From Greg Atkinson

When I worked as a chef at IslandWood, and environmental learning center for school-age children near my home on Bainbridge Island, I wanted to offer the kids natural, “homemade” versions of the fast foods and convenience foods they were used to. For their lunches, I baked all the sandwich bread, and I wanted to offer good cold cuts, but the only roast turkey we could find from our distributors seemed rubbery and insipid. So I developed a technique for roasting our own. Now I use the same technique to roast breasts of turkey at home. One serves as dinner and the other gets chilled for sandwiches.

Makes about 12 servings

2 boneless half breasts of organic turkey, about 3 pounds altogether
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
4 cups boiling water
4 cups ice water

1. Four hours before you plan to serve the turkey, make the brine. In a large stock pot, stir the kosher salt, brown sugar, pepper, and bay leaves into the boiling water and let the mixture steep for 20 minutes.

2. Stir in the ice water and continue stirring until the ice has melted. Plunge the turkey breasts into the cold brine and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Transfer the breasts from the brine to a roasting pan and discard the brine.

4. Roast the turkey breasts until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170°F and the juices run clear, about 40 minutes.

5. To serve hot, let the turkey rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Chill the turkey before slicing for sandwiches.
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See also Greg’s Moist and Tender Organic Turkey with Madeira Pan Gravy Recipe
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Greg Atkinson is author of West Coast Cooking, and The Northwest Essentials Cookbook, and lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Greg is Culinary Director of OrganicToGo.
Image Credit: © Bruce Macqueen | Dreamstime.com
OrganicToBe.org | OrganicToGo.com
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