Non-traditional Thanksgiving turkey recipe: Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast
A whole turkey can often be expensive and hard to manage for even the most experienced of cooks. It can be hard to carve, too, for someone who doesn't know what you’re doing. And if the bird is too big, there will be too many leftovers. This recipe uses a turkey breast, so dark meat lovers are a bit out of luck—but the delicious, moist meat more than makes up for the loss.
Ingredients:
1 ea boneless turkey breast roast* (2-3 pounds), completely thawed, [giblets, neck,
gravy packet and string removed and discarded or set aside for another use]
1 Tbs. mustard (of choice)
2 Tbs. mayonnaise
As needed sea salt
4 Tbs. store-bought BBQ rub or homemade BBQ rub
1 Tbs., or to taste freshly-cracked black pepper
0.5 Tbs. granulated garlic or garlic powder
0.5 Tbs. dried thyme
1 pound bacon, raw
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. water
Optional:
- bread dressing or stuffing to roast underneath the boneless bird
- chicken or vegetable broth to add moisture (if necessary) to the dressing
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Rinse thawed turkey breast with cold water. Trim excess fat and skin if desired and discard. Pat the turkey breast dry and set aside on cutting board or other work surface. To ensure crispy exterior texture, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.
3. In a small bowl, combine mustard and mayonnaise.
4. In another small bowl, combine BBQ rub, black pepper, garlic, thyme. Taste, and adjust for salt, adding sea salt and adjusting with other seasonings as desired.
5. Make the bacon lattice:
- Lay down 6 pieces of bacon horizontally, one below the other on a work surface.
- Now, take another piece of bacon and lay it on top of the first piece vertically, then weave it under the second piece, over the third, and finish the row with this alternating pattern.
- Repeat weaving with the additional 5 strips of bacon until you have a checkerboard-style lattice of tightly woven bacon strips.
6. Rub the mayonnaise-mustard mixture and spread on the reserved turkey breast, making sure to work into the meat. The layer should be slightly transparent but cover every surface.
7. Next, layer on the seasoned rub mixture, (the mayo-mustard mixture will help it stick to the meat). Set aside to rest 10 minutes for flavors to absorb.
8. Invert or flip the turkey breast atop of the bacon lattice so that the top of the turkey breast touches the center of the lattice.
9. Pull the edges of your bacon lattice up and over to completely wrap the breast in bacon. Truss the bacon-wrapped turkey breast with string. Alternatively, use toothpicks to pierce the bacon and secure the lattice in place.
10. Flip the turkey back over, center-of-lattice-side-up.
11. Place the turkey on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Tent the rack with foil to prevent the bacon from burning. If you’d like, place your stuffing below the turkey to catch bacon drippings.
12. Roast the turkey for 20 minutes per pound, or until the meatiest part reaches a minimum temperature of 165°F.
- Check the temperature of the turkey after 20 minutes, and every 15 minutes thereafter.
- Remove the foil during the last 20 minutes of cooking and allow the bacon to crisp. Combine the honey with the boiling water and baste the bacon with it before returning the turkey to the oven.
- Allow to rest, tented with foil, for a minimum of 10 minutes before removing from the rack, removing any toothpicks and carving.
- If cooking dressing/stuffing underneath the roasting rack in the roasting pan, baste with broth as necessary to ensure moistness.
* Boneless Turkey Breast Roasts are often sold frozen. Thaw over 48 hours and discard the giblets etc. and gravy packet unless needed for another use. Make note of the exact weight as it will help make cook-to-finish time prediction more accurate!
