Roasted Turkey Breast or Thigh with Peach Rosemary Glaze

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/roasted-turkey-breast-with-peach-rosemary-glaze-recipe/index.html

I made this for some friends a couple weeks ago- it was a big hit.  I still think I like the salting process over the brining process...but everyone seemed to like it.   (http://wightrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/01/to-brine-or-not-to-brine.html)

The recipe calls for a boneless turkey breast- I used 2 bone in turkey thighs...basically the recipe is for Turkey parts...you could even apply the principle for a whole turkey.  Just adjust cooking time to suit what you are using.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups apple cider, plus 2 tablespoons (or unsweetened apple juice)
• 1/4 cup salt, plus more for turkey
• 3 to 5 sprigs thyme
• 3 sprigs rosemary plus 1 teaspoon chopped
• 1 (3 3/4-pound) boneless turkey breast with skin (I used 2 bone in turkey thighs)
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for turkey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (10-ounce) bag frozen peeled and sliced peaches, chopped
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups apple cider, salt, thyme and rosemary. Add turkey breast and enough water to cover the bird. Cover and let brine in the refrigerator 2 hours (or longer). 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

For the glaze:

In a small saucepan, saute onions in oil until softened. Add peaches, honey, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons apple cider (I found the peaches didn't break down to a glaze very well so at this point, I put everything in a blender and pureed it up then put it back in the pan- remember to use a cloth over the blender with hot items- they spray).  Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook until peaches break down and glaze thickens, about 12 minutes.

Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Brush with oil and season with pepper. Place turkey in a roasting pan (I put it on a rack in the roasting pan and then put a little broth in the pan to keep things moist). Cook 15 minutes until skin begins to turn golden (I found this didn't really work, so I used the broiler for 10ish minutes till skin was golden then put oven to 350). Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and brush the top generously (all of it) with the glaze. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes (for a boneless breast..my two bone in thighs took about 1 1/2 hrs). Let the turkey rest at least 10 minutes. Its temperature will continue to rise.

This glaze is spectacular! It would go great on lots of things- chicken, pork even. 

To Brine or Not to Brine

Notes on Roasting a Chicken

To brine or not to brine your chicken before roasting it is a continuous debate happening in the cooking world.  I have never brined but would like to try it to compare it to my other method (that I learned from Iron Chef Michael Symon- LOVE him!).  Chef Symon always claims that brining is not necessary and the only thing you should do is 24 hrs before cooking your chicken (or turkey), you should take a tbsp of salt and rub your bird down (massage it right in there) and then put it in the fridge till the next day. 

I have tried this method and it resulted in a super moist, well seasoned chicken with crispy skin.  Now I would like to try brining to see the difference.  Here is a link to the reasons and science behind brining and the recipe (also found below) to do so.

http://www.enjoy-how-to-cook.com/brining-chicken.html

Recipe for Brining:

One Large Container
Half a Liter of Water per pound of bird
1/4 cup kosher salt or 1/8 cup table salt per liter of water
1/8 cup of sugar per liter or water
Any other seasonings you would like to add to the brine (herbs, garlic, etc)

1. Mix the water, salt and sugar (optional) until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
2. Add the chicken to the brine so that it's completely submerged. If you need to, place something heavy over it to keep it from floating to the surface.
3. Soak the chicken in the brine for about an hour per pound of meat. The chicken should soak for at least an hour, but not much more than 12 hours.
   
   • If you have several smaller pieces of chicken, the weight of each piece determines how long it should soak for. So, a 2lb chicken would soak for 2 hours. 4 2lb chickens would also soak for two hours, but a 4lb chicken should soak for 4 hours.
   • Keep the chicken cold while you brine it! It should be in the fridge or in a cooler, or at the very least in a tub of cold water. You can add ice to the water to make sure it stays cold.
4. Remove the chicken from the brine. Rinse it thoroughly, then pat it dry.
5. (Optional) Let the chicken air dry in the refrigerator, uncovered, for about an hour. This will help the skin get crispy when you cook it.
   
   

Even if brining seems like a too big a of a deal, try the salting method next time you roast your chicken or turkey and see if you find a difference.