If you like turkey, but there are only two, or a small group of you, what do you do? Instead of a whole turkey, a roasted turkey breast is a great solution. You could even roast two or more breasts if you and your guests want all white meat.
This largely hands-off recipe uses a quick brine, and then it is steamed/roasted in the oven with a broth bath and herbs. Both the brining and the steam bath (as well as checking the temperature often) ensure moist and succulent slices of breast meat.
Instead of a fatty gravy, consider making an herbed velouté sauce to serve with the turkey breast. A velouté is like a white sauce (known as a bechamel sauce), but uses a meat or vegetable stock instead of milk, making it lighter. (So in a nutshell: butter, flour and milk = bechamel. And, butter, flour and stock = velouté, which means velvet in French) The recipe for the herbed velouté sauce follows the turkey breast recipe, below.
Any of the following menu items would make for a lovely Thanksgiving dinner — one in which I’d be verry happy! Along with the thinly sliced turkey breast, also serve my:
- Need a drink to start with? Try my Caramel Apple Cocktail
- Autumnal Persimmon Salad
- Savory Bread Pudding with Green Beans and/or Roasted Brussels sprouts
- Caramelized Shallots or Gratin of Leeks
- Chipotle sweet potatoes and/or Grandma’s Gruyere Gratin Potatoes
- And why not finish with something unexpected like a French Silk Pie or Prosecco Poached Pears?
Arliano Update (Aggiornamento Arliano):
The Good: This morning I picked up my long-term Permission to Stay (Permesso di Soggiorno Lungo Periodo) in Italy, which took me five years to earn. Whew! This document allows me to come and go within in Italy and the other Schengen member countries (many, but not all, European countries). This also means that I do not have to go the police station annually for finger printing, provide hundreds of pages of financial and other documentation, and pay an annual hefty application processing fee, etc. With the long-term permission to stay (valid for 10 years), this completes all my rights of passage, bureaucratically speaking, for Italy. Unless…. I want to pursue citizenship, which I’ll be eligible for in another 5 years. Besides being able to vote, there are other good reasons for applying for citizenship, which leads me to “the bad,” below.
The Bad: Administrators at the healthcare system have been telling me for a few years now that when I get my long-term permission to stay, that I am eligible for free health care as a long-term resident. Well this, sadly, is about to change. To make up for budget shortfalls, the government is proposing — and it will likely pass — that all non-EU residents (that’s me!) will have to pay a minimum of 2,000 euros per year for healthcare, possibly on top of what we already pay. I must admit that this is still a really good deal compared to the US, and that the healthcare system here is excellent. That said, it’s a bit of a personal budget letdown expecting free health care, and now we may have to pay more than we currently do. Still, from a National fiscal perspective, I understand. In five years, if I pursue citizenship, free healthcare will again be an option.
The scary: As part of the Eco bonus program that we participated in (rebates for energy efficiency home solutions), we had to get armed doors. What is ironic about this is that there’s a good half-inch gap at the bottom of the door. We’ve always intended to find a solution to block the gap but now we are highly motivated to do so because… we found a snake in our house. Horrors! Shivers and Horrors! I thought I was going to have a panic attack due to my loathing of snakes. And, because I realized that it had to slither its way up 18 (EIGHTEEN!) stairs and two stair landings in addition to working its way under the door. It’s not like we live in Australia with all their enormous creepy crawlies, but what can I say… we live in the country. The poor thing was likely more scared than I was, and in search of water because it’s been so dry up until a few days ago. Brave Tom gently swept it out of the house. On the flip side, on a nearly daily basis I deal with the spiders, stink bugs and other insects. It’s a good balance.
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Brined, Steamed and Roasted Turkey Breast
Ingredients
- 1 turkey breast (mine weighed 2.6 pounds, or 41.6 ounces, or 1180 grams)
- Kosher salt for brine (as a rule of thumb for the brine, use 1 tablespoon for every pound (16 ounces) of poultry). Since mine weighed 2.6 pounds, I used 2.5 tablespoons of kosher salt
- Broth bath: 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth, plus 1 cup dry white wine, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and herbs of your choice (I’m using 3 bay leaves and three sprigs of rosemary)
- 2 cups Velouté sauce: 2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, one teaspoon finely chopped herbs (I’m using rosemary), and 1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
Directions
- The night before, brine the turkey breast by filling a large bowl with cold water, add 1 tablespoon of coarse or Kosher salt for each pound (16 ounces) of poultry and enough water to cover the breast by several inches. Cover and refrigerate. Mine was in the refrigerator for 18 hours. Aim for at least 12 hours
- About 1 hour before roasting, remove the breast from the brine solution and let it rest at room temperature. Prepare the broth bath by pouring the broth, wine, olive oil, and herbs into an 8-inch X 8-inch (20cm x 20 cm) baking dish (use a SLIGHTLY larger baking dish if your turkey breast is larger. You don’t want a baking dish too large, or your broth bath could evaporate while in the oven). Place a rack (such as a cooling rack for baked goods) on top of the baking dish. TIP: If one end of your turkey breast is thinner than the other, tuck the thin part under to try to make an even thickness throughout, which will help ensure more even cooking
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F /190C. Set the turkey breast on the rack over the broth bath and cover it all very well with foil. Bake until a meat thermometer reaches 160F/71C in the center of the thickest part of the breast (Turkey is safe to eat at 165F/74C. NOTE 1: The breast will continue to cook once removed from the oven, which is why you need to pull it out at 160F/71C (before it reaches 165F/74C). Check the temperature frequently to avoid over cooking, which will result in a disappointing and dry breast. With the weight of my turkey breast being 2.6 pounds, mine took 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach 160F/71C. NOTE 2: Once the turkey breast reaches 140F/60C, the temperature will climb quickly. Re-take the temperature of the turkey breast every 10 minutes to ensure you don’t over roast it. NOTE 3: All ovens and turkey breasts are different. I suggest you start checking the temperature of the breast at the 1-hour mark.
- Once removed from the oven, wrap the breast completely in foil and set it aside for 15 – 20 minutes, which will allow all the juices to redistribute in the breast
- While the turkey breast is resting in foil, prepare the velouté sauce, if making. In a microwave oven or stovetop, heat the broth and set it aside. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once melted, whisk in the flour and chopped herbs, and continue to cook this loose paste for one minute. This is your roux. While whisking, very slowly add the heated broth to the roux. Continue whisking until the velouté sauce thickens to the point that you can trace a path with it on the back of a wooden spoon. Of course, if you’d like the sauce thinner, just bring it to a boil and that’s it. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve
- Unwrap the turkey breast from the foil and with the grain of the meat, cut thin slices and place them on a platter. Pour the velouté sauce over the slices and serve
Greg Nelson Cooks 
Congratulations on your long-term visa! Yay!
Chanterria McGilbra, MBA “Mediocrity is Self-Inflicted. Genius is Self-Bestowed.” -Walter Russell
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