Brining wild turkey breast meat and marinating before grilling, is the key to a moist, delicious meal! I defrosted a breast from last year directly in a brine. Be sure to check your freezer carefully every now and then for any forgotten game meat treasures! If your bird is fresh, place the breast meat in a brine for a few hours in the refrigerator before marinating. Leftover grilled meat can be used for appetizers the next day by slicing thin and serving on baguette slices with a horseradish mustard sauce or condiment of your choice.

Grilled Teriyaki Turkey Breast with a Citrus Twist

Ingredients:

1 wild turkey breast (~1.5 lbs.)

For brine: 1 qt cold water, 2 Tbsp kosher salt, 1 clove garlic, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, sprig of parsley or thyme

For marinade:

• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ lemon, squeeze juice
• Fresh ground black pepper and/or pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Brine turkey breast meat for a few hours and drain.  Whisk marinade ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl big enough for the turkey breast, including the rind of the lemon and orange after squeezing the juice. Pierce the turkey breast all over with a fork and place in the marinade, turning to coat and hopefully submerge the breast.  Cover and put in the refrigerator for a few hours up to a day, turning meat over and stirring a few times.  Light your charcoal and/or start up your grill. Grill the meat turning on all sides and drizzling marinade over meat for the first few turns (don’t use marinade that the raw meat was in for last five minutes of grilling to avoid cross contamination with the cooked meat.) The outside of meat should have a slight char and the inside temperature should reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the meat sit for about 5-10m minutes tented with foil before slicing to allow the juices to settle in the meat.