Miss Hunter Turkey

Turkey cacciatore? What is this, we’re on a diet now? Where’s the chicken? Since when did the turkey start runnin’ around like it’s some kinda woodland fugitive? ...Alright. Alright. Lemme tell you somethin’. The tomatoes, they got that goin’ on. Red peppers, nice little sweetness. Onions cooked down right, not that crunchy nonsense. And the capers…Capers. These little salty grenades. You don’t see ’em comin’, then boom! flavor right in the teeth. It’s lighter than chicken cacciatore. Not as heavy. You don’t feel like you gotta unbutton your pants halfway through. But it still’s got that Sunday gravy vibe. Simmered. Took its time. Respectful. But I’m tellin’ you right now, if you dry out that turkey? It’s a crime. Federal offense. You keep it juicy, let it soak up the sauce, now we’re talkin’. Yeah. I’d eat this. Maybe with some bread. Sop up the sauce. Don’t waste nothin’. We’re not animals.

Ingredients

2 liters water
1/2 cup kosher salt (plus 1/2 tsp more)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 lemon
1 head garlic (plus 3 cloves more)
1 tbs thyme
1 tbs pepper corns
1 bay leaf
1 turkey breast
1 tbs olive oil
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 tomato
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp tomato paste
2 tbs capers
1 tbs fresh oregano
6-8 large basil leaves
1-2 cups turkey stock
1 tbs butter
1 tbs flour

Directions

Slice the lemon and mince the garlic. In a large stock pot, bring the water, salt, sugar, sliced lemon, minced garlic, thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaf to a boil. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Brine the turkey breast in the liquid for 4 hours to overnight in the refrigerator.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove turkey from the brine and pat dry and poke several holes in the turkey skin with a fork. Place in a sauce pan skin side down over medium low heat and render out the turkey fat from the skin, 10-15 minutes, until the skin is brown and crispy.
Increase the pan to medium high heat. Chop the red pepper, onions, tomato, and garlic and add to the pan with the tomato paste and red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until they are soft and translucent.
Add the capers, oregano, and basil to the pan with enough turkey stock to come half way up the turkey breast. Place pot in the oven and cook the turkey to 165 degrees F internal temperature.
Remove pot from the oven and let turkey rest on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Drain the stock from the vegetables and reserve both.
In a small stock pot over medium heat, melt the butter and combine with the flour to make a roux. Cook roux for 3-5 minutes, add the stock drained from the vegetables, and bring to a simmer to thicken to form a gravy. Remove from heat.
After turkey breast has rested, slice the breast to desired thickness, top with gravy and reserved vegetables.
Serve.