Turkey meat recipe. Turkey fillet to keep it soft and juicy

Slightly forgotten in times of total shortages, turkey is again increasingly becoming the main dish of a good holiday table, and in our usual daily menu, turkey dishes are once again starting to take their rightful place. Indeed, despite the fact that thanks to American cinema today, the turkey is most often associated with the American Thanksgiving holiday, this delicious bird was known in Russia long before the appearance of American films. Already at the beginning of the 13th century, a wide variety of recipes for preparing “Indian chicken” appeared in Russian cookbooks. And today, a juicy, soft, fragrant roasted turkey becomes a real pride of the hostess who managed to cook it. But, unfortunately, expectations do not always correspond to reality, in which an improperly cooked turkey turns out to be dry and tasteless. To save you from unnecessary trouble and disappointment, today we invite you to figure out and remember with us how to cook a soft and juicy turkey.

A well-cooked turkey is not only extremely tasty and fragrant, but also very healthy. No wonder the meat of this bird is considered one of the most dietary among all meat products. The low fat content, and therefore the very low cholesterol content, makes turkey an indispensable product for those who follow weight loss diets. In addition, the protein of turkey meat is absorbed much better than the protein of chicken and even rabbit meat, which means that the turkey saturates much faster. Of course, turkey meat is an excellent source of many trace elements. Among them are almost all B vitamins, vitamin A, E and K, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. But more importantly, turkey meat is hypoallergenic, which means it is perfect for baby food and for the nutrition of pregnant and lactating mothers, and even for the nutrition of patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

However, we are much more interested in the culinary qualities of this delicious bird. A wide variety of dishes are prepared from turkey. It is fried and baked, boiled and stewed, turkey is cooked in batter and deep-fried, excellent kebabs and grilled dishes are obtained from turkey. And yet, the main, most common and favorite way to cook a festive turkey, of course, was and remains the roasting of the whole bird carcass. And this is where the snag often arises when an improperly cooked bird comes out too dry and tough. For many housewives who are not yet too confident in the kitchen, such a failure disappoints and even makes them completely exclude the turkey from their menu. And absolutely in vain. After all, cooking a delicious, juicy and soft turkey is not at all as difficult as it might seem at first glance. It is enough just to understand the intricacies of choice and small culinary tricks for preparing this bird.

Today, the Culinary Eden website has collected and recorded for you the most important tips and culinary secrets that will definitely help you and tell you how to cook a soft and juicy turkey.

1. When choosing a turkey, try to turn your attention to chilled rather than frozen poultry whenever possible. Steam chilled turkey always turns out more fragrant and juicy. If you can only buy a frozen carcass in your store, then defrost it correctly: thaw the turkey as slowly as possible by placing it in the lower compartment of the refrigerator. This slow defrosting will allow you to retain most of the moisture, making the bird more juicy and tender. In addition, when buying a turkey, choose a smaller carcass: the simplest rule for choosing any bird works great here - the younger the bird you choose, the more tender and softer its meat will be, and therefore the dish prepared from it. By the way, it will take much less time to cook a turkey of small size and weight.

2. Of course, before buying, be sure to check the freshness of the bird you have chosen. A good fresh turkey has moist, tender skin of a light, slightly yellowish hue. The weathered skin of a turkey will tell you about its improper storage and far from the first freshness; excessively rough skin, its excessive yellowness will tell you that the seller is cunning, trying to sell you an old bird. The meat of such a turkey will be tough and dry. Don't forget to smell your chosen bird before buying. A good fresh turkey has a pleasant sweet smell. Any extraneous odors, the smell of ammonia or mustiness will tell you that the bird offered to you is no longer fresh - nothing tasty can be cooked from a spoiled turkey. Be sure to inspect the turkey carcass before buying. A good fresh bird will delight you with well-fed breasts and legs with dense and elastic meat. Press down on the turkey with your finger in the meatiest part of it - the hole left by your finger should immediately disappear. If the pit after pressing remains for a long time, it is likely that you are offered a turkey that is stale or frozen and thawed again more than once.

3. Be sure to soak the turkey in salt water before cooking it. This culinary technique will not only nourish the bird carcass with additional moisture, but also allow the turkey meat to be salted evenly inside. Here it is only important to correctly calculate the amount of salt in the brine and the soaking time. For a whole turkey carcass for four liters of water, you need to take 400 gr. coarse salt, soak a whole turkey carcass in this brine for 12 hours. If you want to cook only part of the turkey, for example, only breasts or wings, then prepare the brine at the rate of 50 gr. salt per liter of water, and the soaking time of individual parts is calculated based on two to three hours for every 500 gr. bird weight. The brine is prepared as follows: the water is brought to a boil, all the salt is dissolved in hot water, and then the brine is cooled to room temperature. Soak the turkey in the already chilled brine. In addition to salt while preparing the brine, you can add your favorite herbs and spices to it, which will make your turkey even more tasty and aromatic. To give poultry meat extra tenderness, you can use carbonated mineral water, beer or apple cider instead of water to prepare the brine. Of course, in this case, the salt will have to be diluted without heating the liquid.

4. Remove the well-soaked turkey from the brine and thoroughly blot excess moisture from the outside and inside. The next step in preparing the bird for baking or frying is oiling. You can use regular butter that has been warmed to room temperature, or you can use herb-infused butter. In order to preserve the juiciness of the turkey meat, you will need to generously grease the entire bird with a generous layer of butter, and in the breast area, be sure to put a few pieces of butter right under the skin. In addition, be sure to put a 100-gram stick of butter inside the bird. Butter will help you keep most of the juices inside the turkey meat, and it will also give the finished dish a pleasant taste and aroma. If you decide to use spicy oil, then your bird will turn out even more tasty and fragrant.

5. By the way, making spiced turkey butter is not difficult at all. Thoroughly wash and dry one bunch each of thyme, basil and rosemary. Remove any coarse twigs, and finely chop the remaining tender leaves. Remove from the refrigerator in advance and warm to room temperature 300 gr. butter. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a blender bowl, pour in herbs and scroll everything together for just a few seconds. Transfer the butter to cling film, wrap it in the form of a sausage and put it in the refrigerator for a day. If you haven't got a blender or food processor yet, simply mix the oil and herbs together, then carefully mash everything together with a potato masher. In winter, instead of fresh herbs, you can use the same dried herbs by adding one tablespoon of each type of herb to the oil. Such a spicy oil perfectly sets off the taste of turkey meat without clogging it, but only supplementing it with new notes of aroma.

6. If you want your turkey to be truly juicy and tender, skip stuffing the carcass. Even if your mother or grandmother insists that this is an absolutely necessary tradition - refuse! The thing is that during baking, the heat of the oven roasts the stuffed turkey only on the outside, and by the time the bird is well-fried on the inside, its meat will completely dry out and become tough. That is why a traditional stuffed turkey is always either too dry on the outside or half-baked on the inside. If the turkey is not stuffed from the inside with anything but a small piece of butter, then it simultaneously and evenly warms up both inside and out, which reduces the cooking time, thereby maintaining the tenderness and juiciness of the poultry meat.

7. Temperature control is very important when roasting a turkey. It is easiest for those who own a cooking thermometer: the turkey is ready when the temperature inside the meatiest part of it has reached 70 ° C. However, an excellent juicy turkey can be cooked without resorting to the use of a thermometer. Calculate the roast time for poultry based on 20 minutes per pound of turkey at 200°C. It’s even better to roast the turkey by lowering the temperature in the oven in succession. Start roasting the turkey at 250°C for the first 20 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 200° and roast the turkey by weight for 15 minutes for every pound of poultry. Then lower the temperature to 170°C and roast the turkey until cooked through for another 20 to 30 minutes. This temperature-graded roasting of poultry will allow you to get perfectly cooked, juicy, tender and at the same time well-cooked turkey.

8. Traditionally, a turkey is cooked breast-side up on a baking sheet. However, most modern chefs agree that the traditional way is not at all as good as it used to be. A turkey is much juicier if you start roasting it breast-side down, and then, after about 30 to 40 minutes, carefully flip it breast-side up and continue roasting. Thus, it turns out that all the juices that abundantly flow from the bird at the first stage of roasting do not flow from the breast, but, on the contrary, soak it, making the driest dietary white meat of the turkey breast especially juicy and tender. In order to prevent the turkey breast from sticking to the baking sheet and the delicate skin from being damaged when turning, it is recommended to use a special rack for roasting the turkey. However, at home you can do without it. Just crumple a large piece of foil with your hands so that you get reliable ribs on which the bird carcass will lie. In addition, a roasting rack or a makeshift foil rack will allow the heat to evenly cover the entire surface of the bird, which means it will bake much more evenly than a turkey just laid on a baking sheet.

9. Another way to cook a perfectly juicy whole turkey is to deep-fry it. This method is suitable only for those who have their own garden plot. It is not worth repeating this procedure in a city apartment. You will need a deep pot, deep enough to fit the whole bird of your choice and leave at least 20 centimeters of free space on top. Fill a saucepan half full with vegetable oil and heat the oil over high heat for 20 minutes. Drain the turkey carcass, well soaked in brine, as thoroughly as possible from the outside and from the inside. Using a long skewer, gently lower the turkey into the simmering oil. Be extremely careful - even a small amount of water can lead to serious boiling and splattering of boiling oil! Drain the turkey as thoroughly as possible! Deep-fry the turkey over low heat until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Carefully remove the cooked turkey from the oil in the pan and place on a wire rack to drain excess oil. Of course, this way of cooking a turkey is quite dangerous and not suitable for everyone, but as a result you will get an excellent fried bird - tender and juicy inside with a bright, fragrant crispy crust. However, you don't have to take risks. If you really try, you can buy a special electric fryer, designed just for cooking large poultry as a whole. You probably won't be able to find one at your local electrical store, but it's possible to get one online.

10. There is another relatively simple way to cook a whole turkey so that it turns out juicy and soft. To do this, you will need a special bag or sleeve for baking. The only difficulty here is to find a roasting bag large enough for sale, which could fit such a large bird as a turkey. Otherwise, everything is very simple. Soak the turkey carcass in brine with spices, rub it with spices and a little butter. To bake in a bag of oil, you need very little. Place the prepared carcass in a bag or sleeve for baking and carefully tie the open ends of the bag. Lay the turkey on a baking sheet, make a couple of small holes in the top of the bag and bake the turkey in an oven preheated to 200 ° at the rate of 20 minutes for every pound of bird carcass. A turkey cooked in a roasting bag is soft and tender. The only downside to this cooking method is that your bird won't get that mouth-watering crispy crust that traditionally cooked turkeys get. However, this is easy to fix by roasting the finished turkey under the top grill of the oven for 10 minutes on each side.

And on the pages of "Culinary Eden" you can always find even more useful tips and proven recipes that will definitely tell you how to cook a tender and juicy turkey.

Aztec poultry is an important source of protein for the human body. Dietary turkey meat is prepared quite quickly, it is easy to cook a variety of healthy dishes from it without increasing your own weight, to the delight of loved ones.

Low-calorie turkey meat, which has a smooth fibrous structure and contains a minimum of fat, takes its rightful place in many modern health or medical diets.

Regular consumption of turkey is recommended for pregnant and lactating mothers, as it helps to saturate the body with essential vitamins (A, E, K, F of group B), numerous trace elements (potassium, magnesium, sodium, iron, selenium, manganese, iodine).

Phosphorus, in the amount of 100 g - almost like in fish. The high protein content of turkey meat is good for children and middle-aged people, but has its limitations for older people.

Turkey meat is universal, it can be cooked in any usual way - boil, fry, smoke, bake, cook minced meat for cutlets or meatballs. Turkey harmoniously combines with vegetables and natural herbs - thyme, basil, rosemary.

The calorie content of turkey significantly depends on the method of preparation of meat. The range is: 195 kcal. - boiled fillet; 285 kcal. - meat fried in oil.

Features of choosing and cooking turkey

In the supermarket (or market), it is better to choose chilled slaughtered poultry. Frozen meat loses some of its flavor and juiciness. To select a fresh, young turkey, just follow these simple rules:

• pay attention to the color of the meat: the carcass of a really fresh turkey has a pink shade of gray; the legs and thighs of the bird should be substantially darker than the breast (because it is red meat);
• in a young turkey, the brisket bone ends in cartilage, not hard bone; press on the upper edge of the carcass;
• if the market has any doubts about the quality of the turkey, lightly set the skin of the carcass on fire with a lighter - if the meat is treated with antibiotics, a sharp smell of rubber will appear.

When buying a freshly frozen turkey, pay attention to the following points:

• the older the bird, the darker its fat;
• there should be no ice buildup on the carcass;
• there should be no bruising or spots on the carcass (this is evidence of repeated defrosting).

Turkey is a dietary meat, it has a rather lean, neutral taste. Therefore, for use in the festive menu, it should be marinated with fragrant herbs and spices. Due to the high sodium content in this meat, the dishes are tasty even with minimal use of table salt.

How to Roast a Whole Turkey in the Oven

As soon as it comes to a whole roasted turkey, associations with Thanksgiving, the celebration of Christmas, and a fun holiday feast immediately come to mind.

Let's start with the products:

• carcass of a young turkey (about 5 kg);
• 4 apples (preferably Antonovka);
• 120 g of olive oil;
• 70 g of honey;
• a head of garlic;
• 40 g of table salt;
• 2 packages of spices "Italian herbs";
• 5 g ground nutmeg;
• 30 g of table mustard;
• 5 g black ground pepper.

The preparation of the festive dish will take about 8 hours, but the hostess will be free for part of this time (pickling - 2 hours, baking - 4.5 hours). The calorie content of the dish is 235 kcal, the number of servings depends on the size of the turkey.

In order for a large bird to be properly soaked, it should be marinated in advance, at least 2 hours in advance (with an approximate carcass weight of 5 kg), more is better.

First, wash and dry the bird with a paper towel. Then we prepare the marinade from all the listed spices, salt, peeled, chopped garlic, honey and olive oil. We generously grease the turkey with marinade (outside and especially inside), leave to marinate.

My apples, cut into 4 slices, clean from seeds and partitions. Fold them around the carcass, directly into the marinade. After the specified time, we stuff the bird tightly with apples, connect and fasten the edges of the skin with wooden toothpicks.

Preheat the oven well first. We cover a deep sheet with foil, put the carcass stuffed with apples on it, pour 2.5 cups of water, completely cover the turkey with foil. We put the roast in the oven for 3 hours.

Turkey Fillet Dishes: Simple and Delicious Recipes

Turkey fillet cooks quickly, goes well with a variety of products, while containing a minimum of calories. The use of turkey fillet in the festive menu allows you to at least slightly reduce the overall calorie content of the feast.

Festive turkey fillet salad with feta balls

The original new salad will certainly decorate the festive table. It looks great on a large platter, and when served individually. Prepare the necessary ingredients (for 8 servings):

• 350 g turkey fillet;
• 200 g feta cheese;
• 100 g of wheat croutons with garlic;
• 150 g thick mayonnaise;
• 2 tangerines;
• 1 fork iceberg lettuce;
• 250 g of bell pepper;
• 1 leek;
• 70 g fresh dill;
• 5 g black ground pepper;
• 15 g of garlic;
• 30 g of toasted sesame;
• 40 g soy sauce;
• 80 g olive oil.

The salad is prepared in 40 minutes, the calorie content of the dish is 210 kcal.

Cheese balls can be prepared ahead of time. All that remains is to chop the vegetables, fry the meat, collect and season the salad.

Begin. Dill greens should be washed, dried with a towel, finely chopped. Peel and then mince the garlic clove. Mix feta with herbs and garlic, add black ground pepper. With wet hands, form neat balls with a diameter of 1 cm. Ready-made balls must be cooled for serving.

Cut the fillet across the fibers, into small sticks. For the marinade, mix 20 g of soy sauce, 40 g of olive oil, 10 g of sesame seeds. We send the turkey sticks to the marinade for 20 minutes.

At this time, prepare the vegetables. Wash and dry lettuce leaves, wash and clean peppers and leeks. Cut the bell pepper into strips, the white part of the onion into thin rings. Lettuce is better to tear with your hands. At the same time, we will clean 1 tangerine, disassemble it into slices, remove all films.

Refueling. Add to the mayonnaise 20 g of soy sauce, chopped garlic clove, black pepper. Squeeze out the juice of one tangerine. Mix carefully.

We heat the pan, fry the pieces of turkey in the remaining olive oil (over medium heat). The main thing is not to overdry.

Put vegetables, lettuce, turkey on a dish. Decorate with croutons, mandarin slices and feta balls, sprinkle with sesame seeds, pour dressing.

Turkey fillet with pineapple and cheese in the oven

Chops - always in honor. This recipe invites you to enjoy the extraordinary tenderness and original taste of turkey chops, without unnecessary ingredients. You will need a small set of products: (for 6 servings):

• 1 kg of turkey fillet;
• 1 can of canned pineapples (preferably rings);
• 5 g dry ground ginger;
• 10 g curry;
• 70 g cream 33% fat;
• 300 g of plain cheese;
• 25 g salt.

Cooking time - 45 minutes, calorie content - 85 kcal.

Turn on the oven immediately. Cut the turkey fillet across the grain into thin slices (1.5 cm). Beat well, grease with a mixture of ginger and curry, pour cream and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

We cover the sheet with foil, measure the second layer of foil to cover the chops on top. We rub the cheese on a coarse grater, open the pineapples. Salt the chops on both sides, put them on a sheet. Drizzle each chop with cream. Put pineapple rings on top, sprinkle with grated cheese.

We close the sheet with a layer of foil, put the turkey fillet with pineapples in a hot oven. The foil must be removed after 20 minutes to brown the cheese. Roast will be quite ready in 30 minutes from the start of baking.

How to cook delicious turkey thigh with potatoes

A significant plus of the proposed recipe is that the side dish and the festive meat dish are cooked at the same time, without much participation of the cook, on one sheet in the oven. The task of the cook is the preparatory stage, and then only to keep an eye on the process, pouring fragrant juice over the roast. You will need the following products (for 6 servings):

• chilled turkey thigh (about 1.5 kg);
• 200 g of onions;
• 30 g of garlic;
• 70 g of chili pepper;
• 10 g rosemary;
• 10 g thyme;
• 30 g of salt;
• 175 g butter;
• 150 g of vegetable oil;
• 300 g potatoes (medium size).

A thigh with potatoes is cooked for 2.5 hours (including 1 hour for pickling, plus 1 hour for baking). The calorie content of the dish is 265 kcal.

Wash thigh well and pat dry with paper towel. Without breaking the outer skin, with a sharp thin knife we ​​make several punctures in the thigh, for deep penetration of the marinade.

In this recipe, not only meat, but also potatoes will be marinated before baking. We will prepare different marinades, since two goals are pursued: to make the turkey juicy and spicy; provide the potatoes with an appetizing golden brown crust.

First, prepare the marinade for the meat. Mix thyme, rosemary (without hard twigs) and part of hot red pepper (50 g) with butter (soft). Add chopped garlic, salt, finely chopped onion, and part of vegetable oil (80 g), mix well.

Brush the turkey thigh generously with the marinade. It's just great if the spicy sauce is poured into the prepared punctures. Done, leave the meat to marinate for 1 hour.

We clean the potatoes, cut into 4 slices. Small young potatoes can simply be washed and dried, then cooked in their skins without cutting. In the remaining vegetable oil (70 g), add hot chili pepper (20 g), stir.

Brush the potatoes with this sauce and leave to marinate. It is better to salt the potatoes later, already on the sheet, immediately before baking.

Turn on the oven in advance so that it is really hot. Place the thigh on a large sheet, send to the oven. The meat will be ready in an hour.

Forty minutes is enough for potatoes, we will add it after 20 minutes, after salting it. During baking, the turkey should be poured over with melted fat as often as possible (3-4 times).

Recipes of minced turkey dishes

You can cook minced meat yourself, or buy ready-made. The most successful option is to buy chilled meat in the supermarket, where customers are twisting the purchased meat with an industrial meat grinder for free. The buyer saves his time, while always being sure of the freshness of the purchased minced meat.

Diet cutlets in the oven

An interesting recipe for turkey cutlets with vegetables is prepared without the use of bread and butter. These bright cutlets are baked in the oven, so they do not contain carcinogenic substances. To prepare 10 cutlets you will need (for 5 servings):

• 600 g minced turkey;
• 1 egg;
• 50 ml of fresh kefir 2.5% fat;
• 1 yellow bell pepper;
• 70 g fresh dill;
• 50 g green basil;
• 250 g potatoes;
• 150 g carrots;
• 120 g of onions;
• 25 g salt;
• a pinch of ground black pepper.

They can be prepared from minced meat in 50 minutes, calorie content - 190 kcal.

Turn on the oven immediately so that it warms up well. Peel and wash vegetables. Wash greens, dry with a towel, finely chop. Carrots and potatoes can be grated on the smallest grater, and it is better to chop onions in a meat grinder. Cut bell pepper into small squares. Lightly beat the egg with salt and black pepper.

Add a beaten egg, chopped vegetables and chopped greens to the minced meat. Knead the minced meat with your hands, almost as you usually knead the dough. Minced meat should lag behind the hands.

Cover the sheet with parchment. Shape into patties and lay out on a sheet. Put the tray in the oven for 40 minutes. Cutlets are ready when absolutely clear juice flows from them when pierced.

Roll with prunes and apples

From the prepared minced turkey, a juicy stuffed roll is obtained, which is good both hot and as a cold appetizer. You will need:

• 700 g minced turkey;
• 1 egg;
• 70 g of semolina;
• 5 g black ground pepper;
• 40 g butter;
• 15 g of salt;
• 1 sour apple;
• 150 g pitted prunes.

Cooking will take 1 hour, the calorie content of the roll is 230 kcal.

Turn on the oven immediately. Break the egg into the minced meat, add black pepper and salt. Add mango, mix well. We clean the apple from the peel, seeds and partitions. Cut into thin strips. Prunes cut into thin slices.

We spread the minced meat in an even layer of 1.5 cm on the foil moistened with water. We form a rectangle measuring 30 × 40 cm. Lay out the filling along the long side, carefully wrap the roll with the help of foil.

Carefully lay the roll on a sheet covered with foil, grease it with butter on top. Wrap in foil and bake in a hot oven. The total baking time is 40 minutes, after 30 minutes you can remove the top foil so that the roll is browned.

What to cook with turkey liver

From the turkey liver, it is worth preparing a tender pate, which is very popular with children. You will need a minimum of products:

• 400 g of turkey liver;
• 200 g butter (soft);
• 150 g carrots;
• 150 g of onion;
• 20 g of salt;
• 2 g ground black pepper;
• 5 peas of allspice.

Cooking time - 45 minutes, plus a couple of hours for solidification. Calorie pate - 230 kcal.

Wash and dry the liver, peel and wash the vegetables. Cut the carrot into 3 parts, put 2 onions whole. Put the vegetables in a heavy-bottomed pot (or goose dish) first, then the liver.

Half fill with water, add allspice and salt. Put on medium heat, wait until it boils and remove the foam. Reduce the heat to a minimum, simmer the liver with vegetables for another 25 - 30 minutes under the lid. Turn off the gas and open the lid to cool the liver a little.

We scroll the hot stewed liver with vegetables through a meat grinder. Onions can be pre-pressed slightly. Stir the pate, add black ground pepper, gently add soft butter to the pate. We send the finished pate to harden in the cold.

Cooking turkey meat is easy, this product gives a wide field for the culinary imagination. A few tips to make cooking enjoyable:

• if you need to quickly marinate the meat, place it in a plastic bag (along with the sauce), let out the air and tie the bag - the meat will marinate much faster;
• in recipes from turkey fillet (or minced meat), it is preferable to use butter and sweet milk cream (the dish will turn out juicy);
• if, according to the recipe, it is necessary to add vegetables to the minced meat, it is better to chop them using a meat grinder mesh with minimal holes.

Bon appetit!

The recipe for a delicious turkey with herbs is in the next video.

Questions about how to cook a soft and juicy turkey breast are natural when dealing with such lean meat. Turkey fillet, although it is high in protein, does not contain fat at all, and therefore it is very difficult to eat, especially if you have cooked it incorrectly. We will reveal the secrets of preserving the juiciness of the bird in the following recipes.

How to make a turkey soft and juicy?

The most obvious way to add juiciness to a dish is to add fat to its composition. Yes, this is not the most pleasant option for those who eat turkey during a diet, but it is perfect as a dinner dish.

Ingredients:

• turkey fillet - 1.2 kg;
• - 45 g;
• lemon - 1/3 pc.;
• garlic - 1/2 head;
• dry white wine - 180 ml;
• sprigs of thyme - 4-5 pcs.

Cooking

Before you make the turkey fillet soft and juicy, it must be prepared. After rinsing the pulp, it is cleaned of possible films and veins, dried and proceed to rubbing with oil. We will use not ordinary, but flavored oil (it can be prepared for future use and stored in the freezer). For him, the soft butter itself is rubbed with a pinch of salt, lemon juice, garlic puree and thyme are added. The resulting mixture is distributed over the dried fillet and spread it on a baking sheet. From above, the bird is poured with wine, and then baked at 200 degrees for half an hour.

Another guarantor of the juiciness of the bird is foil or a baking sleeve. Together with oil, this technology will help to retain the maximum meat juice and keep the softness of the bird.

Ingredients:

Cooking

Dry the washed turkey fillet, and then rub with a mixture of salt with paprika and hot sauce. You can leave the piece to marinate for half an hour, and if you don’t have time, then rub it with soft oil immediately and wrap it with a sheet of foil.

Cooking in the framework of this recipe takes place in stages: first, the meat quickly grabs the crust on the outside, while holding all the juice inside, and therefore the bird is placed in an oven preheated to 210 degrees. Since the meat is delicate, the temperature is immediately lowered to 180 and baked for another 45-55 minutes. Readiness is best checked with a thermometer (not higher than 73 degrees). The finished piece is freed from the foil, and then left at room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting.

The meat of this bird is cooked in different ways - stewed, fried, boiled, steamed, cutlets, fillings for flour dishes, rich broths. But a whole roasted turkey is still a favorite of the festive menu.

What is useful meat

Turkey selection

Turkey preparation

Cooking time

What to stuff and lubricate

Subtleties of baking

Success Secrets

1. During the cooking process, when the turkey has a crust, pierce it in several places with a fork. The juice will pass into the carcass, and the meat will be juicy evenly.
2. In the first hour of cooking, it is better to water the broth or juice that stands out every 20 minutes. It is more convenient to water the bird with a pastry syringe.
3. We recommend roasting the turkey in the oven on a medium or low rack so that the top crust of the bird does not burn.
4. The dishes or a baking sheet with a bird must be turned over from time to time so that the color of the meat is beautiful and uniform.
5. Even after calculating the cooking time using the standard formula, check the meat as often as possible. In this case, you can adjust both the time and the oven mode.

Let me tell you a secret: turkey fillet is an ideal product for a family dinner, hearty, tasty and healthy. Tender meat charges with vitamins and energy. Iron in it is almost twice as much as in beef. And in terms of phosphorus content, the turkey is not inferior to sea fish. In addition, it promotes weight loss, has a low calorie content, and does not cause allergies.

It is impossible to remain silent about the rejuvenating and tonic effect, it is provided by the selenium present in the meat. And, finally, one more important advantage of turkey fillet. Recipes on how to cook mouth-watering dishes deliciously will take a maximum of half an hour of precious evening time. A quick dinner can be built using.

Fried and stewed meat

Turkey in sour cream sauce

700 g of chopped turkey fillet in a pan with melted butter, salt and sprinkle with spices (ground nutmeg, cinnamon). For the sauce, wash pitted raisins (50 g), boil them in 150 ml of water. Add a teaspoon of flour fried in cow butter until golden brown, mix well so that no lumps form. Dilute with a glass of sour cream. Pour the fried fillet with the resulting sauce. Simmer over low heat for 35 minutes. Serve with rice and lettuce.

Turkey with mushrooms Stroganoff

Meat, preferably darker, from the legs, (400 g) cut into narrow strips, stew in butter. Chop, not very finely, one onion and 150 g of fresh or frozen porcini mushrooms. Put in a stewpan with a turkey, simmer under the lid until cooked. Add 4 tablespoons of fatty sour cream and one - mustard, salt, pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, turn off after 5 minutes. Garnish with boiled or baked potatoes, chopped herbs, fresh or pickled cucumbers.

Turkey fillet with green beans




Brown the turkey fillet pieces in a frying pan. Divide bean pods (300 g) into 2-3 parts, boil until soft in salted water. Vegetable broth does not need to be poured, it is useful for stewing. Peel and chop a couple of medium onions, two cloves of garlic. Wash and chop 3 ripe tomatoes. Add the vegetables to the meat, lightly fry, season with salt, pepper, cilantro and parsley. Pour half a glass of broth in which the beans were cooked and simmer for a quarter of an hour. The dish turns out surprisingly fragrant, light, dietary.

Crispy breaded nuggets

How to cook breaded turkey fillet, homemade nuggets loved by children? Very simple, and, most importantly, fast. First, decide what you will roll the meat in. There are several compositions to choose from: crushed crackers, nuts, sesame seeds, corn and oat flakes.

Fillet, we advise you to take a kilogram so that there is enough for everyone, cut into bars, lightly beat off. Grate onions (1 piece), stir it with a raw chicken egg, 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Put in a mixture of a tablespoon of flour and sunflower oil (odorless), salt, pepper. Pour the prepared meat with it, marinate for an hour at room temperature. Breaded in oatmeal, fry nuggets in heated vegetable oil. Tasty!

Spicy turkey in soy sauce

Turkey fillet - in the oven

Turkey fillet: recipes for how to cook this bird deliciously contain some secrets. The meat will not be dry if placed in a special baking bag, in foil, overlaid with vegetables or juicy fruits (apples, pears, oranges). It is not recommended to subject it to prolonged heat treatment. Portioned pieces are kept in the oven for 25 minutes, the roll - no more than an hour, periodically pouring over the released juice.

Fragrant turkey with rosemary

The simplest dish of turkey fillet in the oven. Wash the breast without bones and skin (1 kg), pat dry with a napkin, grate with salt, white pepper and rosemary powder. Wrap tightly in food foil, put in a metal form. Place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. Turn off after 30 minutes, but leave the meat for 2 hours in the oven. It is not recommended to even open the door at this time. They eat baked fillets both hot and cold. Make sandwiches, add to salads.

By the way, you can cook the breast in the sleeve. In this case, it is placed in a still cold oven and baked for exactly an hour. Instead of rosemary, meat can be flavored with garlic and red pepper or hot adjika.

Turkey fillet in kefir marinade

Pork, lamb are often soaked in kefir, an excellent shish kebab comes out. How to cook turkey fillet in the oven in a similar way? Mix half a liter of 1% kefir with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt, spices and herbs of your choice. Prick poultry meat (1.5 kg) in several places with a sharp knife and immerse for 4 hours, or longer, in the prepared marinade.

Then bake the turkey fillet in the oven, wrapped in foil. It will be ready in 25 minutes. Cut the meat into portions, put a mug of tomatoes and mozzarella on each. Return to oven for 3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Breast stuffed with prunes and mushrooms

For the filling, defrost 200 g of mushrooms. If the mushrooms are large, cut like onions (70 g), prunes (100 g) and garlic (2 cloves). First, fry the mushrooms, after 3-4 minutes, season them with chopped garlic and dried thyme. Then add onions (half rings), and finally - prunes with straws.

Grate the breast (600-700 g) with salt and pepper. Make a deep incision, like a pocket. Put the filling of mushrooms and prunes into it, fastening it with toothpicks. Wrap stuffed meat in foil, bake at 200 degrees for an hour. By the way, from time to time it is recommended to water the turkey fillet with the secreted juice. At the end of cooking, for 15-20 minutes, the foil should be opened so that the meat is browned.

Turkey steaks with potatoes and cheese

Turkey fillet (700 g) cut across the fibers into portioned pieces, about a centimeter thick. Beat a little for softness, sprinkle with spices. Fry the steaks on both sides. Saute onion rings (1 onion) in the same oil. Boil seven medium potatoes until half cooked. Cut into circles, like one large tomato.

Grease the bottom and sides of the mold with vegetable oil. Put the meat in the first layer, the stream - fried onions, potatoes and tomatoes. Top with sour cream (70 g) or mayonnaise, cover with grated cheese (100 g). At a temperature of 220 degrees, turkey fillet in the oven with a side dish is cooked for 35 minutes.

Breast in bacon

Turkey fillet, about 1 kg, divided into strips 2 by 6 cm. Soak in soy sauce (5 tablespoons), to which add salt, black or red pepper, chopped parsley and basil, garlic (3 cloves). The meat is marinated for at least 20 minutes. Then the bars are wrapped with ribbons of bacon. And stacked in rows on a small baking sheet. Keep in the oven for 40 minutes. The smoked aroma of elegant, melt-in-your-mouth rolls will surprise your home.

Many more dishes can be prepared from turkey fillet: appetizers, salads, soups, meatballs. Like to conjure in the kitchen? Check out other site recipes. For example,