Herb Crusted Turkey Breasts

Herb Crusted Turkey Breasts

It has been a while since I posted an article to Kimberly's Kitchen. As my regular readers know, I love to cook and bake and I love to share my cooking with others. Turkey is often associated with the holidays; however, it can be found in the market year round and there is no reason not to serve it throughout the year.

I started with a bone-in turkey breast as that is what I had on hand. I was not interested in cooking the breasts on the bone so I sliced the breasts from the bone using a long thin bladed knife. Removing the breasts from the bone is very easy; you just follow along the rib cage carefully pulling the breast to the side so you can see what you are doing. Once the breasts are removed from the bone, remove the skin from the breasts and discard. If you like, you can marinate the breasts for an hour in a brine solution much as you would a whole turkey.

Prepare a baking dish by coating the bottom with a thin layer of cooking oil, either by pouring a bit of oil and wiping with a paper towel, or using a cooking spray. To coat the turkey breasts we are going to use a thin slurry (but not too thin) of water and flour to which we add the herbs of our choice along with some black pepper and if you desire, a pinch of salt. Arrange the turkey breasts in the baking dish and spoon the slurry over the breasts. Don't worry about the slurry that runs off and if you didn't make it too thin, you will end up with a coating on the breasts. Sprinkle fine bread crumbs over the top of the slurry; I used the bread crumbs that are also flavoured with herbs but plain bread crumbs will work as well. Finally, sprinkle a bit of your herbs over the top of the bread crumbs. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and placed in the oven set to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4. When the breasts have cooked long enough to be done, which depends on the size of the breasts, uncover the baking dish and allow the crust to brown to a nice crispness.

When the crust has browned and crisped to your liking, remove the breasts from the baking dish and place on a serving platter. You will find that some renderings from the breasts will be left in the baking dish. If you desire, you can use the renderings in the baking dish to make a very nice sauce for the breasts; serve the sauce in a side dish to allow it as an extra if your guests or family so desires. Allow the breasts to sit and slice just before serving your meal. Ce sont de bonnes mange!