Herb and Garlic Roast Turkey Breast
This is probably the best turkey you will ever eat.
By Erin Henderson
I got a text from my sister a month or two before Thanksgiving. She had been testing recipes for the holiday.
“OMG. This is the BEST turkey you will ever eat.”
After scouring the internet for ideas to bring a little energy to the typical, dried out and bland bird, she settled on a mix of experts' advice, doing away with the whole turkey, focusing on the comparatively quicker-cooking breast, and loading it up with tons of flavourful rubs and basting sauces.
She picked wisely. Juicy, tender, moist, and flavourful, not only was this turkey actually delicious, but as close to effortless as you can get when making a turkey. After a quick spread of the flavourful paste, it pops into a low oven for an hour or two (exact timing, naturally, will depend on the size.) No fuss, no muss.
Herb and Garlic Roast Turkey Breast
You can easily adapt this to the size of your crowd. My sister used the breast, carved from a 16-pound turkey for a group of six adults, and had enough leftovers for the next day… but mercifully not enough for weeks to come.
Regardless of the weight of your meat, or how many breasts you are roasting, makes sure it reaches 165°F in the thickest part. If the turkey gets too brown during roasting, cover with foil until the temperature is reached.
Makes: enough for about 6-8 people
Chef level: easy
Special equipment: thermometer and roasting pan
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
- 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- Zest of 1 lemon plus juice of half the lemon
- 1 skin on, bone-in turkey breast, about 6-7 pounds
- 2 cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, quartered
- 6 garlic cloves, gently crushed and left whole
- 1 Tbsp whole peppercorn
How to Make It:
- Set the oven to 350°F
- Mix together the paste by blending the olive oil through lemon juice in a bowl. Spread it thickly over the skin of the turkey.
- Place the turkey, skin side up, on a rack of a roasting pan.
- Pour the wine in the bottom of the pan and add in the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and peppercorn to the wine.
- Place the roasting rack in the oven, basting every 45 minutes until done, about an hour and a half (but rely on the internal temperature of the turkey, not the timing.)
- Allow the turkey to rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.
Wine Pairing:
Turkey, on its own, does well with fruity reds or buttery Chardonnay. However, considering the earthy influence of the resinous herbs in the paste, I'd reach for a Cabernet Franc, something more mid weight with restrained tannin, like a Chinon from France's Loire Valley. The wine has notes of ripe fruit but a savoury undercurrent – dried leaves, smoke, herbs – to compliment the flavours of the basted bird.