Grilled Boneless Turkey Breast

You don’t need to wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy turkey breast for dinner. Grilling a turkey breast on an outdoor charcoal or gas grill is a nice change from the usual grilled chicken.

This grill-roasted turkey breast may be simple with only four ingredients—turkey, butter, salt and pepper—but it's full of flavor. The secret is to keep the grilling temperature low enough to allow the inside of the breast to get cooked before the surface dries out. 

Especially on a charcoal grill where the temperature cannot be controlled as easily as on a gas grill, the only accurate way to determine whether the turkey has reached the safe temperature of 165 F is to insert an instant read thermometer in the thickest part. 

Just like you do when roasting turkey in the oven, let the breast rest for 20 minutes before carving it. Even if you don’t plant to make a gravy with the drippings, it is a good idea to collect the drippings, as they will come in handy for the leftovers. 

Since the turkey breast is only lightly seasoned, it can be combined with many different flavors and side dishes from various cuisines. In the summer, serve it with a French ratatouille made with sun-kissed tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, and bell peppers, or an Italian caponata. Of course, the grilled turkey breast goes well with any side dishes that you would serve with a Thanksgiving turkey. 

A great way to use leftovers is for turkey sandwiches, just like you would use turkey from the deli counter. Another delicious way to serve cold sliced turkey is with tuna caper sauce, a variation of the classic Italian vitello tonnato made with veal. 

Leftover turkey can be kept in the fridge for up to three days. To prevent the turkey from drying out, store it with the drippings.