Moist & Tender Turkey Breast

 Photo By: Marg-CaymanDesigns

I have to admit, I've never been a huge fan of turkey, let alone white meat. At Thanksgiving I'll normally go for the dark meat and maybe once a year I'll cook up a turkey breast for a mini "Thanksgiving" type dinner. I decided on a turkey breast for our CIJ dinner because I found a new recipe on Pinterest that claimed to keep the breast meat "MOIST and TENDER". It was a 5 star recipe, with lots of raving from others who had enjoyed it. Now, let me tell you...This recipe did NOT DISAPPOINT. I was absolutely gawking over how moist it was. I added a touch of gravy for the yum factor and even went back for seconds. On a shopping note, I was a very happy with the Market Pantry brand turkey breast I purchased at Target. It came with a gravy packet inside, to add to the drippings and I thought that even tasted great. So, if you hesitate to eat turkey, because cooking an entire bird is overwhelming, give this recipe a try. You will not be disappointed.

Ingredients:

• 1 (5 -20 lb) fresh or frozen turkey breast (thawed) or 1 (5 -20 lb) turkey
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 12 ounces chicken broth or 12 ounces beer or 12 ounces white wine
• 1 -2 tablespoon mayonnaise    

Directions:

1. Place turkey or turkey breast in a roasting pan.
    
2. (I use a foil-lined 13x9-inch pan) Combine melted butter and chicken broth.
   Note: I skipped the foil and just used a heavy duty, non stick broiler pan 
    
3. Pour over turkey.
    
4. Rub mayonnaise all over turkey's exterior.
   Note: I didn't measure this necessarily. Just took out a few spoonfuls, put them aside and made sure I had enough to cover the entire turkey. 
    
5. Salt lightly if desired.
    
6. Roast at 300°-325°F until internal temperature reaches 170°F on an instant read thermometer. (I raise the temperature to 350° for the last approximate 30-45 minutes to crisp skin).
    
7. Remove from oven and let sit for about 30 minutes before slicing.
   Note: Do Not Skip This Step. It's VERY, VERY important to let your bird sit. 
    
8. Note: because the butter and broth are for making gravy, if you need to make a lot of gravy, double the amount of both.
    
9. To make gravy: pour pan drippings into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add 1 Tbls. cornstarch per cup of broth/drippings to 1/4 cup cold water. (You'll usually need 2-3 Tbls) Mix well to dissolve. Stir cornstarch mixture into broth and stir until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. If too thin, dissolve more cornstarch in water and add until desired thickness. If too thick, add water or more broth to thin.
    
   Note: I used the gravy packet that came with the Market Pantry turkey and just added the juices from the pan to that mix and then followed the instructions by adding water. 

I did not take a photo of my turkey, so the photo above is the photo posted with the recipe at Food.Com