I know. You just got over your turkey overdose. Why in the world would I be making turkey now? Because I didn't get to at Thanksgiving.
Normally I like to brine my poultry but this breast was one of those "packaged with up to X% with a solution" so it was already pre-brined so brining it was not an option. Instead I came up with an injection to build flavor.
This turned out to be my favorite injection I have come up with for turkey and the family readily agreed. The clarified butter has a cleaner texture, the infused herbs bring the flavor, and the sweet agave comes through in the final product.
Turkey Injection
servings: 1 cup, enough for 1 turkey breast
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup clarified butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 sage leaves
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 6 black peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup Agave Amber Nectar
Instructions
- Heat clarified butter to simmering.
- Add the garlic cloves, sage leaves, thyme, and peppercorns and poach for 5 minutes.
- Remove and reserve the sage and thyme. Discard the garlic and pepper corns.
- Add the wine, Agave nectar, and salt. Stir to mix. Remove from heat and allow to cool before using.
Grilled Turkey Breast
Servings: 6-8
Ingredients
- bone in, skin on turkey breast
- 1 cup turkey injection
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- Sage and thyme reserved from cooking the injection.
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to 325 - 350f set up for indirect heat. I was using a Smoke Hollow combo grill with 40 lit briquettes divided to each side with drip pans in the middle. See pictures below for example.
- Inject the turkey in several areas with the injection from inside the rib cage (the back side of the breast). [For tips on injecting, see Five Tips: Injecting Meat]
- Make a rub with the salt, paprika, pepper, thyme and sage. The thyme and sage should crumble easily.
- Rub the breasts over and under the skin.
- Place the breast on the grill over the drip pan, skin side facing up. Grill for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 155 to 160f. Add a half dozen or so briquettes to each side occasionally as needed to maintain the grill temperature at 325 to 350f.
- Allow to rest 15 minutes before slicing.
- I used Kingsford Briquettes with Hickory (green bag) to get a little smoke flavor.
- Here's my time/temps chart. [Update] The grill temps listed were actual temps, not my target temperatures. I was trying to hold a temp of 325f, which is much easier in my Eggs.
Time | Internal Temp | Grill Temp | Notes |
0 | 46f | 325f | Started with 20 lit coals on each side of a dripping pan |
15 min | 48f | 300f | Added 8 unlit coals per side |
30 min | 61f | 340f | |
45 min | 84f | 320f | Added 8 coals left side, 4 coals right side |
1 hr | 97f | 320f | |
1 hr 15 m | 120f | 300f | Added 12 coals left side, 8 coals right side |
1 hr 30 m | 134f | 325f | |
1 hr 45 m | 145f | 350f | |
2 hr | 156f | 315f | Removed turkey from grill |
Poaching the garlic and herbs in butter draws out their flavor. |
Kingsford with Hickory adds a kiss of smoke. |
Injecting from the rib side (inside) avoids tearing and poking holes in the skin. |
Indirect set up, coals pushed to the side to create a void, above which rests the meat. |
Look how juicy! I carve off half the breast and then slice that on a cutting board. |
This disappeared quickly but I did manage to save some scraps for KY Hot Browns today. |
Don't forget to entry the Drapers BBQ Gift Pack giveaway HERE.
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