - sprinkle with s/p, thyme, garlic powder - preheated over to 400 degrees - loosly 'tent' roasting pan aluminum foil (not tight) so heat can circulate.......in oven, let bird cook at that 400 degrees for 20 mins and then reduce heat back to 325 or 350 depending if your oven runs hot hot or not. After couple of hours raise tent, baste leaving tent on until last hour so turkey can brown. Baste about 4 times during cooking time.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

Nightowlz — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 19:10:32 GMT

We have made turkey breast on the grill in-direct cook method, on the smoker, in the nesco & in the pressure oven. All came out yummy.

I put slices of butter under skin, rub down with olive oil & apply seasonings.

I keep tabs on the temp & let it set & finish cooking on the counter when the temp reaches 155°.

I have always wondered how this pressure cooker turkey breast turns out. I have never tried it. Has anyone made one in the pc?

I think it would be nice & moist but the browning would be lacking if you want that.

Pressure Cooker Turkey Breast

Servings: 8-10

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes under pressure

Ingredients

Salt and pepper

7 lb. whole turkey breast, wings removed, rinsed under cold water and patted dry.

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 cups onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 cups carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cups celery, sliced thin

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup dry white wine

2 tsp. dried thyme

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. water

Method

Liberally salt and pepper the turkey breast.

Heat oil in the pressure cooker using the BROWN setting.

Insert the turkey breast and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.

Add onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Brown until the onion is soft.

Add broth, wine, thyme, and bay leaf, cooking for 2 minutes.

Place the turkey breast back in the pressure cooker.

Cover and set to high pressure. Cook for 40 minutes.

Release the pressure using the quick-release method.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

FranandZoe — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 19:52:55 GMT

I stuff mine and cook it upside down in a 325 degree oven. I baste every hour with melted butter or margarine and chicken broth. It's never been dry. I do use a covered roasting pan.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

KingstonsMom — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 19:56:14 GMT

I rub my breast with butter and also use an injector to inject melter butter (with spices if so desired) in various spots of the breast.

I roast in an open pan and it comes out so juicy and tender!

Re: cooking turkey breast help

Tigriss — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 23:12:07 GMT

This year my grandmother is going to rub the bird down with butter and herbs, and stuff some under the skin, then pop it into the oven at 500 degrees for an hour, then turn it off and leave the bird until the oven cools completely. It is always moist and done.

I did one with herbed mayo under the skin, on the skin and cavity that I then stuffed with carrots, celery and bell pepper. That one was delish too! I bake the normal way and time, but the may meant it was very moist. I made the mayo the day before so it would infuse better.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

sissel — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 00:49:16 GMT

use the reynolds's bag (not stuffed) & place it upside down along with spices & onions inside (we do not eat the skin so we don't care if it's brown. When using the bag it does cook a little bit faster so juicy don't know if it's the bag or the upside since the juices go to the bottom.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

KKWA — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 01:44:33 GMT

For just cooking the breast, I use my crock pot. Celery, onions, salt, pepper and sage, simple and very jucy. Great for slicing.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

gardenman — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 12:05:45 GMT

Cooking just the breast makes it even easier to roast a turkey as the breast meat cooks faster than the dark meat, but with no dark meat the breast cooks pretty uniformly. Typically, to get the dark meat (thighs, legs) done properly you have to overcook the breast. With whole turkeys you either have to over cook the breast meat (or shield it in some manner) or undercook the dark meat (risky in poultry.) A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast will guide you in cooking it exactly the perfect amount of time. Start checking it a bit early in case your oven is hotter than expected, but when it hits the desired temp of 165 (or so) pull it out and you'll be good to go.

I use the boring old Butterball method of the open roaster at 325 degrees. I tend to baste the bird simply because it gives me an excuse to peek in at it every so often. Most turkeys you buy will be pre-injected with self-basting liquids so they'll typically come out pretty darn moist no matter what. If you get one that's not been pre-injected you can always inject it yourself if you wish, but adding too much moisture can be worse than not enough.

I just use the old KISS (keep it simple, stupid) method of a slow refrigerator defrost. I typically put a full bird (10 lbs or bigger) in the fridge the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving and even then Thanksgiving morning there's still typically a bit of iciness as I'm cleaning out the bird. For just the breast I may move the defrost back a day or so. (I've got a 6.6 pound breast this year and it'll likely hit the fridge on Sunday or Monday depending on my mood.) On Thanksgiving I plop my trusty old rack in the bottom of the roasting pan. Spray it all down with cooking spray to make cleanup easier. Unbag the turkey or breat. Remove whatever stuff they have inside and rinse thoroughly. (I once got a turkey with nothing inside and I pretty much turned that poor bird inside out thinking they had to be hiding the neck and gizzards someplace.) Once rinsed and patted dry with paper towels the turkey goes onto the rack in the pan. I then use the better part of a stick of softened butter to rub over the skin of the bird. A bit of salt and pepper (which probably does nothing, but I do it anyway) and then into the preheated 325 oven to cook. I then decontaminate the kitchen using the Clorox Cleanup on anything and everything within five feet of the raw turkey. That lovely smell of Clorox is soon enough overtaken by the smell of the roasting turkey.

My prep does get a bit complicated as I'm fighting off Callie, my younger Calico cat the whole time as she loves raw anything and feels she should have first crack at anything raw in the kitchen. I don't spray her with the Clorox, but pretty much everything else in the area gets sprayed down. I take my chances with her and contamination. Raw flounder, hamburger and turkey are huge attractions to Callie. If you've got any of them out (even raw pork chops) you've got a fight on your hands until it gets safely in the oven, or breaded, or hidden from her in some manner. Bear in mind she'll have two dishes of dry food and a dish of canned cat food down, and she gets a handfull of cat treats a couple of times a day, so she's far from starving, but raw meat/fish awakens the wildcat in her and she wants it!

Re: cooking turkey breast help

AngelPuppy1 — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 12:16:58 GMT

@gardenman wrote:
Cooking just the breast makes it even easier to roast a turkey as the breast meat cooks faster than the dark meat, but with no dark meat the breast cooks pretty uniformly. Typically, to get the dark meat (thighs, legs) done properly you have to overcook the breast. With whole turkeys you either have to over cook the breast meat (or shield it in some manner) or undercook the dark meat (risky in poultry.) A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast will guide you in cooking it exactly the perfect amount of time. Start checking it a bit early in case your oven is hotter than expected, but when it hits the desired temp of 165 (or so) pull it out and you'll be good to go.

I use the boring old Butterball method of the open roaster at 325 degrees. I tend to baste the bird simply because it gives me an excuse to peek in at it every so often. Most turkeys you buy will be pre-injected with self-basting liquids so they'll typically come out pretty darn moist no matter what. If you get one that's not been pre-injected you can always inject it yourself if you wish, but adding too much moisture can be worse than not enough.

I just use the old KISS (keep it simple, stupid) method of a slow refrigerator defrost. I typically put a full bird (10 lbs or bigger) in the fridge the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving and even then Thanksgiving morning there's still typically a bit of iciness as I'm cleaning out the bird. For just the breast I may move the defrost back a day or so. (I've got a 6.6 pound breast this year and it'll likely hit the fridge on Sunday or Monday depending on my mood.) On Thanksgiving I plop my trusty old rack in the bottom of the roasting pan. Spray it all down with cooking spray to make cleanup easier. Unbag the turkey or breat. Remove whatever stuff they have inside and rinse thoroughly. (I once got a turkey with nothing inside and I pretty much turned that poor bird inside out thinking they had to be hiding the neck and gizzards someplace.) Once rinsed and patted dry with paper towels the turkey goes onto the rack in the pan. I then use the better part of a stick of softened butter to rub over the skin of the bird. A bit of salt and pepper (which probably does nothing, but I do it anyway) and then into the preheated 325 oven to cook. I then decontaminate the kitchen using the Clorox Cleanup on anything and everything within five feet of the raw turkey. That lovely smell of Clorox is soon enough overtaken by the smell of the roasting turkey.

My prep does get a bit complicated as I'm fighting off Callie, my younger Calico cat the whole time as she loves raw anything and feels she should have first crack at anything raw in the kitchen. I don't spray her with the Clorox, but pretty much everything else in the area gets sprayed down. I take my chances with her and contamination. Raw flounder, hamburger and turkey are huge attractions to Callie. If you've got any of them out (even raw pork chops) you've got a fight on your hands until it gets safely in the oven, or breaded, or hidden from her in some manner. Bear in mind she'll have two dishes of dry food and a dish of canned cat food down, and she gets a handfull of cat treats a couple of times a day, so she's far from starving, but raw meat/fish awakens the wildcat in her and she wants it!

@gardenman

Loved reading your response! Very informative, as well as humorous!!!

Re: cooking turkey breast help

flbettyboop — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 13:09:14 GMT

Re: cooking turkey breast help

Nightowlz — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 20:02:58 GMT

@flbettyboop wrote:

@flbettyboop LOL!!! Sounds like something Justin Wilson would say.

Re: cooking turkey breast help

Toppers3 — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 04:10:32 GMT

@mollymaggie wrote:
Over the years I have heard all kinds of cooking techniques on cooking turkey Brown bag, upside down slow temp etc Has anyone found a way to cook a turkey breast that is flavorful and tender every time

Hi @mollymaggie,

You're right in that there are different ways of cooking it.

I have gotten helpful information from the Butterball turkey website.

I usually roast a bone-in turkey breast at the same temp. that I would roast a larger turkey.

I roast it at 325 degrees. I oil the skin a bit with some cooking oil so that it browns nicely, and then I season it lightly all over with salt and pepper.

Once it starts to get to a golden brown color that I like, I then cover it gently with foil, or "tent it," as it's called, to finish cooking.

Depending on the size of the breast that you're roasting, it can take up to 2 and a half hours or more, to roast.

Last year I roasted a bone-in breast that was a little over 5 pounds in weight, and it took about 2 and a half hours to roast in my table top oven.

Editing to add that my table top convection/toaster oven roasts and cooks a bit more slowly than a regular oven does.