My Instant Pot Turkey Breast recipe is great way to enjoy Thanksgiving without the stress of roasting a 20 pound turkey. Pressure cooking a turkey breast is a fool proof way to get delicious meat that’s not dry!
Most of the time when cooking a whole bird the breast meat drys out easily because it cooks faster than the dark meat. This recipe is also for anyone who only likes the breast meat of the turkey. If no one at your thanksgiving table likes dark meat, then roast a couple of turkey breasts and forget cooking the whole bird. It will save time and be less stressful.
Dry Brining
I’ve been dry brining my poultry for a while now. It makes such a difference in the taste and texture of the meat. My mom always wet brines our holiday turkey so I guess I’ve carried on her tradition in a similar way.
I don’t have the refrigerator space to wet brine my poultry so that’s what lead me to dry brining. Brining the meat yields a more tender, juicy meat. Brining is also known as “Salting” because salt is what you’re using for a brine. Salt helps the meat to break down and also gives the meat more flavor.
Over the past few years, I’ve been seeing more brining kits at the grocery store. These kits are already mixed with salt and spices and come with clear instructions. So, if brining makes you nervous, then I would start with a pre-mixed kit.
How to Dry Brine Your Turkey Breast
Thawing
It takes time to brine meat so ensure that your turkey breast has fully thawed in the refrigerator before starting the brining process. I put my frozen turkey breast in the refrigerator 48 hours before I begin the brining process.
Seasoning
Dry brining helps to dry the skin so it becomes crispy. This is why you’ll be adding the herbed butter to the turkey while salting. If you wait to add the herbs and butter after you’ve dry brined, then you risk tearing the skin.
Time
After you’ve salted and seasoned the turkey breast, return it to the refrigerator and allow it to rest for at least 24 – 72 hours. The longer you allow the turkey to brine, the better it will be! Make sure that you cover the dish with cling wrap before returning the turkey to the refrigerator.
Day of Cooking
I like to remove the cling wrap on the day of cooking because this allows the skin to become crispier. However, if you’re cooking a whole turkey then you would remove the cling wrap the night before you cook it.
Pressure Cooking
The Instant Pot is an easy way to cook your turkey breast. It’s not traditional, but it works! The meat is so tender just like pressure cooking a roast.
You’ll need the trivet insert that came with your Instant Pot for this recipe. It will be the first thing you add before starting the cooking portion of this recipe.
When the cooking time is complete, you’ll remove the trivet with the turkey breast on it and slide the turkey breast to a baking sheet. You’ll need to broil the turkey in the oven for about 8 minutes to brown and crisp up the skin. Once this step is complete, the turkey is ready to eat!
Recipe Shortcuts
Mirepoix Blend
To save time chopping celery, onions, and carrots, I used Cascadian Farms Organic Frozen Mirepoix Blend. I keep this blend in my freezer to shorten meal prep. You can also find this blend pre-chopped in the produce section of your grocery store.
Gravy
A gravy shortcut which I’m excited about is ButterBall. This brand is gluten free, even the gravy packet! The company states that thier gravy is made with rice flour. The only ButterBall turkeys that are not gluten free are the ones with pre-made stuffing in them.
ButcherBox
If you want to grab a free turkey that is amazing then Butcher Box is offering a free turkey when you sign up for their meat subscription. As many of you know, I’ve been ordering my meat with Butcher Box for over 6 years now and I love it! You can use this link here to save $30 off your order, plus a free turkey!
Final Thoughts
Next week, I’ll be sharing my Gluten Free Thanksgiving Dressing recipe that you see pictured under this turkey! Until then…have a great week! Please comment below if this post inspired you to pressure cook a turkey breast! If you enjoy instant pot recipes then please check out my Instant Pot Venison Roast recipe.
Instant Pot Turkey Breast
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
Dry Brine
- 1 (3-4 pound) boneless turkey breast
- 1 tablespoon pink salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped sage
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme
- 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
Instant Pot Ingredients
- Turkey breast that has been dry brined
- 2 cups turkey or chicken broth
- 1 (10 ounce) bag Frozen Mirepoix Blend (Cascadian Farm Organic) or 1 small onion chopped, 1⁄2 cup chopped carrots, and 1⁄2 chopped celery
Gravy
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
Instructions
Dry Brine
- Chop all of the fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme) and combine them together in a small mixing bowl.
- Add the butter to the herbs and whip the butter into the herbs, set aside.
- Remove the turkey from the package and rinse well under cold water.
- Pat turkey breast dry with a paper towel.
- Evenly sprinkle the pink salt over the entire turkey breast including under the skin.
- Rub the herb butter over the turkey and under the skin.
- Place the turkey in a glass dish and cover tightly with cling wrap.
- Allow the turkey to brine for 24-72 hours before cooking.
Day of Cooking the Turkey Breast
- The morning of cooking the turkey, remove the cling wrap from the glass dish and allow the turkey to set in the refrigerator uncovered for 4-6 hours before cooking. (This allows the skin to dry out so it's crispy.)
Instant Pot Instructions
- Lay the Instant Pot trivet in the bottom of the pot.
- Add the mirepoix to the pot (Chopped onion, carrots, and celery) and arrange it under and around the trivet.
- Pour the turkey or chicken broth into the pot.
- Place the turkey breast onto of the trivet, breast side up.
- Place the lid on pot, turn to locked position, and set vent to sealed position.
- Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 30 minutes.
- When cooking time is complete, allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 15 minutes.
- Once the 15 minutes is up, quick release the rest of the steam by turning the vent to venting position and allow steam to vent until the floating valve drops.
- Turn lid to unlock it, and remove it from the pot.
- Using oven mittens, remove the trivet and turkey breast from the pot and slide the turkey breast onto a baking sheet.
- Set your oven to broil and place the turkey breast in the oven and allow it to broil for about 8 minutes until the skin is golden brown.
- Once the skin has browned, remove it from the oven and place foil over the turkey allowing it to rest until you're ready to cut and serve it.
Gravy
- Remove the vegetables in the Instant Pot using a slotted spoon and discard them.
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode and bring the broth to a boil.
- Once the broth is boiling, remove 1⁄2 cup of the broth into a small mixing bowl and to that mixing bowl slowly stir in 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch until the broth forms a slurry.
- Once the slurry is formed, slowly add the slurry back into the Instant Pot broth and whisk until the broth thickens and becomes gravy.
