Thursday, December 18, 2008

Roasted Turkey Breast with Herb-Garlic Butter

Servings : 4

Ingredients:
  • Turkey Breast - 1, 5-6 lb, cleaned up and brined*
  • Butter - 1/2 cup, at room temperature.
  • Garlic cloves - 4-5, crushed
  • Cilantro - 1/4 cup, chopped finely
  • Italian/ Flat-leaf parsley - 1/4 cup, chopped finely
  • Capers - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
  • Ready made Pesto - 2 tbsp
  • Salt & Pepper to taste.
Methods:
  • 1. In a bowl, mix in the butter, garlic, cilantro, parsley, capers, pesto, salt, and pepper to make the herb-garlic butter.
  • 2. Prepare the turkey breast, by cutting a slit, on each side of the breast, horizontally, to create a cavity for the spiced butter.
  • 3. Also, on the top of the breast, make 4-5 slit marks, on the skin of the breast.
  • 4. Take spoon full of the butter mixture, and generously rub it in the cavity created, stuffing the cavity with the butter on each side of the breast.
  • 5. Rub the remaining butter on the top of the breast and also below the breast, on the underside.
  • 6. Place some vegetables** of your choice, on a roasting tray and place the turkey breast on top, so that it sits perfectly.
  • 7. Bake on 400°F(200°C) for about 1.5 hours. Check the turkey by inserting a knife on the deepest part, if the juices run clear, your turkey is cooked through.
  • 8. The juices from the turkey will seep down to the vegetables and flavour them. However, there might be too much of over flowing juice that need to be reduced. So, once the turkey is cooked, take it out of the oven, remove from the roasting pan and place it on cutting board. Cover with a foil and let it to rest for 20 min.
  • 9. Meanwhile, return the roasting tray with the vegetables back in the oven and roast for 20 more min. This will allow the vegetables to soak up all the juices and become crispy on the edges.
  • 10. Once cooked, serve the turkey with a serving of the roast vegetables and freshly baked bread rolls.
Hints:
* Brinning means, soaking the turkey in a solution of water , salt, and sugar. You can also spice up your brine by adding other spices. I have used a simple solution of water, salt, and whole black peppers, and soaked the turkey breast in the solution for 2 days, refrigerated.
** I used a combination of Idaho potatoes, broccoli, baby carrots and one large onion quatered. Once peeled and cleaned, sprinkle some salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil over the vegetables before placing them on the roasting tray.

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