Pulled Turkey Sandwich

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Boneless Turkey Breast Fillet – 1 lb (450gm)(you can alternatively use chicken breast fillet)
• Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
• Jalapeno– 1, finely chopped
• Dijon mustard sauce – 3 tbsp
• Ketchup – 5 tbsp
• Black pepper – ½ tsp
• Salt – ½ tsp
• Cilantro – 2 tbsp, chopped
• Lettuce – 1 leaf per sandwich
• Sour cream – 4 tbsp
• Bread rolls – 4

Methods:

• 1. Wash and pat dry the turkey fillet with a paper towel. Cut them in strips.
• 2. Mix in the Dijon mustard sauce, ketchup, salt, and black pepper in a bowl to make the marinade*.
• 3. Marinate the turkey strips for half hour.
• 4. In a non-stick pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the onions and saute till translucent.
• 5. Add the turkey strips, along with the marinade and the chopped jalapeno. Saute for 3-5 min.
• 6. Add 1/2 cup of water, and simmer on low-med heat, till the extra water is evaporated. Adding the extra water will allow the turkey to stay moist.
  
• 7. While cooking, break the turkey meats with a wooden spatula, so as to avoid lumping. This will give the cooked turkey, the impression of been pulled from a whole roasted turkey.
• 8. Once the turkey is cooked, arrange the sandwiches. Toast the buns on both side.
• 9. Place a leaf of lettuce on the heal(bottom-half) of the bun, topping with a generous amount of the pulled turkey, Cilantro, and 1 tbsp of sour cream. Place the crown (top-half) of the bun. Serve.**
  

Hints:
*For some brands, the mustard sauce tend to be very salty, so add only 1/2 tsp of salt. You can always add more if you need it.
**If you like it hot like me, before placing the crown, season with some more black pepper.

Roasted Turkey Breast with Herb-Garlic Butter

Servings : 4

Ingredients:

• Turkey Breast - 1, 5-6 lb, cleaned up and brined*
• Butter - 1/2 cup, at room temperature.
• Garlic cloves - 4-5, crushed
  
• Cilantro - 1/4 cup, chopped finely
  
• Italian/ Flat-leaf parsley - 1/4 cup, chopped finely
• Capers - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
  
• Ready made Pesto - 2 tbsp
• Salt & Pepper to taste.

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl, mix in the butter, garlic, cilantro, parsley, capers, pesto, salt, and pepper to make the herb-garlic butter.
• 2. Prepare the turkey breast, by cutting a slit, on each side of the breast, horizontally, to create a cavity for the spiced butter.
  
• 3. Also, on the top of the breast, make 4-5 slit marks, on the skin of the breast.
• 4. Take spoon full of the butter mixture, and generously rub it in the cavity created, stuffing the cavity with the butter on each side of the breast.
• 5. Rub the remaining butter on the top of the breast and also below the breast, on the underside.
• 6. Place some vegetables** of your choice, on a roasting tray and place the turkey breast on top, so that it sits perfectly.
• 7. Bake on 400°F(200°C) for about 1.5 hours. Check the turkey by inserting a knife on the deepest part, if the juices run clear, your turkey is cooked through.
• 8. The juices from the turkey will seep down to the vegetables and flavour them. However, there might be too much of over flowing juice that need to be reduced. So, once the turkey is cooked, take it out of the oven, remove from the roasting pan and place it on cutting board. Cover with a foil and let it to rest for 20 min.
• 9. Meanwhile, return the roasting tray with the vegetables back in the oven and roast for 20 more min. This will allow the vegetables to soak up all the juices and become crispy on the edges.
• 10. Once cooked, serve the turkey with a serving of the roast vegetables and freshly baked bread rolls.
  

Hints:
* Brinning means, soaking the turkey in a solution of water , salt, and sugar. You can also spice up your brine by adding other spices. I have used a simple solution of water, salt, and whole black peppers, and soaked the turkey breast in the solution for 2 days, refrigerated.
** I used a combination of Idaho potatoes, broccoli, baby carrots and one large onion quatered. Once peeled and cleaned, sprinkle some salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil over the vegetables before placing them on the roasting tray.