Turkey Breast Cooking Guide

Turkey meat isn't something you just cook at the holidays anymore. Turkey makes a great dish anytime of the year and it isn't that hard to cook. Turkey breast cooked correctly can be juicy and tender and it doesn't take that long to cook. Making a turkey breast is quite easy and you don't need a bunch of ingredients to do it. By using a cooking bag to cook the turkey breast in, you'll almost be assured a perfectly cooked piece of meat every time.

There won't be much you will need to start cooking your turkey breast. Purchase a large size cooking bag to place your breast in. You will also need a couple of celery stalks, a small onion, butter and spices such as salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary and sage. Of course, you can also use any other spice you prefer your turkey breast to be seasoned with.

Wash your turkey breast before you prepare it. You will also want to spray the inside of the cooking bag with cooking spray so the skin of the turkey won't stick to it. Rub the outside skin of the turkey with butter. Sprinkle the outside of the turkey breast with your seasonings until it is fully coated. Place the breast inside the bag and place your celery and chopped onions around the outside of it. If you are using sprigs of rosemary, you can also lay them around the turkey breast at this time. Seal the bag and the breast is now ready to cook.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees before you place the turkey inside of it. Place your bag holding the turkey breast inside of a cooking pan and place it inside of the oven. Cooking times will depend on the size of turkey breast and whether it has bones or not. The average cooking time for a bone-in breast that weights between 4 to 8 pounds is 1.5 to 2 hours. A bone-in breast weighting 10 to 12 pounds will take between 2.25 to 2.75 hours to cook. A boneless breast will not take quite as long to cook. A boneless breast weighting 2.5 to 3 pounds will take 1.25 to 1.75 hours, a 5-pound boneless breast will take 2 to 2.5 hours and an 8 to 12 pound boneless breast will take 3 to 3.5 hours. Always use a meat thermometer to check for doneness as you don't want to eat undercooked poultry. The meat thermometer should read 170 degrees when the turkey breast is fully cooked. Allow the turkey breast to cool down for approximately 15 minutes before slicing.