Sunday, January 11, 2009

Tasty Turkey

Last week I was looking for something I could make ahead of time to reduce my nightly prep while packing my lunch. So on Sunday I decided to make a turkey breast; my goal being a yummy sandwich meat without a lot of sodium that I could use to make sandwiches.

I turned to the internet for a recipe and found an Ina Garten recipe that fit the bill. I made a few alterations; those changes are reflected in the recipe below. My husband doesn't care much for turkey, but seemed to like this. I loved it and ate it for lunch everyday last week. The turkey remained juicy and very flavorful. Yum!!

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast
(Source: Ina Garten - Food Network)

Ingredients
1/2 boneless turkey breast, 3 pounds (I bought bone-in, but removed it before cooking)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, the juice of one lemon
1/2 cup beef broth (or whatever broth you have on hand)

1/2 cup water
2 bay leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Cut a slit in the breast and smear the remaining paste in the slit. If you have leftover paste, that can be spread on the skin of the breast.

Place the turkey breast, skin side up, in a 9x13 pan lined in foil. Pour the broth and water around turkey breast. Place the two bay leaves around the turkey breast.
Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the
breast. If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil.

When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes (I probably waited ~30 minutes). Remove the skin (and any visible fat), thinly slice and store in your fridge as individual portions.

No comments: