theArtisticFarmer: Marinated Turkey Breast or Whole Turkey

The first time I made this recipe I used about 6 pounds of turkey breast. This recipe is FANTASTIC, it keeps the turkey moist and super flavorful!

I was worried that roasting the turkey would allow it to dry out, but no worries. It was awesome!

The second time I made this recipe I doubled the marinade for a bird of about 13 1/2 pounds.

I don't buy turkey often; just because it tends to be drier and tougher than chicken. Although I got this bird on a buy a ham get a free turkey deal around Christmas time. You can't go wrong for that price!

The marinade did a great job both times! I found this original recipe from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

-about 1 tbsp fresh thyme {the original recipe called for fresh basil, but I always have my pot of fresh thyme; you could also substitute about 1 tsp dried thyme or basil}

-1/2 tsp pepper

-6 whole cloves

-1/4 tsp vegetable or canola oil

-1/4 tsp soy sauce

-2 tbsp lemon juice

-1 tbsp brown sugar

-about 6 pounds boneless turkey breast halves

Process:

1. In a bowl combine garlic, thyme, pepper and cloves. Rub all over turkey breasts.

*For the whole turkey, I combined all the ingredients, except the turkey in a large 2 gallon ziplock bag.

2. In another bowl combine oil, soy sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar.

3. Place turkey breasts in a container, pour marinade over turkey, cover, refrigerate and marinate for at least 4 hours. {I marinated mine for 3 days.}

*For the whole turkey, place the turkey in the bag and turn to coat. Place the bagged turkey in a large bowl and refrigerate to marinate. {I marinated the whole turkey for about a week; it was mostly frozen; so it thawed and marinated in this time.}

Tip: If your turkey is frozen, run it under hot tap water until the packaging is loose from the bird. Then cut away the plastic wrapping.

4. After marinating place turkey breasts on a lightly oiled baking pan.

*For the whole turkey, place they marinated turkey on a roasting rack. If you don't have a roasting rack, just place it in a large baking dish.

Tip: I also like to tuck the wings under the breasts; it stops them from burning...

{I poured the marinade over the breasts; I wouldn't do this again, it just dried up and go crispy.}

5. Bake turkey breast at 350 degrees for about 35-45 minutes; or until the center temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Tip: I poured hot water into the baking dish about every 10 minutes to stop the turkey from burning to the pan and also prevent it from drying out.

*For the whole turkey, I roasted it at 350 degrees. I tented it with a piece of foil for about the first 1/2 hour.

After 1/2 hour of baking tented, this is what the turkey looked like.

*For the whole turkey you can put hot water in the bottom of the roasting pan and just check it occasionally to make sure it doesn't dry up.

Caution: Only add hot/boiling water to the pan/dish in the oven. Cooler water could cause a glass or ceramic baking dish to shatter. If using a metal pan, still use hot/boiling water; because cool water will bring down the temp of your oven and make the turkey take longer to cook.

Here you can see how the marinade go crispy.

*For the whole turkey, bake according to package directions or until the little red "gauge" pops up, if it has one; otherwise bake until the center of the breast meat reaches at least 165 degrees.