Cast Iron Boneless Turkey Breasts with Cranberry Chutney
By Lawman JohnsonPublished on September 20, 2016
Time
2 hours, plus 30 minutes marinating
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If you're using self-basting turkey breast halves (such as frozen Butterball) or kosher turkey breast halves, do not brine in step 1, but season with salt in step 2. Often, boneless turkey breast halves are sold in elastic netting; be sure to remove the netting before brining or cooking.
Instructions
- Dissolve 6 tablespoons salt in 3 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge turkey in brine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Tuck tapered end of each breast underneath and loosely tie lengthwise with kitchen twine. Tie breasts crosswise at 1 1/2-inch intervals to make tidy, even roasts. Season turkey with pepper.
- Heat 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add oil and heat until just smoking. Brown turkey on all sides, about 10 minutes. Flip turkey skin side down, transfer skillet to oven, and roast until turkey registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour, flipping breasts halfway through roasting.
- Using potholders, remove skillet from oven. Transfer turkey to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest while making chutney.
- Being careful of hot skillet handle, pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add shallot, ginger, mustard seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until shallot is softened, about 30 seconds. Stir in cranberries, sugar, water, and orange zest. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have mostly broken down and mixture is thickened, about 15 minutes. Off heat, stir in vinegar and any accumulated turkey juices. Remove twine from turkey and slice into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with chutney.
Time
2 hours, plus 30 minutes marinatingYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Boneless turkey breast offers all the hearty flavor of turkey without the challenges of cooking and carving a giant bird or bone-in breast, making it a quicker and more approachable everyday meal. For crisp, golden skin, we preheated our cast-iron skillet on the stovetop and browned the turkey on all sides before roasting. This meant that the meat needed much less time to finish cooking in the oven. We came across a problem during roasting, however; the boneless breasts were very unevenly shaped, so they cooked unevenly. Tucking the tapered ends underneath and tying the breasts with twine made them more uniform and easier to cook. Finally, we developed a chutney to add flavor to the mild meat. We used shallot, fresh ginger, mustard seeds, sugar, cranberries, and orange zest, with a splash of vinegar to round out the flavors.
Before You Begin
If you're using self-basting turkey breast halves (such as frozen Butterball) or kosher turkey breast halves, do not brine in step 1, but season with salt in step 2. Often, boneless turkey breast halves are sold in elastic netting; be sure to remove the netting before brining or cooking.
Instructions
- Dissolve 6 tablespoons salt in 3 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge turkey in brine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Tuck tapered end of each breast underneath and loosely tie lengthwise with kitchen twine. Tie breasts crosswise at 1 1/2-inch intervals to make tidy, even roasts. Season turkey with pepper.
- Heat 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add oil and heat until just smoking. Brown turkey on all sides, about 10 minutes. Flip turkey skin side down, transfer skillet to oven, and roast until turkey registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour, flipping breasts halfway through roasting.
- Using potholders, remove skillet from oven. Transfer turkey to carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest while making chutney.
- Being careful of hot skillet handle, pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add shallot, ginger, mustard seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until shallot is softened, about 30 seconds. Stir in cranberries, sugar, water, and orange zest. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have mostly broken down and mixture is thickened, about 15 minutes. Off heat, stir in vinegar and any accumulated turkey juices. Remove twine from turkey and slice into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with chutney.
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