Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I know that roasting an entire turkey can be a little bit intimidating! This recipe and step by step video for roasting a turkey breast is the perfect fix for those nerves and makes the entire Thanksgiving day way easier and completely delicious!
There are a few things about this recipe that I am completely obsessed with:
1. Last year was the first year we ever used a brine on the turkey on Thanksgiving and let me tell you – it makes a WORLD of difference! The turkey was perfectly moist and juicy and it was all because of the brine. Making a brine is easy, as you’ll see in the video, and you can add all sorts of different spices or citrus… orange peels are an excellent addition!
2. The fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic make the perfect marriage in seasonings. They really bring out the great flavor of the turkey and so seriously so so so delicious with the must-have gravy too!
Ingredients
- 1 turkey breast, bone-in, about 5 to 7 pounds, skin on.
- 16 cups ice cold water
- 1 1/4 cups kosher salt
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
- 1 tbsp rosemary leaves, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon black pepper, crushed
- 2 tsp Sea salt
Instructions
- Place turkey breast in a large zip lock bag; place in a large roasting pan or other large container (just in case the bag leaks). Add the salt and brown sugar to the bag, and then close the bag and seal. Place in the refrigerator for 12 hours or overnight.
- Heat oven to 325°.
- Remove turkey from brine and pat dry. Discard brine. Place on a rack, breast side up, in a large roasting pan. Rub the turkey with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, along all other herbs and garlic. Make sure to rub it over and under the skin. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, not touching bone. Roast at 325° for about 2 hours until turkey breast registers 165-170°.
- Serves 8 to 10.
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Hey Gaby,
New to all things turkey and brining. I’m super excited to try your easy looking recipe for Christmas. Question though… What do you do with all that water?
Teresa
Hi Teresa!
Thanks for catching that typo! The water goes into the bag with the salt and brown sugar as the brine!!
Thanks
Gaby
Thanks Gaby!!
Followed your instructions and mine is brining as I type
Can’t wait to try it tomorrow!!! Thank You and Happy Holidays!!
I do hope it is a type o when you say 2tbsp sea salt I used less than that and it tasted like I was licking a salt block. Had to scrap it all off the turkey other than that the turkey breast was wonderful, very moist.
I read somewhere that you shouldn’t brine a frozen turkey breast, only fresh. Is that true?
Hello from an American expat in Finland! Your recipe looks excellent and perfect for our smaller European ovens. Turkey breasts come pre-skinned here so I was wondering how you think this might affect this recipe. They are also pricy and I’m preparing for a large crowd so I can’t afford to mess it up! Thanks!
Hi Monique!
I’ve never tried it without the skin so I’m not sure how it will affect the turkey. But I dont see why you can do it without the skin. I roast chicken breasts without the skin and they are great. I’d just be sure to add a healthy amount of butter or oil on top so the turkey stays moist while it’s roasting.
Thanks. It’s mostly the moisture I’m concerned about too since the skin does such an excellent job trapping the juices inside. I wonder if cooking it covered for the first hour would help with that at all…
This was fabulous! I cut som slits to put butter in and cooked this covered. It was moist and delicious!
My turkey breast is a double one. Not sure I can brine it because I don’t have a big enought pan to do the brine in. Any suggestions?
Can you use a zip top extra large bag to brine?? Those big ones they sell at the market would probably be big enough
This is a new comment. Nice!
Amazing. I like what you did.
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