Recipe from Torrisi Italian Specialties
Adapted by Sam Sifton
- Total Time
- 4 hours, plus marinating
- Rating
- 4(928)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The roast turkey breast that Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone serve for lunch at their restaurant Parm in New York City is about the moistest, most luxuriously flavorful turkey available on the planet: rich and buttery, deep with rich turkey taste. They wrap a brined breast in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and place it in an intensely humid low-temperature oven that leaves the meat dense with moisture, heavy with flavor. Then they paint a glaze of honey and roasted garlic on the meat and place it in a hot, dry oven to create a crust. The result is turkey that tastes emphatically of turkey. And you can do it at home. —Sam Sifton
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Ingredients
Yield:12 servings
- 1cup kosher salt
- 1cup sugar
- 2boneless turkey breasts, 3 to 4½ pounds each
- 8heads garlic, lightly smashed but intact
- 4teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½cup honey
- 1tablespoon kosher salt
- 1tablespoon pepper
- 1tablespoon thyme leaves
For Brining the Turkey
For the Glaze
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
573 calories; 20 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 29 grams sugars; 58 grams protein; 814 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
To brine the turkey: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil with the salt and sugar. Pour into a large pot, and add 2 quarts cold water. Once the brine is cool, submerge the turkey breasts and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours.
Step
2
To make the glaze: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss the garlic heads with the olive oil in a small casserole dish, cover and roast until the garlic is soft, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Leave covered until cool enough to handle, then squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a food processor and purée. Add the honey, salt and pepper. Cover until ready to use.
Step
3
To cook the turkey: Heat oven to 250 degrees. Remove the breasts from the brine and wrap each one four times in plastic wrap and once in aluminum foil. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the center of one breast and place both on a wire rack in a roasting pan. Add water to reach to just below the rack. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees, 2 to 3 hours. Near the end of cooking time, fill a large bowl halfway with ice water.
Step
4
Remove the turkey from oven and raise temperature to 425 degrees. Without removing thermometer or wrapping, submerge the turkey in the ice bath for 5 minutes. Remove foil, plastic wrap and turkey skin. Pat dry and brush glaze liberally on all sides of the breasts. Roast until glaze is golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and serve thinly sliced, hot or cold.
Ratings
4
out of 5
928
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Cooking Notes
LynnG
Delicious! But consider:
1793 sodium!
•US Dept of Agri (USDA):2300 mg.
•Am Heart Assn (AHA):1500 mg.
•Am Diabetes Assn (ADA):1500-2300 mg.
Source: NCHR
Plastic wrap in US is made of PVC and contains di(2-ethylhexyl)adipateor DEHA. Studies in 1990s showed DEHA can cause liver tumors in mice, and other studies showed that DEHA migrates from plastic wrap into food. A 1998 study by Consumers Union tested plastic-wrapped foods and found DEHA levels higher than permitted by EU advisory committees.
Cynthia
http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/products/oven-bags/
Reynolds makes a roasting bag that is BPA free. That's what I'm planning to use.
kris
ummm, I gotta say, I don't use plastic of any sort in the kitchen anymore, not even for food storage in the 'fridge.
Not going to wrap it around meat and put that in the oven....
x
is anyone worried about BPA or other nasty plastic chemicals leaching into the food as a consequence of the heat in the oven? i don't even put plastic of any sort into the microwave for the same reason.
kris
Plastic wrap is a 100% petroleum product, a known carcinogen. Wrap it around raw meat and cook it in the oven? Not going there....
Georgina
Unfortunately most studies show that all plastic leaches endocrine-disrupting chemicals and BPA is just one of many chemicals found in plastic that is a problem for human health.
frazeej
The 24 hours allows the brine to penetrate all parts of the turkey. Instead of cutting the time, try cutting the salt in half. A brine recipe I got from AmericasTestKitchen calls for 1/2TBS NaCl per cup, which would work out to 1/2 cup NaCl per 2qts H2O (if my math is correct)
Lee
Gang - sorry to tell you, if you've ever eaten in restaurant, you've most likely eaten food that's been cooked wrapped in plastic. This is an old restaurant technique where you wrap the food in plastic then foil then cook it an alto-shaam... Definitely makes it moist though, if that makes you feel any better.
Bart
kris--please point to a scientific source that states that plastic is a carcinogen or that all petroleum products are carcinogens. I'll wait.
Leisa
This is super delicious. I was initially suspicious: white meat, cooking wrapped in plastic, and the low temp. Everything turned out beautifully. Wrapped the breasts in parchment prior to sealing with plastic wrap and foil (I dunno it made me feel better). Let the breast sit at room temp after brining for about an hour. They cooked to 135 in about 2.5 hours. Did everything else to the recipe. Maybe not a Thanksgiving staple, but a beautiful way to prepare breast when you want it.
Patti
I did this sous vide, cooled it, then into a hot oven for the crust. Probably would've been just as good had I hauled out the torch. Excellent!
GRD
Plastic wrap comes in two varieties- polyvinyl chloride which generally contain phthalate plasticizers and polyethylene which generally doesn't. Phthalates have been implicated as endocrine disrupters and contact with fatty foods at elevated temperatures will increase risk of migration into food. Check the label of your plastic wrap for instructions for microwave or oven use. As a chemist that cooks for a hobby, I never put any plastic in the microwave or oven. Why risk it?
Ed Popovitz
I really wanted to report that I loved this recipe... but I didn't. It worked out. I wanted to make cold turkey sandwiches but I found the resulting texture to be a little off-putting. It was soft and almost doughy. So tender a fork could cut through it. I'm not opposed to a tender bird but this didn't quite live up to the time and amount of work required.
Nancy Thorne
If the turkey breasts are wrapped in 4 layers of plastic and a layer of aluminum foil, I can't believe the humidity in the oven would make any difference at all. Thoughts?
Love good recipes
Hope recipe author comments on plastic concerns!
Very interested in trying this recipe in some way which bypasses heating plastic on raw meat in the oven.
Scott
I found this an outstanding recipe for a boneless turkey breast, but I had a few issues with the recipe specifics. Once I wrapped and prepared the 3.5-lb. breast, I found 250° too low an oven temp to achieve 135° at the center of a 3.5 lb. breast in less than three and a half hours. A 275° oven might have been better. Also, the garlic-laden honey glaze can burn pretty quickly in the 425° finishing stage, and burned garlic will ruin the whole enchilada. Watch carefully!
Max’s note
2023:- Dry brine (half the measurement of salt and sugar) for 24hr- Roast: 190C- Take out when meat probe is at 60C- Final roast: meat done around 172C
Christina Davison
My turkey breast is still in the oven, but I did shell the garlic and that was an ordeal. I think it would had been advisable to cut off the top of the heads before roasting. Thoughts?
cynthia t
Moist, yes. Delicious? Well…too salty, too much of the glaze. I cut the brine to 1/4 cup and only did it for an afternoon. Learned some new techniques, tried some flavors…would suggest another recipe or simply eat at parm!
Christian
Setting aside the plastics debate for a moment, is this recipe really calling for eight *heads* of garlic? That's not meant to be cloves? Seems like an awful lot, even for two full turkey breasts ...
Jennie
This turned out super juicy and deeply delicious. I followed advice in the notes to cut the garlic heads instead of baking them whole--bad idea, the exposed garlic burned, hardened, and became bitter. Wrapped my bone-in breast in parchment before plastic. 3 hours at 250 took it to 135 but it needed nearly an hour at 425 to reach 165. What a faff, but absolutely fantastic.
Walter
Any thoughts on using oiled parchment in place of the plastic wrap?
Tobalah
Oh, fer gosh sakes! Want to taste only juicy turkey, and nothing else? Chopped onion in pan and scattered on top, salt and pepper, then low and slow. Why add schmutz to a diamond?
ACinSV
I'm always amused when people comment on a recipe by substituting something almost entirely different. "Beh, meat in lasagne? Use onions instead - and skip the noodles, use potatoes!" Tobalah, you eliminated virtually EVERYTHING about THIS recipe except that it has turkey in it. (And some salt. And it was cooked instead of raw.) You could make the same comment on pretty much every other turkey recipe on the site.... Kind of the POINT of this recipe IS the garlic/honey glaze. (And the technique.)
Juliet
The first several "most helpful" notes refer, with dislike, to the fact that this turkey breast is wrapped in plastic. I don't want to do that either, so I would love to see if Sam Sifton could please give us an alternative recipe for turkey breast, one that we could then use to make sandwiches with, as he suggests in today's "What to Cook This Week".
JT
I made this tonight using parchment paper and it was a success.
Linda Slezak
question- a rolled turkey breast tied with kitchen string or a large breast that some markets call Turkey London Broil?ditto to all of the comments about using plastic - never!
John
Seems the amount of brine in the recipe is hardly enough for one let alone 2 breasts
Carole
Maybe use parchment paper in place of plastic wrap?
Christopher Zarcone
Why the ice bath? I don't get the point of heating the turkey just for hours, just to cool it, then heat it some more.
Chuck
The whole point of creating a brine is to heat the salt and flavoring ingredients until they dissolve. Then ice is added to cool down the brine so that the protein is not “cooked” in warm liquid. This works for any protein but the soaking times will vary. Give it a shot.
stephanie
i don't think christopher is talking about the brine, he's talking about putting the cooked chicken in ice water before roasting it. i'm guessing this is to pause the cooking and immediately chill the turkey down to a safe holding temp while you wait for the oven to get up to roasting temp.
ACinSV
You're cooking the *main body* of the turkey low-and-slow, just up to 135°F -- then you want it to STOP COOKING (or it will "float up" and overcook and be dry) - so you "shock" it in ice water. (This is sort of a 'cheat' on sous-vide cooking, which would work well as others have observed.) Step 2 is JUST to quickly roast and crisp up JUST the outside glazed skin at high temp. It's like "reverse sear" steak technique: cook the whole steak on low to MR, then blast the outside for the "crust".
Stephanie
We have tried this twice. The second time we upped the olive oil to 4 tablespoons and the glaze turned out much more glaze-like.
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