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In a earlier article, How one can Make Your Personal Lunch Meat, we made a garlic, onion and herb roast beef. As I promised, now we’re making a Cajun-seasoned roasted turkey lunch meat.
Meat Choice and the Energy of Salt
I used to be on the lookout for a boneless, skinless turkey breast however didn’t discover one. It should be a Thanksgiving factor. I did discover a bone-in, skin-on, frozen turkey breast at $18.42 for six.16 lbs.
I purchased two totally different sorts of seasoning. One, a dry normal, 5oz of Cajun seasoning containing salt, paprika, crimson pepper, thyme, black pepper, celery seed, garlic and onion. 5oz of seasoning might not sound like a lot, nevertheless it was a couple of cup and 1 / 4 of seasoning. The second was a dry Creole seasoning containing sea salt, natural dehydrated onion, garlic, paprika, cane sugar, pure hickory smoke taste (what the heck is that?), and safflower oil. The primary can be used within the brine, and the second can be utilized to the breast simply earlier than roasting.
Once more, utilizing the e book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, I made a primary brine. I extremely advocate this e book in your personal library.
Brining meat does three issues:
1) It modifications the meat cells on the molecular degree, permitting the cells to plump with water, thereby making the meat moist. You are able to do the identical factor with a complete turkey to stop it from changing into dry at Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve completed that previously.
2) It infuses no matter seasoning or flavors you need to add. I made the above-mentioned Thanksgiving turkey with an Earl Gray tea infusion. It turned out nice!
3) The salt acts as a preservative, stopping micro organism from forming within the brief time period, extra so than unbrined meat.
Right here’s the step-by-step for making turkey lunch meat.
The fundamental brine is:
- 1 gallon/4 liters of water
- ¾ cup/200 grams of kosher salt
- ½ cup/125 grams of sugar
I took half a gallon of water, put it in a bowl, and put it within the freezer to relax whereas I made the brine.
I put the opposite half of a gallon of water into a big sauce pan, blended within the salt and sugar, and introduced it to a boil, often stirring till all of the salt and sugar dissolved. I let it cool till simply heat.
I then took the turkey breast and put it in a 2.5-gallon plastic zip-lock bag. I added the chilled water, then the Cajun seasoning, after which the nice and cozy brine. I secured the bag and positioned it within the fridge. I used the charcuterie e book’s pointers for brining a 4 lb hen and a full 15 lb turkey and break up the distinction of 18 hours. I drained and discarded the brine, rinsed the turkey breast, after which let it relaxation within the fridge for 3 hours.
Pre-heat the oven to 325 levels.
Whereas the oven was pre-heating, I reduce the pores and skin away, exposing the breast, leaving the pores and skin on by the bottom of the again on the backside subsequent to the underside of a forged iron roasting pan. Save that and the turkey carcass for later to make a very fascinating inventory. By no means let something go to waste! I used the Creole seasoning mix and packed it across the breast, down into the cavity and a few across the pores and skin.
Roast within the oven for two ¼ to 2 ½ hours or when the breast reads 165 levels, not touching bone, on an on the spot learn thermometer.
How Did It Come Out?
The Creole seasoning did make the floor of the breast a bit salty, however not unpleasantly so. The meat within the heart, with no Creole seasoning, was moist and had a pleasant delicate Cajun taste. It was superior!
As soon as cool, I put it in a bowl within the fridge as I had different issues to do. Later, after I went into the fridge for one thing, I discovered my spouse had been snacking, stripping off the highest layers. It was so good, and he or she just isn’t normally a fan of Cajun-like seasoning.
I reduce the breast away from the bone, divided them into three totally different parts, wrapped them, and put them within the freezer for later use.
Up subsequent, I’m pondering the thought of a Jamaican Jerk hen breast wrapped in bacon. If I may have discovered a boneless, skinless turkey breast as my unique intent, I’d have wrapped it in bacon, however no pleasure.
When you have any strategies and want to see me give it a go, I’d love to listen to them within the feedback part!
About 1stMarineJarHead
1stMarineJarHead just isn’t solely a former Marine, but in addition a former EMT-B, Wilderness EMT (courtesy of NOLS), and volunteer firefighter.
He at the moment resides within the nice white (i.e. snowy) Northeast along with his spouse and canine. He raises chickens, rabbits, goats, often hogs, cows and typically geese. He grows numerous veggies and has a bizarre fondness for rutabagas. He enjoys studying, writing, cooking from scratch, making charcuterie, goal taking pictures, and is at the moment increasing his woodworking abilities.