Roast Turkey Breast
Simple and less time consuming than cooking a whole turkey, a whole bone-in roast breast can easily serve four people, six if you get one around 7 lbs. All you need is a simple roasting or casserole pan. I've added some vegetables to help capture the turkey's juices to make an easy, yet flavorful gravy.
Equipment
- Roasting or casserole pan
- Tongs (to turn turkey)
Ingredients
Turkey and seasonings
- 1 5 to 7 pound bone-in turkey breast
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 tablespoon sage or poultry seasoning
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
Pan vegetables and stock
- 2 medium onions peeled and quartered
- 1 large carrot cut into two-inch pieces
- 1 stalk celery chopped in half
- 1 apple cored and quartered (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup turkey stock
For gravy
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups turkey stock
Instructions
To roast the turkey
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Pat the turkey breast and/or legs dry with paper towels. If your turkey is cold, it will be hard to slather it with butter, so just cover it with dots of butter. Season with salt, pepper and sage or poultry seasoning. Spread the cut up onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves and if you desire, apple in the bottom of a small roasting pan. Add a half cup of turkey stock. This will keep the vegetables from sticking and add moisture.
- Roast for one hour. Carefully turn the breast over. Roast for another half hour to cook and brown the underside. Reduce heat to 325F.
- Turn over and cook for 30 more minutes or until an instant-read meat thermometer reads at least 158F/69C. Remove from roasting pan to a cutting board or platter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and rest for at least 20 minutes. As it rests, the internal temperatures will rise to 165F/74C.
To make the gravy
- Pour off the juices from the pan into a bowl. Dump the roasted veggies, bay leaves, and fat at the bottom of the pan into a two-quart or larger saucepan over medium-high heat. Add a pat of butter. Heat through ad let remaining juices evaporate a bit. Then sprinkle in flour. Stir to coat the vegetables and cook for two minutes until it smells like popcorn.
- Add two to three cups chicken stock and reserved pan juices and stir until thickened. Pout through a sieve or colander to remove the vegetables. Return to the pan and cook over low heat until slightly reduced and to desired thickness.