Awesome AJ-Grilled Turkey Breast

*Yes, this is my image... I ate every scrap of food on my plate!

Awesome AJ-Grilled Turkey Breast

My hubby and I try to eat relatively healthy. Nothing pre-packaged if we can help it... mostly, dinner is meat and vegetables. We love chicken, beef, and pork, but after a while these three can get a little boring. Hence bringing turkey into the mix. While browsing Pinterest, I found this awesome recipe by Taste of Home and had to try it out. 

Guys, I do not regret it! If you love turkey, you will love this recipe. The flavor is interesting but not overpowering, and grilling the turkey makes it tender and juicy and wonderful. This is so good that I ate an entire tenderloin while standing next to the grill! Of course, I was locked out of the house at the time (long story) so it's not like I had anywhere to go at the time, but still. 

As you can see, I served my turkey with steamed peas. I think it would be great served with just about anything. I also think it would be fantastic chilled, sliced, and stuffed in a sandwich with some mayo, cheese, lettuce, onion and tomato... but we liked it so much tonight that there are no leftovers at all. 

What you need:

You'll need to marinate your turkey for a minimum of two  hours. I would suggest anywhere from four to eight hours to get lots of flavour out of your marinade. But two hours is sufficient to get some flavour in there so go for it!

1 to 1.5 lbs boneless skinless turkey breast tenderloins

1/4 C Apple juice
1/4 C Soy sauce (reduced-sodium if possible)
1/4 C canola oil
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP fresh minced onion (I just chopped mine nice and fine... it wasn't quite minced but it was fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic (I always use the kind in the jar)

Dash of black pepper

I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but I try really hard to stay away from garlic powder and powdered onion. There are two simple reasons for this. First, I prefer the taste of fresh garlic / onion. Second, I find my body processes fresh better than powdered, period. The original recipe calls for 2T dried minced onion and a dash of garlic powder. If you prefer dried, please feel free.... just don't breathe on me!

What you do:

Easiest. Process. Ever. 

Whisk all ingredients except the turkey in a bowl to mix them together. 

If you are marinating less than four hours, pierce your turkey tenderloins all over with a fork so they absorb more flavour. If you're marinating for longer, you don't need to do this (but it won't hurt, either). 

Put your turkey into a plastic zipper bag. Pour the marinade on top of it. Seal the bag. Your prep work is done!

Now, if you're going to marinate less than four hours, I suggest you marinate it at room temperature. If you're marinating for longer than four hours, you should put the bag into the fridge. Try flipping it over a few times throughout the day if you can, but this isn't necessary. 

Warm up your grill to medium heat. If you've been marinating in the fridge, be sure to take your bag out at least a half hour before you want to start  grilling and let it warm to room temperature.

Grill tenderloin for 16 to 20 minutes, turning every 4 to 5 minutes. You can use a meat thermometer to check done-ness, but I prefer just to slice a small piece out to check it. 

Let it rest for a couple of minutes before serving, and enjoy!