Roast Turkey Breast with Cranberry Soy Glaze is a great alternative dish to a traditional whole roast turkey. The brined succulent white meat with a sweet and tangy cranberry soy sauce can satisfy people who want regular baked turkey and others who want to try something new.
When you make turkey every year for Thanksgiving, there can be a lot of planning and preparation involved. How big a bird to feed how many guests, when to start defrosting the rock hard frozen turkey (not to mention clearing a huge space in the fridge), how many hours ahead to start roasting it to be on time for dinner, how to recycle the leftovers, etc. However, that’s part of the whole Thanksgiving deal and a fun holiday dilemma to cope with.
2020 though looks a little different for a lot of people. Because of Covid-19, having a smaller gathering, or even sadly no family and friends, may be a difficult but necessary choice for one of the year’s biggest holidays in the US. But, now more than ever, we want to eat turkey to feel some kind of normalcy in this crazy time. We therefore created a dish using more individualized small turkey breasts (turkey breast tenders) for a meal for any number of people (even though turkey is not really Japanese food). It is super easy to make and takes no time to bake, about 40 minutes. The key though to make the turkey breast moist is brining. So keep in mind you will need a few hours of prep time before cooking. That extra step makes a big difference in the taste. Cranberry Soy Glaze is also very easy to prepare while the turkey breasts are in the oven. Baste the glaze on the meat a couple of times in the last minutes of roasting. The glaze has some sugar in it, so watch carefully not to burn.
You can add side dishes like mashed potatoes and green beans if you like. We will have a suggestion of a complete meal — Thanksgiving Bento with Daigaku Imo (candied sweet potatoes) and Mame Gohan (steamed rice with green peas). Check them out too!
Roast Turkey Breast with Cranberry Soy Glaze Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 qt. water
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 turkey breasts about 12 oz each
- 1 Tbsp oil
Instructions
- Mix water and salt in a large bowl and brine turkey breasts in it. Let soak for 4 hours in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Remove turkey from brine and remove any moisture from turkey with a paper towel. Place turkey on a baking sheet. Liberally rub oil on the surface of the meat. Bake in the oven about 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer indicates 170 F inside.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a medium sauce pan and heat to boiling. Cook until slightly thickened. Let cool.
- Turn the oven up to 450 F. Move the oven rack to the top. Brush or spoon the sauce all over the baked meat and bake the glazed turkey for 2 minutes. Repeat twice, taking care not to burn.
- Let rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.
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