Roast turkey breast with herb butter
Juicy bone-in roast turkey breast with crisp golden skin and garlic herb butter under the skin. Serves 8 without roasting a whole bird.
10% of it needs you at the counter
- Hands-on
- 15 min
- Cooking
- 2 hr
- Resting
- 20 min
- Serves
- 8
- Calories
- 480
- Protein
- 60 g
- Per serving
- $2.53
Why this recipe works
A bone-in turkey breast is the easy answer for a smaller Thanksgiving or a Sunday roast: all the white meat, crisp skin and pan drippings, in about two hours, with no whole bird to wrestle.
- Herb butter spread under the skin seasons and bastes the meat directly, while the skin on top turns crisp.
- Roasting on a bed of onion with a little broth in the pan keeps the drippings from burning, so you can use them for gravy.
- Cooking by temperature, not time, is the only reliable way to keep breast meat juicy. It's done at 165°F in the thickest part.
Ingredients
For the herb butter
You will need
- Roasting pan or 9x13-inch baking dish
- Instant-read thermometer
- Small bowl
Method
Tap a step number to mark it done.
Prep the turkey
Heat the oven to 350°F. Pat the turkey dry all over with paper towels. Mash the butter with the garlic, herbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
Butter under the skin
Gently loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, without tearing it. Spread two-thirds of the herb butter under the skin, then rub the rest over the outside.
Set up the pan
Lay the onion rings in the roasting pan, set the turkey on top skin side up, and pour the broth into the pan.
Roast
Roast 1¾ to 2¼ hours (about 20 minutes per pound), until an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part, not touching bone, reads 165°F. If the skin browns too fast, tent it loosely with foil. Add a splash of water if the pan runs dry.
Rest and carve
Move the turkey to a board, tent with foil and rest 20 minutes. Slice the meat off the bone, then cut across the grain into ½-inch slices. Save the pan drippings for gravy.
Techniques in this recipe
- Chicken and turkey165°F / 74°C
Source: USDA safe minimum internal temperatures. Measure the thickest part, away from bone. Is it done? Safe temperatures
The internal temperatures that tell you chicken, pork, beef, fish and ground meat are cooked safely, and when to pull them early for juicier results.
Read the full guideAlong the grain: long, chewy fibers Across the grain: short, tender fibers Slice against the grain
Find the direction of the muscle fibers and cut across them. It turns chewy cuts like flank and sirloin tender, in seconds and for free.
Read the full guide
Cook's notes
- For even more flavor and crisper skin, dry-brine it: rub the salt over the turkey the night before and refrigerate it uncovered, then leave the salt out of the butter.
- Start checking the temperature 30 minutes early. Breasts vary in shape, and overcooking by even 10 degrees dries the meat out.
- Frozen turkey breast needs about 2 days to thaw in the fridge. Never roast it partly frozen, or the outside overcooks before the center is safe.
Nutrition per serving
480 calories
$2.53 estimated cost per serving
Where the calories come from
| Protein | 50% of calories | 60 g |
|---|---|---|
| Carbs | 2% of calories | 2 g |
| Fat | 49% of calories | 26 g |
| Fiber | 0 g | |
| Sodium | 600 mg |
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients and amounts; not lab-tested. Cost estimated from average US retail prices.
Questions people ask
Is it better to cook a bone-in turkey breast at 325 or 350°F?
Both work. 350°F gives crisper skin in a little less time (about 20 minutes per pound); 325°F is slightly gentler but takes longer. Either way, cook to 165°F.
Should you cover a turkey breast when roasting?
Roast it uncovered so the skin crisps, and tent it loosely with foil only if it browns before the meat is done.
Do you put water in the bottom of the pan?
A cup of broth or water keeps the drippings from scorching and gives you a ready base for gravy. It doesn't steam the turkey.
