Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Breast Recipes

PERFECT THANKSGIVING TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Heat water for brine in a 6-quart pot over medium heat until steam begins to rise to the surface. Stir in kosher salt and sugar until dissolved. Add liquid smoke, peppercorns, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, and smoked paprika. Immediately remove from heat, cover, and let rest and bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Do not refrigerate to cool.
• Place each turkey breast in a zip-top freezer bag. Evenly divide the brine, herbs, and garlic between the bags. Remove excess air, seal, and put into the refrigerator, 24 to 36 hours before you roast your turkey breast.
• Remove turkey from brine, pat dry, and let rest for 30 minutes. Pour brine through a strainer; discard brine but reserve garlic and herbs.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• At the same time, mix softened butter with rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, black pepper, and paprika for herb butter. Set aside.
• Arrange carrots, celery, bell peppers, onions, and reserved garlic and herbs from the brine in the bottom of a roasting pan. Rub about 1/4 of the herb butter on each breast under the skin. Don't remove the skin. Rub the rest of the butter on top of the skin. Arrange the breasts in the roasting pan on top of the aromatic veggie rack; add chicken stock to the bottom of the pan.
• Roast in the center of the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of each breast reads 160 degrees F (71 degrees C), 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove from the oven, cover loosely with a foil tent, and let rest for 15 minutes. The internal temp will rise above 165 degrees F (74 degrees C) during this rest.

OVEN-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fit a small roasting pan with a V-shaped rack. Drizzle oil over turkey breast, and season with salt and pepper. Center turkey breast on rack. Transfer to oven, and roast until juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the breast, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Transfer to a platter, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

ROASTED THANKSGIVING TURKEY

Steps:

• Remove the turkey from its packaging and remove the bags with the neck and giblets from the cavity. Rinse the neck and giblets and put them in a plastic bag in the fridge; you'll need them for the gravy. Rinse the turkey thoroughly with cold water. Place the turkey into a large brining bag or pot. Pour in My Favorite Turkey Brine and place in the fridge for 16 to 18 hours so the brine can work its magic.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse thoroughly, inside and out. Soak the turkey in cold water for 15 minutes, then rinse again and pat dry.
• Truss the bird or tuck the legs and wings however you like. Place the bird, breast-side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan. Cover the whole pan, tenting the bird, with heavy-duty foil so that it's well sealed. Place in the oven and roast the turkey for about 10 minutes per pound. (So, for a 20-pound turkey, about 3 1/2 hours; for a 15-pound turkey, about 2 1/2 hours.) Note: There will still be more cooking time after this, but it'll be at a different temperature.
• When it's time to remove the turkey from the oven, mix together the butter, rosemary and orange zest. Remove the turkey from the oven and increase the temperature to 375 degrees F. Remove the foil and set aside. (Put stuffing in the bird if you wish at this point.) Rub the butter mixture all over the skin of the turkey, getting in the crevices. Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thigh, near the hip joint. Place the turkey, uncovered, back into the oven and continue roasting, basting/brushing with the juices in the pan every 30 minutes, until the thermometer registers 165 degrees F and until the juices no longer run pink. This will take another 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the bird.
• Remove from the oven and cover lightly with foil until you are ready to carve.
• Combine the water, cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, orange strips and rosemary in a large pot. Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn off the heat. Allow to cool completely before placing in the fridge to chill.

OVEN-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix 1/4 cup butter, garlic, paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic and herb seasoning, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Place turkey breast with skin side up into a roasting pan. Loosen skin with your fingers; brush half the butter mixture over the turkey breast and underneath the skin. Reserve remaining butter mixture. Tent turkey breast loosely with aluminum foil.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour; baste turkey breast with remaining butter mixture. Return to oven and roast until the juices run clear and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, not touching bone, reads 165 degrees F (65 degrees C), about 30 more minutes. Let turkey breast rest 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
• While turkey is resting, transfer pan drippings to a skillet. Skim off excess grease, leaving about 1 tablespoon in skillet. Place skillet over low heat; cook and stir shallot in turkey grease until opaque, about 5 minutes. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in skillet with shallot and whisk in white wine, scraping any browned bits of food from skillet. Whisk in chicken stock and flour until smooth. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened. For a creamier, lighter gravy, whisk in half-and-half.

HERB-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
• In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.
• Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (I test in several places.) If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey.

VERA'S ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH GARLIC AND THYME

Steps:

• Trim turkey breast of any fat.
• In a small bowl combine olive oil with garlic, thyme, mustard, lemon peel, salt and pepper. Rub into turkey breast.
• Marinate in the refrigerator from 1 hour to 12 hours.
• Arrange turkey breast, skin side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tinfoil.
• Roast at 350F for 50 to 60 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the breast reaches 165F and the juices run clear.
• Remove turkey from oven to a carving board and tent with tinfoil. Place juices in a medium skillet (could drain off some of the fat) add lemon juice (perhaps use less if some of the fat drained off) and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
• Carve turkey into thin slices across the breast. Drizzle with sauce and garnish with fresh thyme.

TURKEY BREAST WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Place turkey, meat-side up, on a rack set inside a roasting pan.
• In a medium bowl, mix together chicken broth, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, Worcestershire sauce, honey, and cayenne pepper. Fill a turkey injector with chicken broth mixture (you will have to refill injector several times). Inject small amounts of solution at regular intervals all over turkey, taking care to remove injector from turkey before refilling. Refrigerate turkey for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a small bowl, mix together garlic, herbs, butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Using your fingertips, gently loosen skin on both sides of turkey breast so that it is separated from the flesh. Divide garlic mixture evenly and spread under skin on each side of breast. Season turkey all over with remaining teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper; brush skin with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil.
• Transfer turkey to oven and roast, uncovered, for 1 hour. Tent turkey with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil and continue to roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 40 minutes more. Remove turkey from oven and let stand 20 minutes before carving.