I'll be roasting an 8 lb. fresh bone-in skin-on turkey breast this morning. Any preferred cooking methods? Hi temp vs low temp. I'd love to hear what you've got. I am not brining it.

mrslarkin
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5 Comments

mrslarkin January 19, 2011
Thanks for all your input, everyone!! I went with high temp (about 425).

I seasoned the whole bone-in breast w s+p and rubbed it well with olive oil, propped it up on some big onion halves, tucked in some fresh herbs, a few garlic cloves, and roasted it in a shallow roasting pan. It's beautifully browned, skin is crispy, and took about 1 1/2 hrs. to reach 160. The 1st half hr. was on convection, then turned it to regular bake, as I didn't want the skin to burn.

I love all your ideas and will keep them for future, as we'll be making roast turkey pretty regularly - it's a great lean protein and we're trying to eat healthy. :)
 
AntoniaJames January 19, 2011
Clay pot. The best way to get a moist, juicy, flavorful turkey breast. If you absolutely must have a brown, crispy skin, take the lid off for the last ten minutes or so, put it on the top shelf of your oven and crank up the heat. That will dry out the breast a bit, so in my opinion, it's not worth it. Put slivers of shallot and some whole thyme, parsley and rosemary sprigs under the skin and a rub a bit of salt all over. Put a few carrots, celery stalks and an onion, all coarsely chopped, 2 or three garlic cloves, smashed, and 1/2 cup of white wine around it, for really tasty pan juices. ;o)
 
foongfest January 19, 2011
America's test kitchen had a interesting take on turkey breast.
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=19835 (might require a free registration)

Basically the idea is to remove the skin in one piece, bone it, then wrap the skinless breast it it's skin ballontine style.
I didn't have twine so I skewered the sucker.
I skipped the salting and roasted it in my oven at 425 for 30 minutes and finished at 350 and it worked for me.
 
drbabs January 19, 2011
I like high temp (a la Thomas Keller's roast chicken), too. Also, if you roast it on a bed of sliced onions and carrots (and celery if you like cooked celery; I don't), you'll have flavorful drippings to make gravy.
 
TiggyBee January 19, 2011
I'd go for a high temp and a good rub. Wow, did I just say that? Make an herb infused oil and cover the breast with it and then I'd get underneath the skin and put the seasonings onto the meat. Chili flakes, garlic, pepper, etc. A few months ago, I actually tried to do a beer can turkey breast and it was a total disaster, but the flavors were good! A story for another day!!
 
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