Perfectly Roasted Turkey Breast

If you’re not serving a huge crowd for Thanksgiving, roasting a turkey breast instead of a whole bird is a winning strategy: It takes less time to cook, is easier to carve and eliminates the risk of the breast and thigh meat cooking unevenly. Spreading a generous amount of butter under the skin ensures flavorful results.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large skin-on, bone-in turkey breast, about 7 lb. (3.5 kg)
  • 2 Tbs. kosher salt
  • 8 large shallots, halved
  • 1 lb. (500 g) carrots, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces on the diagonal
  • 2 heads garlic, top 1/2 inch (12 mm) cut off
  • 4 fresh rosemary sprigs, plus more for garnish
  • 4 fresh thyme sprigs, plus more for garnish
  • 4 fresh sage sprigs, plus more for garnish
  • 1 to 2 cups (8 to 16 fl. oz./250 to 500 ml) chicken or turkey broth
  • 8 Tbs. (1 stick) (4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • Freshly ground pepper


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Directions:

Remove the turkey breast from the refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. (If you are refrigerating the turkey overnight after salting it, you can skip this step.)

Pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels. Season all over with the salt. At this point you can either place the turkey breast in the refrigerator, uncovered, for up to 24 hours or continue with the recipe immediately.

Preheat an oven to 425°F (220°C).

In a roasting pan, toss together the shallots, carrots, garlic, rosemary, thyme and sage. Add just enough chicken broth to mostly cover the shallots. Set aside.

Gently slip your fingers under the skin of the turkey breast and loosen it all over, being careful not to tear it. Using your fingers, spread the butter evenly under the skin onto the meat. Place the breast, skin side up, on top of the vegetable mixture. Season with pepper.

Roast until the skin is crispy, about 25 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part away from the bone registers 160°F (71°C), about 35 minutes, depending on the size of the breast, basting the turkey with the liquid in the roasting pan every 10 minutes or so.

Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes; the internal temperature should reach 165°F (74°C) while it rests.

Spoon the roasted vegetable mixture onto a serving platter. Carve the turkey into slices and arrange on top of the vegetables. Garnish with rosemary, thyme and sage sprigs and serve. Serves 8.

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