Brined Slow Cooked Turkey Breast Recipes

BEST BRINED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• In 6-quart container or stockpot, mix water, salt and sugar; stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Add turkey. Cover; refrigerate at least 12 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
• Heat oven to 325°F. Remove turkey from brine, rinse thoroughly under cool running water and pat dry.
• Place onion on center of rack in large shallow roasting pan; top with rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Place turkey, skin side up, over onion and herbs.
• In small bowl, mix butter and wine. Soak 16-inch square of cheesecloth in butter mixture until completely saturated; cover turkey completely with cheesecloth. Roast 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Remove cheesecloth. Place onion and herbs in pan with drippings if using drippings to make gravy (or discard). Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of turkey and does not touch bone. Turn turkey skin side down. Roast 30 to 60 minutes longer or until thermometer reads 165°F.

BRINED AND ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the turkey breast in a large cooking bag; place the bag with the turkey in a large roasting pan or another large container (just in case the bag leaks).
• Add all brine ingredients to the bag, close the bag and then twist until the brine is covering the turkey. Use a twist-tie to secure the bag. Alternately, use a large, nonreactive covered container. Just make sure the turkey is completely covered with the brine (it is okay to increase the amount of brine for a container). Place the turkey breast in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
• Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it thoroughly with cold water; pat the breast dry with paper towels.
• Place the turkey breast on a rack, breast side up, in a large roasting pan. Discard the brine.
• Rub the turkey with vegetable oil, butter, or extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Fill the cavity of the turkey breast with chunks of onion, fruit, and/or fresh herbs, if desired.
• Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, not touching bone.
• Roast for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 F and continue roasting until the turkey breast registers at least 165 F, about 2 to 3 hours.

DRY-BRINED TURKEY BREAST WITH SLOW-ROASTED LEGS

Steps:

• Dry-brine the turkey: Combine the salt, 2 teaspoons pepper and the chopped thyme and rosemary in a small bowl. Cut off the turkey legs (thighs and drumsticks together). Put the turkey breast and legs on a rimmed baking sheet. Season the turkey breast inside and out and the legs all over with the salt mixture. Stuff the turkey cavity with 1 halved garlic head, the halved lemon, 4 thyme sprigs and 2 rosemary sprigs. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Position one oven rack in the bottom position and one right above it; preheat to 350˚. Combine the remaining halved garlic head, 4 sprigs thyme, 2 sprigs rosemary, the sliced lemon, bay leaves and shallot in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add the olive oil and stir to combine. Place the turkey legs skin-side up in the baking dish and cover with foil.
• Roast the turkey legs on the bottom oven rack until just tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 2 hours. Uncover the legs and continue to roast until the skin is golden and the legs are completely tender, 1 to 1 1/2 more hours.
• Meanwhile, for the turkey breast: Set a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the turkey breast breast-side up on the rack; let sit at room temperature 30 minutes. Once the turkey legs have been roasting for about 30 minutes, place the roasting pan with the breast on the rack above the legs; roast until the skin is deep golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part without touching the bone registers 160˚, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Let the breast rest 30 minutes before carving. (If the turkey breast is done before the legs, move the legs to the higher rack to help them brown. If the legs are done before the breast is done resting, set aside and tent with foil to keep warm.)
• Serve the turkey legs and breast with the roasted garlic, lemon and shallot.

BRINED SLOW-COOKED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, dissolve salt and sugar in 1 gallon cool water. Place turkey, bone side up, in brine and weight it with a plate. Refrigerate 6 to 8 hours. Rinse turkey thoroughly under cool water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Set up grill for indirect cooking. Place turkey on grill, away from hot coals; cover, keeping vent holes open over meat. Grill until cooked through, or an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of turkey registers 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours (if using a charcoal grill, add a couple handfuls of charcoal every half hour to maintain heat). Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

SLOW-COOKER HERBED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place turkey in cooker. Brush with honey mustard. Sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, basil, garlic pepper and salt. Pour broth around turkey.
• Cover and cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.

SLOW-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Adjust your oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat oven to 250°F.
• Rinse and dry the turkey breast. Even when I purchase a brined turkey breast, I still like to lightly salt the turkey breast under the skin. You, of course, do not have to. If the turkey breast that you purchase has NOT been brined or koshered, liberally salt the breast under the skin.
• Heat a large pot over medium-high heat with the oil. When hot, add the turkey, breast-side down. Add the onion around the edges of the bird. Add the garlic on top of the onions. Cook several minutes or until the skin has browned. Flip the bird over so that the breast is facing upward. Stir the onions and garlic. Cook a couple minutes longer. If you have a probe thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the breast - making sure the probe is not sticking up in the air in a way that would impede your covering the turkey breast with a lid. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and top with a tight-fitting lid. Crimp the foil around the seam of the pot to ensure steam does not escape. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 160F - roughly 2 1/2 hours.
• When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven and flip the bird over so that the breast is submerged in the accumulated juices. Cover and let rest 15 minutes. During this time, the internal temperature will increase to at least 170°F.
• Remove the turkey from the pot and place it on a large platter. Keep it tented so it stays warm. Strain the liquid and solids from the pot into a large bowl. Use the back of a ladle to make sure you smash the onion/garlic to extract all of the juices. Discard the vegetable solids. Skim some or most of the fat that settles on top of the broth and discard any unwanted fat. Measure how much turkey broth you have. If you do not have at least 4 cups, add some chicken stock to come up to a total of 4 cups of liquid. If you like particularly thin gravy, you can add an extra 1/4 to 1/2 cups of turkey/chicken broth. If you like thicker gravy, reduce the liquid by 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
• To make the gravy, heat a saucepan over medium heat with three tablespoons of butter. After the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook the butter/flour mixture for about 5 minutes or until it is brown in color. Add the turkey broth and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Bring to a boil then simmer about 5 minutes. Too thin? Simmer another few minutes or until the gravy is your desired thickness. Too thick? Add more turkey broth, chicken broth, or even water. When the gravy is your desired level of thickness, taste it and add some salt and pepper, if needed. You'll probably need at least some salt.
• Serve the turkey breast and gravy with some mashed potatoes.

SLOW-COOKER TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Brush turkey with oil. Combine the garlic, seasoned salt, paprika, Italian seasoning and pepper; rub over turkey. Transfer to a 6-qt. slow cooker; add water. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until tender. Lemon-Garlic Turkey Breast: Combine 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley, 8 minced garlic cloves, 4 teaspoons grated lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt; rub over turkey breast. Add water and cook as directed.

SLOW COOKER TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Rinse the turkey breast and pat dry. Cut off any excess skin, but leave the skin covering the breast. Rub onion soup mix all over outside of the turkey and under the skin. Place in a slow cooker. Cover, and cook on High for 1 hour, then set to Low, and cook for 7 hours.

BUTTERMILK-BRINED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• One to two days before you plan to cook, place buttermilk and salt in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and stir to dissolve salt. Place turkey breast in the bag and seal carefully, expelling the air. Squish the bag to distribute buttermilk all around the turkey, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. If you're so inclined, you can turn the bag periodically so every part of the turkey gets marinated, but that's not essential.
• Two hours before you plan to start cooking, remove the turkey from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Discard buttermilk, set the breast on a rimmed plate and bring it to room temperature.
• Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees. Place breast skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack or parchment paper.
• Place baking sheet on the prepared oven rack and roast the turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast without touching bone registers 150 degrees, about 40 minutes for a boneless breast or 50 minutes for a bone-in breast. (You may want to tent the breast with aluminum foil if it's darkening too quickly.)
• Transfer turkey to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 15 minutes before carving.