Description
A detailed recipe for roasting a 6 lb. bone-in, skin-on turkey breast to juicy perfection, infused with fresh herbs and garlic butter, served with a homemade low-sodium chicken broth gravy made from the pan drippings.
Ingredients
Scale
Turkey
- 6 lb. bone-in skin-on turkey breast, fresh or frozen and fully thawed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh sage or parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 celery ribs, cut into chunks
Gravy
- 1/3 cup purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, preferably homemade, plus more to thin as desired
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and position the oven rack one level below the center.
- Prepare Turkey Skin: Gently separate the skin from the turkey breast using a large spoon or wooden spoon handle, leaving the edges intact so the butter mixture doesn’t leak out.
- Make Herb Butter: In a mixing bowl, combine softened butter, minced garlic, thyme, rosemary, and sage. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
- Butter the Turkey: Pat the turkey breast dry with paper towels. Rub about half of the herb butter underneath the skin, then spread the remaining butter over the skin’s surface. Season the entire turkey all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Prepare Roasting Pan: Place the onion, carrot, and celery chunks into a medium roasting pan. If you have a roasting rack, place it over the vegetables, otherwise place the turkey directly onto the vegetables.
- Roast Turkey: Position the turkey breast skin side up on the rack or vegetables. Roast in the preheated oven until the thickest part reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 2 to 2 hours and 15 minutes.
- Rest Turkey: Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest on a carving board, tented loosely with foil, for about 10 minutes before carving.
- Make Gravy: Discard the vegetables from the roasting pan. Pour the pan drippings into a fat separator or measuring cup. Measure out 1/3 cup of the fat. Heat this fat in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and turkey drippings. Continue whisking until the gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and thin with extra broth if needed.
Notes
- Plan on 36 to 48 hours for thawing the frozen turkey breast in the refrigerator; never cook the turkey while frozen.
- If the turkey skin starts to brown too much near the end of cooking, loosely tent it with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
- Using fresh herbs provides a more vibrant flavor, but dried herbs can be used if fresh are unavailable—use about 1 teaspoon each.
- Allowing the turkey to rest before carving helps retain juices and keep the meat tender.
- Use a roasting rack if possible to allow even heat circulation and prevent the turkey from sitting in its juices.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 6 oz cooked turkey breast)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 250 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 38 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
