For best flavor, I would cook it in a smoker at aroudn 225 degrees for about 3-4 hours, or until it reached 165 degrees on a quick read thermometer. Since the smoker uses steam as well as smoke, it will not be dry.

To roast at high heat in the oven, I would shove soft butter seasoned with herbs under the skin. The secure the skin with toothpicks, or sew it shut, if you have the equipment to do that.

Lars

It depends on what you want? Looking for a traditional turkey dinner, just roast it as you would roast a turkey.

If you are looking for something a little different, I can recommend Julia Child's Turkey Orloff.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Ingredients

1/4 cup plain raw white rice
1 salt
1 pound onions
1-1/2 sticks butter
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
1 handful fresh parsley
Springs; (3 tbs minced)
1/2 teaspoon fragrant dried tarragon
1 pepper
12 or more turkey breast slices
5 tablespoons flour for sauce; plus extra
For turkey sauté
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups hot turkey stock
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup lightly pressed down
Coarsely grated mozzarella
. Instructions

Described as "Turkey breast scallopini gratineed with mushrooms, onions,
rice, and cheese.

Rice and onion soubise: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drop the rice into
a saucepan with 2 quarts rapidly boiling salted water and boil uncovered
for
exactly 5 minutes; drain immediately and reserve. Meanwhile peel and
then
chop the onions in a food processor; (it needs no washing until after
it's
last operation). To do onions, prechop roughly by hand into 1-inch
chunks
and process them 1 1/2 cups at a time, using metal blade and switching
machine on and off 3 or 4 times at 1-second intervals to chop onions
into
3/8 inch morsels. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a flameproof 6-8
cup
baking dish, stir in the chopped onions, the drained rice, and 1/4
teaspoon
salt, mixing well to coat with the butter; cover the dish and bake in
middle level of oven for about 1 hour, stirring up once or twice, until
rice is completely tender and beginning to turn a golden yellow. When
the
rice is done and still warm, beat in the egg; taste carefully and
correct
seasoning. May be done a day or two in advance.

Mushroom duxelles: While rice and onion soubise is cooking, trim and
wash
the mushrooms. For the food processor, first chop roughly by hand into
1-inch chunks, then process into 1/8 inch pieces, using the 1-second
on-off
technique. Mince the parsley in the machine afterward. By handfuls,
either
twist mushrooms hard in the corner of a towel or squeeze through a
potato
ricer to extract as much of their juice as possible. Saute the
mushrooms in
2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium size frying pan over moderately
high heat, stirring and tossing until mushroom pieces begin to separate
from each other--5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tarragon and parsley;
season
to taste with salt and pepper. Stir half of the mixture into the cooked
rice and onion soubise; reserve the rest. Mushroom duxelles may be
cooked
in advance and may be frozen.

Preparing the turkey scallopini: Pound the slices between 2 sheets of
wax
paper, with a rubber hammer, a rolling pin, or the side of a bottle, to
expand them about double and to then them down by half. These are your
turkey scaloppini cover and refrigerate them until you are ready to
sauté
them.

Sautéing the turkey scallopini: Salt and pepper the turkey slices
lightly,
dredge in flour and shake off excess, sauté fro about a minute on each
side
in 1 tablespoon of the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter (more if
needed)--just to stiffen them and barely cook through. Set slices aside
on
a plate as you finish them.

The gratineing sauce: Make a turkey veloute sauce as follows. Melt 4
tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat in a heavy-bottomed 2 quart
saucepan, blend in the flour, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon
until
flour and butter foam and froth together for 2 minutes without turning
more
than a golden yellow. Remove from heat and, when this roux has stopped
bubbling, pour in 2 cups of the hot turkey or chicken stock and blend
vigorously with a wire whip. Return to heat, stirring slowly with wire
whip
to reach all over bottom, corner, and side of pan, and boil slowly for 2
minutes. Taste and correct seasoning. Sauce should be thick enough to
coat
a wooden spoon nicely, meaning it will coat the turkey. Beat in more
stock
by droplets if sauce is too thick. In the food processor or an electric
blender, puree the egg yolks with the cottage cheese (or push through a
fine sieve and beat in a bowl with a wire whip); by dribbles, beat the
hot
sauce into the egg yolk and cheese mixture.

Assembling the dish: Choose a baking and serving dish about 10 by 14 by
2 inches; butter the inside and spread a thin layer of sauce in bottom of
dish. Make a neat, slightly overlapping pattern of the turkey slices
down
the center of the dish, spreading each, as you go, with the soubise.
Spoon remaining mushroom duxelles down
the sides. Spoon remaining sauce over the turkey and spread the
mozzarella
cheese on top. Recipe may be prepared a day in advance to this point;
when
cool, cover and refrigerate. If, before proceeding, you note that the
sauce
does not cover some parts of the meat, spread more mozzarella on these
areas.

Final baking and serving: Turkey will take about 25 minutes to heat and
for
the top to brown; it should be served fairly promptly since the meat
will
be juicier if it does not have to wait around. Set uncovered in upper
third
of a preheated 400 degree oven until contents are bubbling hot and sauce
has browned nicely.

If I had a head cold and wasn't feeling up to par - I'd find something else to eat besides turkey. But then, I always find a reason not to eat turkey. :(

Hope you feel better shortly. It's been a nasty year for viruses/bugs.

/tricia

Throw that baby in the crock pot to stew down. Add tons of onion, garlic and veggies. Add noodles when almost done. Comfort food for a head cold.

Not sure what you have for cooking options so I'm flying blind but there's basically 2 ways I do turkey breast. 90% of the time I let the Nesco work its magic for simplicity and consistent results without having to constantly monitor it or the other 10% I butterfly it and roast it in the oven.

Having a headcold, standing above the roaster getting a whiff of the bird part cooking is comforting, smells great and the steam helps the sinuses.

For something different than "traditional" baked bird, set it on some carrots, celery, onion or what you like. Then make a big bacon weave. Season the bird with salt free seasonings, your own poultry seasoning, Spike Salt-Free, Mrs Dash, BBQ rub or whatever you like, then put some onion on there and wrap the meat in the bacon weave to hold in the onion. Add some garlic if you have vampire problems or just like it. You could use the oven, a grill, a roaster oven or a tabletop convection oven, put a thermometer probe in it and set it for 150° and let 'er go. Bacon and onion will baste it, the veggies will add some flavor and if you use an electric roaster, timing isn't as critical. Have a glass of wine while you wait and relax, maybe put some in with it if you're willing to share. If you want to go extra easy, put some taters in with it the last hour, baked are simpler, roasted are great too or you could make some rice. A simple salad/veg, some warmed rolls and an easy dessert and you're all set and might even have leftovers.

Happy eating and get well soon. Remember the old saying, Flood a cold and drown a fever".

I'd slice it thinly and do it as ann_t suggests, as scaloppini. You can sub turkey breast for veal in any scaloppini recipe. Most diners cannot tell the difference.

You can pound the slices thinly or not, it's up to you. Dredge the slices in seasoned flour (flour + salt + pepper), pan fry lightly. Deglaze pan with white wine or chicken stock (I use both). When the alcohol has cooked down, add lemon juice to the juices, plus a slug of cream. Lemon zest makes it extra tasty. Taste and adjust seasoning. You can serve the scaloppini with sauce on top or on the side. Or you can put the scaloppini back in the pan to absorb the sauce. I usually do this to reheat the meat and I think it tastes more lemony. I serve this over something to soak up the juices - steamed rice, polenta or something similar. From start to finish it shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes, tops.

Hope you feel better by tomorrow,
Cheryl

My favorite way to make turkey breast is to butterfly it, put sage and garlic under the skin, brush the skin with oil and put it on the grill for about 2 hours. Major yum!

Tricia, that's funny! I know there are people who don't like turkey. I like it well enough. I don't cook it much more often than Thanksgiving as a rule.

All of these methods sound yummy. I don't have a decent grill and I don't have a smoker. I have a teeny Weber but I'm the worst grill chef ever. Now I'm thinking about the usefulness of a smoker. I'll look into that possibility.

The crock pot would be the easiest method and I may consider that depending on how I feel tomorrow. Or the Nesco. I can rub it with some fresh herbs and olive oil and tuck it into the pretty casserole dish from Cathy (Mustangs) and put it in the Nesco. Ann's recipe sounds too ambitious for how I am feeling right now and my dinner companion can't eat dairy or lemon. Bummer as I love both.

If I feel better tomorrow some kind of scaloppini sounds more special. I have some orzo I'll use as a side.

So any kind of flavor profile works with turkey? I love the Thanksgiving flavors but want something different than that.

I'll take pics.

Eileen

I always make it a la Pierre Franey from his 60 min gourmet...quick and easy and tasty...skip the stuffing and just do veggies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Roast Turkey Breast

This, to me, is one of the most delicious ways to prepare turkey breast, and in the summer it's hard to beat. If you don't want to do this now, cut and paste this and save it for the dog days of summer.

There’s a classic European dish of roasted veal breast in tuna sauce, vitello tonnato. Julia Child adapted it for poached turkey breast instead of veal. (It’s much cheaper and more tender, and it works very well.) This recipe is ideal for hot weather, especially for a luncheon for several people. You make the entire recipe a day or two in advance: the day of the lunch, all you have to do is take the dish out of the fridge and, if desired, decorate it a bit. You can serve this dish with a salad, or make sandwiches with it, or just eat it plain. Delicious. If you don’t like capers, leave them out; it’ll still taste great.

I’m reproducing the recipe exactly as Julia has it, but I would note that when I made it I found that the Dijon mustard tended to overpower the other ingredients; even though she calls for 2 to 3 tablespoons, I’d start with only 1 tablespoon and add a little more if needed. (I know it takes chutzpah to overrule Julia, but there you have it.) While it calls for poached turkey breast (and I include her directions for poaching a turkey breast) if you just want to try out the sauce, you can ‘cheat’ and go to the deli and get several slices of precooked turkey breast and use that. (I’ve done that ; works great, although it ends up costing about three times as much as poaching a turkey breast on your own.) She makes the point that you don’t serve it as sliced turkey with a sauce on the side; you need to smear each slice with the sauce and let the slices absorb the flavors for a day or two.

You can make the sauce in either a blender or a food processor. If you have a food processor, though, the sauce is extremely easy to make. In fact, my Cuisinart has a push-tube with a hole in it that is designed to drip oil at just the right speed for emulsifying with the other ingredients.

Tacchino Tonnato from Julia Child’s The Way to Cook
(Cold Sliced turkey breast in tuna and anchovy sauce) For 8 or more servings

1 - 7 oz tin (1 cup) tuna packed in water, drained
1 - 2oz tin of flat fillets of anchovies packed in olive oil, drained
One-fourth cup capers, squeezed dry
The grated peel of one half lemon
2 to 3 tbsp Dijon-type prepared mustard (you may wish to start with just one and add more if needed)
1 large clove of garlic, pureed, then mashed to a very fine paste with one-fourth tsp salt
4 egg yolks
1 to 1 ½ cups or more virgin olive oil
Drops of lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

One 6-pound poached turkey breast (recipe follows this one) or 16 to 20 generous but thin slices of cooked turkey breast
Decorations: 1/3 cup capers, drained; coarsely chopped parsley; lemon wedges

The sauce. Puree the tuna, anchovies, capers, lemon peel, mustard and garlic paste in the machine, then add the egg yolks and puree several seconds, until the mixture has thickened. Finally, with the motor running, start adding the oil in a very thin stream of droplets, and continue without pause until three-fourths of a cup of oil has gone in and the sauce has thickened into a heavy cream. It will not be as thick as mayonnaise, but should hold itself in creamy suspension. Process in one-half cup more of oil, depending on how thick a sauce you wish to have. Season carefully to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper; the sauce should have character, but should not be too strong in taste or it will kill off the turkey.

Slicing the turkey. If you are using a poached turkey breast, discard the skin. Carefully remove in one piece the whole side of each breast from the carcass. Cut the meat at a slant crosswise (across the grain) into elegant slices less than 1/8 inch thick.

Assembling. Spoon a layer of sauce in the bottom of a serving platter, and arrange the turkey on top, spreading each slice with a coating of sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours before serving.

Serving. Let the platter sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to take off the chill. Meanwhile sprinkle on the capers and parsley, and decorate with lemon wedges.

Poached Turkey Breast

Set up a 6-pound bone-in breast of turkey breast up in a kettle just large enough to hold it comfortably, surround it with 1 cup each of chopped carrots, onions and celery, and a large herb bouquet. Pour in 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of dry white French vermouth or dry white wine, and enough water to cover the breast by ½ inch. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove; skim off the gray scum, which will continue to rise for several minutes. Salt lightly, then cover the pot loosely and maintain at the bare simmer for 2 to 2 ½ hours, adding a little boiling water if the liquid evaporates to expose the turkey. It’s done when a meat thermometer, pushed in to the thickest part of the meat near the shoulder (but not touching bone) reads 162 to 165 F. Let the turkey cool in its broth for at least 30 minutes.

Refrigerate uncovered; when chilled, remove the turkey to a covered container.

I felt worse not better yesterday when I made this and opted for simple.

I used the rub recipe in the link with a lot less salt and a bit less pepper. I rubbed it all over and placed it uncovered in my spiffy casserole dish with a cup or so of Sauvignon Blanc and dropped it into the Nesco until it was 165°. I let it rest while I made a veloute sauce from the juices.

And it was tasty.

Eileen

Here is a link that might be useful: Herb roasted turkey breast.

Eileen, you can't go wrong with roasting a turkey breast. Now you will get to enjoy sandwiches with the leftovers.

Hope you feel better soon.

~Ann

Last weekend I bought a turkey breast on a whim. I went into the butcher's meaning to buy chicken drumsticks and saw those gorgeous turkey breasts. As usual I regretted it right away and decided to unturkey that breast by trying a Moroccan kitchen-inspired method. I placed it in a pot with enough cold water (tap water) to cover and just threw in whatever dried fruit I had on hand, which turned out to be golden raisins and dried plums I've been planning to use up for weeks. I added 1 t cinnamon plus 1 t sweet paprica and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Brought to a boil & simmered for 3 hours. Having read dcarch's comment on sous vide's proper description as controlled simmering, I now realize I've been sous videing lots of dishes. I LOVE slow food. Come to think of it, that's what my grandmother had been doing all her life.

Eileen, I'm sorry you have a cold, I hope you feel better soon.

That turkey breast sounds good to me, I often just pop it into the Nesco and roast it, although I like turkey thighs better than breasts and I only like turkey freshly roasted, I don't really like leftovers outside of an occasional turkey sandwich.

All the recipes here sound delicious, I'm definitely going to have to get out of my turkey "rut" and try something new!

Feel better.

Annie