- I made Ina Garten's turkey breast recipe, but my favorite part was the wet rub.
- Her quick marinade featured lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and lots of fresh herbs.
- I doubled the recipe using the extra as a sauce for other parts of the meal, and I'd make it again.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, I couldn't help but think back on meals past. And whenever I do that, I remember one of my favorite accidental dishes that ended up being a sleeper hit: the wet rub from Ina Garten's turkey breast recipe.
In 2020, I made the protein for my downsized Thanksgiving dinner. It was good, but the real star was the lemony wet rub.
Rather than a lengthy brine or an overnight marinade, the Barefoot Contessa's recipe used citrus, olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs to flavor the meat. This mixture was so delicious that I used it to flavor my green beans, to top my dressing, and as a dipping sauce for my potatoes.
When it was time to make the turkey breast, I followed Garten's instructions and prepped the ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons "good" olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (chopped)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
I threw them all together in a small bowl — all at the same time — and used a spoon to stir gently until combined.
Then, as I do with any sauce or marinade I make, I dipped my pinky finger in and gave it a taste. That's when I knew I wanted to use this for more than just the bird.
I knew that this lemony, garlicky, herby oasis would taste wonderful if incorporated into other parts of the meal. Since I hadn't made the green beans yet, I used them as my first tester.
I cut open the green bean bag and dumped them into a lightly-oiled pan. Then I spooned some of the wet rub onto the beans and cooked them down until they were bright and snappy, which took around 12 minutes over medium-high heat.
The flavors were bright, slightly acidic, and brought me straight to the garden (metaphorically, of course — I was still in my NYC apartment) with all the fresh herbs.
I saved the rest of the mixture to put on the table during my meal as a side sauce or condiment.
That's when I ended up dunking some of my homemade potato chips in it and found that the emulsified liquid was just thick enough to leave a coating of flavor behind on the oven-baked starch.
I also thought about all the herb flavors that went into my dressing and how they were similar to the ones in the sauce. So I spooned some wet rub onto my custardy sourdough and was so happy when I tasted it. The zing of the lemon really lightened the otherwise rich dish.
While Garten's recipe got me to reconsider my unfavorable stance on turkey (just for a moment), it was the wet rub that really stood out to me as the star. And I'd definitely make it again for veggies, potatoes, and other proteins like salmon, or just to keep around in my fridge for when leftovers need a flavor boost.
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