Roasted Garlic & Pepper Chicken/Turkey Breast
Ingredients:
1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves*
2 cups water
1 tablespoon lite salt
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lemon, cut into pieces
2 bay leaves
1 (3 to 4 pound) whole chicken or turkey breast
Preparation:
Make a brine by combining roasted garlic, water, salt, pepper and olive oil in a ziplock style bag.
Squeeze the juice from the lemon wedges into the brine and add the bay leaves. Shake to dissolve the salt.
Rinse the chicken/turkey breast thoroughly under cold running water and place the chicken in the plastic bag.
Squeeze out all the air from the bag and seal. Refrigerate all day.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the chicken/turkey breast from the brine and rinse thoroughly. Sprinkle salt and pepper generously over the chicken/turkey breast. Place the chicken/turkey breast on a rack in a roasting pan, breast-side up. Roast for about an hour, until a meat thermometer inserted into the meatiest part of the thigh reads 160 degrees F.
*Roasted Garlic
Roasting Garlic is not a science—anyone can do it. Freshly roasted, it can be added to soups, sauces or a myriad of other foods.
Ingredients:
1 head of garlic
olive oil
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to hot, about 450 degrees F.
Remove much of the papery skin from the head of garlic, being careful not to bust up the head. Trim the top of the head off to expose many of the clove tips.
Place the garlic on a pan that has been lined with foil for easy clean up and handling once it is cooked.
Drizzle the garlic with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and roast for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the head is soft and lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool until you can easily handle it. Can be used immediately or removed from the skins and chilled for a couple to three days if properly covered.
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