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Newbie has a turkey breast question.
In article >,
(Flibbyhivnif) wrote:
> for a 3 pound breast you won't need a thermometer, season, foil it or
> cover in a similar size pan 250 degrees at a rate of twenty minutes a #,
> should come out just right
Absolutely wrong, IMHO. You have NO IDEA what the starting temperature
of the meat is, and so you also have NO IDEA how long it's going to take
to get it up to the recommended 160 F. Surely the meat will not reach
160 F in the same time, whether it starts from "room temperature" or
"refrigerator temperature"? And since most opinion is that only 20
degrees later, at 180 F, the meat is "too dry", final internal
temperature *is* important.
Unless you are a professional chef, and cook the same cuts of meat day
after day in the same oven, you are hopelessly ill informed unless you
use a meat thermometer. (IMHO of course).
What I would do:
Thaw it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
Put meat on rack in 325 F oven,
Monitor with a meat thermometer for an internal temperature of 155 F to
160 F.
Remove and let stand fifteen minutes before carving.
If it were not frozen, I would recommend brining it for 10-12 hours
prior to cooking.
In fact, I cooked a brined turkey breast today (brined it overnight) on
a gas grill (indirect heat). About four and a half hours at a closed-lid
temperature of 250-275 F. Pulled it when the internal temp was 158 F by
the thermometer. I've done this several times; best turkey sandwiches
we've ever had. To repeat: I've done it several times; I *always* use a
thermometer.
Isaac
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