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Turkey Breast

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Turkey Breast

Postby halfateabag » Sat Jun 27, 2020 9:53 am

Morning all, I am asking for your ideas for cooking the above (complete, not cut up). It weighs 0.385kg and enough for 2+ portions. I have button mushrooms and most other stuff. I am thinking something a bit different, maybe make a pocket in it and stuff it with something tasty. So let's have some inspiration ! Planning to cook it later today.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby Suffs » Sat Jun 27, 2020 10:06 am

How serendipitous! Turkey breast isn’t something I buy very often as I often find the flavour disappointing, but I saw this recipe just the other day and bookmarked it as I thought it looked perfect for a summer evening meal when DS comes to visit
https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/rec ... reast-9890

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby Earthmaiden » Sat Jun 27, 2020 10:25 am

That looks nice Suffs.

As turkey can sometimes be a bit dry and tasteless I think I might do either a sticky chicken type of thing or maybe a Kiev. There's the stuff with tasty cheese and wrap in bacon thing too but I don't like that much. All with the meat thermometer to hand to make sure the middle was cooked.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby Suffs » Sat Jun 27, 2020 10:30 am

The idea of the turkey breast being poached appealed to me for that very reason EM ... and whilst I may not always have sugar snaps available, that sort of recipe lends itself to a myriad of substitution possibilities. I think it’d probably work well with a couple of chicken breasts too.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby halfateabag » Sat Jun 27, 2020 10:36 am

That's a nice recipe Suff - thanks. I have everything except the sugar snaps. My mange tout growing in the garden are only 3/4 " long so may have to use the french beans that I cooked y'day to save them from being chucked. May go down that road unless some other recipe grabs my attention.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby Badger's Mate » Sat Jun 27, 2020 10:42 am

That looks too good an opportunity to pass up. On another occasion, Mrs Beeton's idea of boiled turkey with celery sauce works well, especially if you poach the turkey in a flavoursome liquid after first brining it. Celery could mean celery, celeriac or even lovage.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby halfateabag » Sat Jun 27, 2020 10:54 am

Without researching, what does brining involve ? Also my TB does not have skin, would that make a difference. I thought that adding salt does suck all the juice out of meat in general and toughen the meat ?

Tks. BM for the TB in celery sauce, I also have celery in the dew bin. Will look up the recipe.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby halfateabag » Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:01 am

Hhmmmm! this recipe sounds a bit odd https://www.britishfoodinamerica.com/Ou ... vcJwi3MzLY Not sure I like the idea of sugar in stuffing (I know I can leave it out) and don't have oysters either....

So, BM do you have a recipe you might share ?

I might have 2 recipes to choose from now......

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby Badger's Mate » Sat Jun 27, 2020 11:58 am

So, BM do you have a recipe you might share ?



Nothing really formal, I've got some poaching stock that gets used for one thing after another. I would cook the turkey in that then serve it with a sauce made from some of the stock plus cooked celery or celeriac, a splash of cream or crème fraîche, cornflour or roux if I wanted it thicker. Alternatively a hint of lovage rather than the celery. Last week I poached rabbit and did a similar sauce with tarragon (sorry Sue!). Earlier in the summer we had lamb shoulder braised with a sauce of crème fraîche, mint and peas. Tomorrow I've got a guinea fowl that might get braised and served with with baby carrots, peas and broad beans, unless I change my mind and roast it.

Brining is usually immersion for a while in a mixture of salt and sugar plus spices, perhaps (minus the salt) what you might boil bacon with. That can be used for serial brining but I'm wary of that in a home kitchen. My poaching stock started life as the stock from a bacon joint.


These ideas I've adapted/nicked from St John, the Mrs Beeton recipe (freely available online I think) is turkey boiled in water plus celery boiled in water then made into a sauce with milk and butter. The recipes for the sauce and the turkey are in different chapters of the book, at least the versions I've seen. The flavours work well together but you'd do it differently nowadays. Rather smaller quantities, for a start. I've done it in the past with turkey bits off Edmonton Green market but I don't get down there much now.


However, given the choice I'd be quite keen to try Suffs recipe! :D

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby liketocook » Sat Jun 27, 2020 12:33 pm

I like the sound of that recipe suffs :yum
I quite often buy a whole turkey breast and use it in various ways:-
Cooked in the slow cooker with sage, rosemary, thyme , garlic, a pinch of paprika and lemon. I sit the breast on a bed of onion & celery but don't add any water. I usually give it an hour on high and then an hour or so on low. The cooking liquid makes the basis for gravy to serve with it. Cold, the meat is lovely in a Caesar type salad.
Chunked and marinated in yoghurt, lemon, garlic and spices for kebabs
Beaten out, stuffed with whatever takes my fancy, rolled, wrapped in bacon and roasted or beaten, cut into portions then breaded and fried.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby karadekoolaid » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:33 pm

If you want to use the mushrooms, then I´d probably marinate it ( and cook it) in white wine, and cover the whole breast with (a) garlic butter and (b) strips of streaky bacon.
When we do it for Xmas we usually inject it with orange juice and rum, cover in bacon and roast it on a bed of peaches and onions.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby karadekoolaid » Sat Jun 27, 2020 7:54 pm

Of course, you could always go Mexican and make a Mole!

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby halfateabag » Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:44 am

In the end - because there was so much going on yesterday! I went with Suffs recipe, only change was I did not have the chinese wine so used Pinot Gridge. It smelt wonderful whilst cooking, it is now sat in its juices in the fridge - resting, we will eat it tomorrow. I tried the cooking liquor and only added a small amount of jaggery as I felt it improved the sauce.

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Re: Turkey Breast

Postby Hickybank » Sun Jun 28, 2020 4:02 pm

I do a recipe where Chicken breasts are stuffed with Spinach. Roasted Red Peppers & Feta all wrapped in Prosciutto.
It is gorgeous & I have served it at a couple of dinner parties where it went down well.

There are lots of recipes online all pretty much the same, I assume it would work just as well with Turkey breasts.

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