Grilled Rosemary Fennel Sage Turkey Breast with Pan Roasted Vegetables

I cooked for my family this Thanksgiving and I did a trial run using a whole turkey breast, rather than a whole turkey, to try out this recipe. I found the original recipe here: Roasted Turkey with Thyme, Rosemary, Fennel, and Lemon. I modified the recipe to use my gas grill and made a fennel oil paste to coat the outside of the turkey. When I used a whole turkey, I doubled the marinade (and used a bigger pot!) to fully submerse the turkey. The marinade can be omitted, since it uses a couple bottles of wine, or the turkey can be brined. I decided on the marinade since I wanted to use up some of the wine I had around the house. After cooking was complete, my whole turkey took flight when it slid in the pan and dropped to floor once I got it back into the house (the turkey was still edible, but the pan vegetables were not). A picture of the mangled bird is included, so be careful when transporting your cooked bird.

Dropped Whole Turkey

The whole fennel seeds are toasted in a pan before adding olive oil to make a fennel flavored oil. The fennel oil mixture needs to cool before placing it into the food processor, together with the other spices to make a paste. The resulting paste will have large pieces of fennel seeds and rosemary.

A gas grill with a thermometer is necessary for grill smoking a whole turkey. Maintaining a constant temperature of 350⁰F (175⁰C) and previous experience with your gas grill will determine the total cooking time for the turkey. I have found that 12 minutes per pound (450 g.) produces the right results (again, previous experience determines total cooking time). So for a 6 lb. (2.7 kg.) turkey, the total time is about 90 minutes. The 90 minute cooking time is greater than the calculated time (which is 72 min.) because the grill needs time to come back up to temperature after the turkey is rotated halfway through the cooking time.

The size of your gas grill also matters since that will determine how many burners can be kept on for indirect cooking, which influences the ability to maintain a constant temperature. My gas grill is large enough to keep both end burners on during cooking, so I’m able to center the roasting pan with the turkey between two lit burners. For smaller gas grills, only one end can usually be kept lit for indirect cooking once the roasting pan with the turkey is placed on the grate, which might necessitate an increased cooking time. Regardless, the roasting pan should be rotated 180⁰ half way through the cooking time to even out any hot spots in your gas grill.

The turkey should rest for 30 minutes or more before carving, so don’t carve the turkey immediately after coming out of the grill since all the juices will not remain in the turkey meat and will just drain onto the cutting board. Carving is relatively simple: first remove the breast meat from the bone, and then slice each breast against the grain.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 lb.	2.7 kg.	Whole turkey breast
2	2	Bottles red wine
1 in.	30 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 cup	250 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Salt
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
		Vegetables for pan roasting

Ingredients

½ cup	125 ml.	Fresh rosemary
1 Tbs.	125 ml.	Ground sage
1 Tbs.	125 ml.	Ground black pepper
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Kosher salt
1 Tbs.	125 ml.	Whole fennel seeds
½ cup	125 ml.	Olive oil

Equipment

		Pot to thaw (if using frozen) and marinade the turkey
		Spice or coffee grinder
		Food processor
		Roasting rack
		Roasting pan
		Grill thermometer
		Gas grill

Preparation Instructions (7 Days Before Cooking)

1. If using a whole frozen turkey breast, thaw the still wrapped turkey in a pot in the refrigerator for at least 4 days.

Preparation Instructions (3 Days Before Cooking)

1. After thawing or if using a whole fresh turkey breast, take the turkey out of its wrapping. Remove any excess fat and skin from the turkey.
2. Marinate the whole turkey breast in a covered pot overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, red wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, salt, and sesame oil.

Preparation Instructions (24 Hours Before Cooking)

Turkey Breast Ready for Grilling

1. Toast the whole fennel seeds in a dry frying pan until fragrant. Add the olive oil to the pan to infuse the fennel flavor into the oil for 2-3 minutes. Turn off and remove the pan from the heat. The oil in the pan needs to cool off before adding the contents (fennel and oil) to the food processor.
2. Remove the pot containing the turkey from the refrigerator and discard the marinade, keeping the turkey breast in the pot.
3. Remove the fresh rosemary from its stalks. Use enough rosemary to pack a one-half cup (125 ml.) measuring cup and then place the rosemary into the food processor. Add the ground sage, ground pepper, and kosher salt to the food processor.
4. Add the fennel and olive oil from the pan to the food processor.
5. Turn on the food processor and mix the ingredients together to form a paste. Pieces of the fennel seeds and rosemary should be visible in the paste. Remove the paste from the food processor and rub onto the turkey breast. I find it easier to leave the turkey in the pot while rubbing the paste on.
6. Cut the pan vegetables and place into the pot with the turkey, coating the vegetables with the spice rub. If you have enough space in your refrigerator, the turkey can be placed on a rack and together with the vegetables in the roasting pan, and then placed uncovered in the refrigerator. If there isn’t enough space, leave the turkey and vegetables in the pot uncovered in the refrigerator. Leave the turkey in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Cooking Instructions

1. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator at least 2 hours before cooking. If the turkey is not already on a rack, together with the vegetables, in roasting pan, do so now.
2. Soak the wood for smoking for one hour if desired (apple and oak are a good choice). I use dry and not soaked wood. Put the smoking wood into the gas grill. Indirect heating will be used to cook the turkey, but turn on all the gas burners to preheat the grill. Once the wood starts smoking, follow the manufacturer’s instructions as to which burners to leave on for indirect cooking. My gas grill is large enough so that I can turn off the center burners and leave the end burners on for indirect cooking. The temperature of the gas grill will go well above the desired cooking temperature, but once the some burners are turned off for indirect cooking, the temperature will drop. The burners that are left on for indirect cooking need to be monitored and adjusted as the turkey cooks so that the temperature drops to and is maintained at the desired cooking temperature.
3. The turkey should be cooked for about 12 minutes per pound (450 g.), so for a 6 lb. (2.7 kg.) turkey breast, the total time is about 90 minutes. The 90 minute cooking time is greater than the calculated time (which is 72 min.) because the grill needs time to come back up to temperature after the turkey is rotated halfway through the cooking time. Place the roasting pan with the turkey in the center of the grill and cook for 45 minutes covered at 350⁰F (175⁰C). Rotate the roasting pan 180⁰ and cook for another 45 minutes covered at 350⁰F (175⁰C). Remove the turkey from the grill and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving. Remove the pan roasted vegetables and use the pan drippings to make a gravy. Maintaining a constant temperature and previous experience with your gas grill will determine the total cooking time for the turkey.