bacon wrapped turkey breast

Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast Recipe

Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast Recipe

It’s that time of year where everyone starts looking for new turkey recipes for the holidays and this week I want to share with you my recipe for Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast. For this one I’m using a boneless turkey breast that you can find in most all grocery stores. Typically they come frozen, so you’ll need a little extra time to thaw in the refrigerator. Overnight should do the trick. Once thawed, remove the turkey breast from the packaging and trim off the netting if present. This is used to maintain the shape of the breast since the bone has been removed. We’re going to use bacon to hold the breast shape because you can’t eat that netting and everyone knows bacon is delicious! bacon wrapped turkey breast glaze If you take the skin off, you’ll notice that both halves of the breast are present. Wrap the skin around both halves and place the breast in a shallow dish. Use your hands to shape the breast for now. For added moisture I’m using my version of a butter injection. You can buy the creole butter injection from the store if you want, but it’s easy to make your own. Creole Butter Injection:
  • 1 can chicken broth
  • 4 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce
  • ½ teaspoon of Killer Hogs AP Rub (Salt, Pepper, & Garlic)
Mix the ingredients together and use as injection for Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast. Shoot each side of the Turkey Breast with the injection moving the needle around in different spots. There’ll be some injection left over and some may even leak out of the breast. This is perfectly alright you just want to make sure you get plenty into the meat. Season the outside skin of the turkey breast with a little more Killer Hog’s AP Rub. As in any of my recipes you can play with the flavors and make them your own. Adding different flavors to the injection or using different spices that go with poultry would be a good choice. Plaited Bacon

To make the “bacon netting” for the outside of the Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast you’ll need about 1 ½ lbs of thick sliced bacon.

Use a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper and start weaving the slices of bacon together. Keep the slices as tight as possible to prevent gaps as it cooks. Place the Turkey breast on a wire “chicken rack” and carefully center the bacon weave over the top. The parchment paper makes this task easy; just peel it off once the bacon is in place. Tuck the bacon edges under the breast as tight as possible to help keep the breast shape. bacon wrapped turkey breast To smoke the breast you’ll need a grill or smoker set up for indirect cooking running at 300⁰. I’m using my Big Green Egg today, but any grill will work. Once the coals are ready, throw on 2-3 chunks of pecan wood for flavor. The Turkey breast will cook on the wire rack the entire time. Just place it on the cooking grate as soon as the grill is up and running and close the lid. Anytime you’re cooking turkey, internal temperature is the most important thing to monitor. White meat turkey needs to cook until an internal temp of 165⁰ is reached. Hold the smoker temp steady and cook the Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast for 30 minutes. At this point you’ll need a good, wired probe thermometer to accurately measure internal temperature. bacon wrapped turkey breast recipe I’m using the new Smoke Thermometer from Thermoworks for this cook. If you haven’t seen the dude yet it’s probably because it’s brand new to the market. I really like what they’ve done with this thermometer. It’s the best wireless unit I’ve ever tried. Straight out of the box it is ready to roll. smoked bacon wrapped turkey breast As the breast cooks the bacon will begin to brown. Tent the Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast with a sheet of aluminum foil once this happens to prevent it from getting too dark. When the internal temperature hits 165⁰, remove the breast from the smoker and transfer it to your cutting board. Let it hang out for 10 minutes or so before carving. You can slice this breast as thick or thin as you like. It’ll serve about 5-6 people and makes some killer Turkey Sandwiches! Print
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Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast Recipe


Ingredients

  • 4lb Boneless Turkey Breast (skin on)
  • 1 ½ lbs Thick Sliced Bacon
  • 14oz Chicken Broth
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter melted
  • 2 Tablespoons Hot Sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Killer Hogs The AP Rub

Instructions

  1. Prepare Big Green Egg or other charcoal smoker for indirect cooking at 300⁰, add pecan wood chunks to the fire for smoke flavor.
  2. If necessary, thaw turkey breast in refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove Turkey breast from packaging. If present, remove netting from around the breast
  3. Combine Chicken Broth, Hot Sauce, melted butter, and ½ teaspoon of Killer Hogs The AP Rub
  4. Inject each half of Turkey breast with injection mixture. Season the outer skin with Killer Hogs The AP Rub.
  5. Arrange bacon slices on a sheet of parchment paper in a weave pattern.
  6. Place the Turkey breast on a wire rack
  7. Place the bacon weave over the turkey breast tucking the edges underneath the breast.
  8. Smoke the Turkey breast on the wire rack for 1 ½ hours or until internal temperature reaches 165⁰. As the bacon begins to brown tent the breast with aluminum foil to keep it from turning dark.
  9. Rest the Turkey Breast for 10 minutes on cutting board and slice into desired thickness.
Malcom Reed Connect on Facebook Follow me on Twitter Subscribe to my YouTube Channel Find me on Google+ Follow me on Instagram Buy Killer Hogs Products Here Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast

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37 responses to “Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast Recipe”

  1. Adam Jones says:

    Thanks Malcolm for all the great videos (YouTube subscriber). I have a question about your bacon wrapped turkey breast. I am having trouble finding a breast that looks like yours on the video. Can you make a recommendation for a brand name I should be looking for. Thanks a lot. Looking forward to more good stuff from you. -Adam

  2. Heath says:

    Enjoy your videos just getting into smoking any tips on how to make that brine for the boneless turkey breast please thanks

  3. Seth Anglin says:

    Have you ever tried this without the bacon? I’m wanting to make one with the bacon but some weirdo’s in my family don’t like bacon so I’m making a second one.

  4. Tom says:

    Malcom,

    How does the skin turn out, is it rubbery, or does it crisp?

  5. Tom says:

    Malcom,

    How does the skin come out, is it rubbery?

  6. Ray Matty says:

    Malcom… Great recipe! I’ve been asked by family to bring this for Thanksgiving dinner. If I wrap in foil at 165 and put it in a cooler will it stay warm for a 30 minute ride? Better idea for transport?

  7. Al says:

    Any reason you chose boneless? Assume bone-in works just as well? Thanks!

  8. Sue says:

    Is this a whole trurkey breast or a half breast?
    Also mine will be 7 lb capsule I get by with 1 1/2 lbs bacon, how many inches wide and high is the bacon?

  9. JJ says:

    I’ve made this and it’s excellent but the skin was a little rubbery can I remove the skin and just use the bacon and injection to keep the turkey moist?

  10. Russ says:

    Looks great! Im going to follow this to the T. Any alternate recommendation for the injection ingredients? Why the hot sauce…just curious. Is it overpowering? Or just a hint of heat.

  11. Greg says:

    What temp do you cook the turkey breast at? Approximately how long does it take to reach 165?

  12. Greg says:

    I have a Masterbuilt Thermotemp XL smoker which is propane but controlled by a thermostat. I was going to smoke a bone in turkey breast for Thanksgiving. What temp and approximately how long will it take to smoke. Thanks.

  13. Pancho says:

    Can I cook this in a conventional oven? And if so, what cooking temp do you recommend I run the oven.

  14. donna tucker says:

    Made this one yesterday for my ham-loving family. It was sssooo good. Thanks for this one…

  15. Andrea says:

    Thank you, your turkey breast is a beauty! Would love to know the brand name for the
    injector you used so I can look for one like it. I’ve never seen one like yours before.

  16. Kevin Klein says:

    Malcom,
    I’m a YouTube subscriber, love your channel, thanks for all the great videos, have used many! I plan to smoke 2 Turkey breast and a holiday ham (your brown sugar and pineapple juice spritz recipe), all at same time on my Primo. You recommend 300 for the turkey and 225 for the ham. Can I run at 250-275 for all of it? Any concerns for either? Thanks!

  17. Nick says:

    Doing it up now on thanksgiving. Unfortunately weather not good for my smoker. Looking good in oven. I did add pecan liquid smoke to injection to compensate.Thank you for sharing!

  18. Deb Tuttle says:

    Can the bacon wrapped turkey breast be done in the oven ?
    If so what tempeture ?

    Thanks

  19. Jack Logan says:

    I really wish I could post a picture of my bacon wrapped breasts,,,, my weave was for sure rookie looking. I used my own bacon slabs and sliced it myself….. uniformity is not applicable here.

  20. Bill says:

    This is the juiciest, best tasting turkey I have ever tasted in my life and I am 76. Malcolm, it cooked just as you said without a hitch. I used a Traeger with apple pellets and the turkey was marvellous. Got raves from all my guests.

  21. David B Jones says:

    Hey Malcom,

    I am going to try this recipe next weekend and wanted to have it as a sandwich. How would you make a sandwich worthy of this recipe?

    Cheers,

    David

  22. Rahul Yadav says:

    This recipe is amazing! Everyone loved it at Thanksgiving!

  23. David Greenwood says:

    I’ve made this a number of times on my BGE and it is a family favorite. I usually don’t do the injection. The slower cooking combined with the juices make it very juicy and tender.

  24. Well explained in blog and easy to understand the article. Try this soon. Thank you.

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