What Is THE best way to cook a TURKEY BREAST? - Page 3

Barbarainnc · ‎03-11-2010

Search for cook's illustrated's slow roasted turkey and gravy. The blogger serious eats has the recipe on their site. I've cooked my turkey breast this way the last 4 years. Yummy. 😊

decolvr · ‎03-09-2010

Ina Garten's Herb Roasted Turkey Breast........knocks your socks off.......so delish. I have been doing my turkey breasts like this since she did the recipe on one her shows. Give it a try....easy, easy, easy.....!!

Toppers3 · ‎10-25-2016

Last year I oven roasted a smaller bone-in turkey breast that weighed close to 6 pounds for the two of us. We like turkey leftovers.

It was a frozen Honeysuckle turkey breast. It was delicious. It came out moist and juicy.

I had thawed it out in the refrigerator first, though, before roasting it.

It had some skin on it, so I left the skin on it when preparing it.

I roasted it at 325 degrees.

This is the same way I roasted a whole turkey, too, when I would make one for us.

I oiled the bone-in breast lightly with vegetable cooking oil and seasoned it lightly with salt and pepper.

I didn't put any other seasonings on it, because I wanted to be able to remove the skin and be able to get at the meat underneath so that our kitty could have some of the meat, too!

I roasted it until it became a golden brown color, and then covered it gently with foil until it finished cooking.

I cooked it in my large counter top convection oven, but on the regular bake cycle.

If I recall correctly, it took about 2 and a half hours to roast in the counter top oven.

This year I am going to be roasting a smaller 3 lb. boneless turkey breast for us. I may use the counter top oven again, as opposed to using our large stove/oven.

I'll probably end up preparing it the same way. I usually check the turkey websites for recipe and cooking ideas, though.

Toppers3 · ‎10-25-2016

@gardenman wrote:
I've got a 6.6 lb frozen breast this year. I just buy the cheapest breast I can find and Acme had them on sale in October for $.99 per pound. I've been cooking Thanksgiving for around 40 years now and I've tried a variety of turkeys and they all taste like turkey to me. Because of that I just go with whichever brand is cheapest. Since I buy frozen, I try to buy one that's frozen in the best shape. A frozen turkey with a flat spot likely thawed out somewhere along the way and refroze. Likewise those that are oddly shaped, likely thawed out at some point and then refroze. You want a nice, symmetrical turkey that has no flat spots. (Stores tend to stack them high and deep, so high that sometimes the upper turkeys aren't kept as cold as ideal.) Turkeys are typically flash frozen while hanging on a rack, so they should be symmetrical with no flat spots.

I cook mine the boring old Butterball way. It'll go into the fridge later today or tomorrow to thaw and by Thursday morning there will likely be still a bit of frostiness in it. I'll then wash it down, remove any bits and pieces stashed inside. Dry it off using some paper towels. Get some butter under the skin and rub more on the top to give me stuff to baste with down the road. I'll line my roasting pan with foil to make cleanup easier add the rack to the foil lined pan, and then I'll spray down the rack with cooking spray to make cleanup later a bit easier and plop the breast onto the rack. A bit of salt and freshly ground pepper and then into a 325 degree oven until it's done. I'll pop in every now and then and give it a baste and see how it's looking. If it browns too fast, I'll tent it with foil.

I'll be fighting off my youngest cat Callie while I have the turkey out as she loves raw anything. Then I'll be tripping over my older cat Lizzie, who loves the smell of the Chlorox Cleanup that I use to clean up anything and everything within reach of the raw turkey. Lizzie will be rolling on the table/counters/floor afterwards. She really loves the smell of the Chlorox Cleanup. I have to really wipe the surfaces dry after spraying or she'd become a lighter shade of grey.

I think people make cooking a turkey way, way too complicated. Maybe if I cooked five different turkeys at the same time I'd taste a difference between them, but as long as a turkey tastes like a turkey, I'm happy. Nearly all turkeys come injected these days so brining is counter-productive. The injected stuff makes it hard to have a dry turkey unless you vastly overcook it. I just find cooking a turkey about the easiest thing possible. Just relax, keep it simple, don't stress out, and you'll be fine. It's not rocket science.

You got a really great deal on that turkey breast, @gardenman.

I hope that you and the kitties will enjoy it!

I can't roast any turkey without sharing it with our old girl kitty!

Turkey is one of her favorite proteins!

I also use the directions that can be found on the Butterball website. Last year I got a Honeysuckle bone-in breast from Aldi's when they were on Special there. It was really delicious. Same cooking directions as Butterball.

This year, I'm just making a small boneless one, as my husband doesn't want all of the leftovers. His appetite has changed and he doesn't eat as much as he used to. The cat and I could eat turkey probably every day, but that's me!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving--to you and your furry ones!

gardenman · ‎03-09-2010

@Toppers3 wrote:
@gardenman wrote:
I've got a 6.6 lb frozen breast this year. I just buy the cheapest breast I can find and Acme had them on sale in October for $.99 per pound. I've been cooking Thanksgiving for around 40 years now and I've tried a variety of turkeys and they all taste like turkey to me. Because of that I just go with whichever brand is cheapest. Since I buy frozen, I try to buy one that's frozen in the best shape. A frozen turkey with a flat spot likely thawed out somewhere along the way and refroze. Likewise those that are oddly shaped, likely thawed out at some point and then refroze. You want a nice, symmetrical turkey that has no flat spots. (Stores tend to stack them high and deep, so high that sometimes the upper turkeys aren't kept as cold as ideal.) Turkeys are typically flash frozen while hanging on a rack, so they should be symmetrical with no flat spots.

I cook mine the boring old Butterball way. It'll go into the fridge later today or tomorrow to thaw and by Thursday morning there will likely be still a bit of frostiness in it. I'll then wash it down, remove any bits and pieces stashed inside. Dry it off using some paper towels. Get some butter under the skin and rub more on the top to give me stuff to baste with down the road. I'll line my roasting pan with foil to make cleanup easier add the rack to the foil lined pan, and then I'll spray down the rack with cooking spray to make cleanup later a bit easier and plop the breast onto the rack. A bit of salt and freshly ground pepper and then into a 325 degree oven until it's done. I'll pop in every now and then and give it a baste and see how it's looking. If it browns too fast, I'll tent it with foil.

I'll be fighting off my youngest cat Callie while I have the turkey out as she loves raw anything. Then I'll be tripping over my older cat Lizzie, who loves the smell of the Chlorox Cleanup that I use to clean up anything and everything within reach of the raw turkey. Lizzie will be rolling on the table/counters/floor afterwards. She really loves the smell of the Chlorox Cleanup. I have to really wipe the surfaces dry after spraying or she'd become a lighter shade of grey.

I think people make cooking a turkey way, way too complicated. Maybe if I cooked five different turkeys at the same time I'd taste a difference between them, but as long as a turkey tastes like a turkey, I'm happy. Nearly all turkeys come injected these days so brining is counter-productive. The injected stuff makes it hard to have a dry turkey unless you vastly overcook it. I just find cooking a turkey about the easiest thing possible. Just relax, keep it simple, don't stress out, and you'll be fine. It's not rocket science.
You got a really great deal on that turkey breast, @gardenman.

I hope that you and the kitties will enjoy it!

I can't roast any turkey without sharing it with our old girl kitty!

Turkey is one of her favorite proteins!

I also use the directions that can be found on the Butterball website. Last year I got a Honeysuckle bone-in breast from Aldi's when they were on Special there. It was really delicious. Same cooking directions as Butterball.

This year, I'm just making a small boneless one, as my husband doesn't want all of the leftovers. His appetite has changed and he doesn't eat as much as he used to. The cat and I could eat turkey probably every day, but that's me!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving--to you and your furry ones!

Yeah, Acme likes to sell the breasts for $.99 a lb in October for a week. I've learned to keep an eye on their ads for that sale. It's a bit earlier than most people are looking for Thanksgiving turkeys, but I've got a big freezer to hold it, so it's a good buying opportunity for me.

My cats will be nibbling on leftover turkey for a couple of days after Thanksgiving. They enjoy it. About thirty years ago we had a blond cat named Sandy who loved turkey. She would guard the freezer from the time the turkey arrived. When the turkey would move to the fridge, she'd be right there guarding the fridge and trying to climb in whenever the door was opened. When the turkey hit the oven, she'd be sitting there watching it cook through the oven window. She was obsessed with turkey. Once it came out of the oven, you had to cover it up to keep her from it. She'd stalk anyone eating the turkey and try to steal it off the plate. If you wanted any peace, you'd give her a slice of turkey before anyone else got a slice.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

Hi @Sooner

I'm doing one for the first time this year. We just got a Breville oven and want to try it out, also I thought it would be less work than our usual large turkey.

Ours is a little over 4 lbs (we have a second one if this one fails somehow). I've read we should always cook it with the skin on, it keeps the meat from drying out. DD and I do this together, I think she rubs butter under the skin and then we put fresh thyme and sage leaves between the skin and the meat, cooking it that way.

ANOTHER FIRST: For the first time, I'm making stuffing in a slow cooker. I've heard people here say how good it turns out that way.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

THANKS all who posted! I have enjoyed the stories and learned a lot of good informaiton from the recipes and tips!

My uncle had a dog (a boxer) who would sit in front of the oven to guard the roast when one was cooking. Only my aunt could go near the oven when a roast was in! LOL!!

CatsyCline · ‎07-24-2013

@decolvr wrote:
Ina Garten's Herb Roasted Turkey Breast........knocks your socks off.......so delish. I have been doing my turkey breasts like this since she did the recipe on one her shows. Give it a try....easy, easy, easy.....!!

@decolvr just used Ina's method yesterday while searching online for roasting times. . i agree, easy and delish. i goofed with the rub and used 2 T lemon juice instead of 2 tsp. no problem, 8 lb turkey breast came out juicy, tender and the best we've had in ages. the herb drippings made for a savory gravy. about 2.5 hours at 325.

i used a frozen bone-in turkey breast from Aldi. no antibiotics, brand is Honeysuckle White, no giblets though. i did not use the gravy packet.