Roast Turkey Breast - Dinner For Small Group Recipe

If you are wanting to prepare turkey and there are only a few people for dinner, you can roast a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey.

Ingredients

1 6-7 pound Turkey Breast (bone in)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3/4 cup carrots, peeled coarse chopped
1 onion, quartered
3/4 cup celery, coarse chopped
2 cups chicken broth (or more)

Turkey Pan Gravy
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
drippings from turkey
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock (approximately)

Serves 6-8

Directions

The night before, remove the turkey breast from it's packaging. Wash the turkey in cold water and dry with paper towel. Put the turkey breast into the roasting pan, placed on a rack. Let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.

Roasting day: Preheat oven to 475F.

Prepare a rub. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. As soon as it is melted, remove from the heat and stir in the mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary together.

Using your fingers rub the melted butter mixture over the entire turkey breast, on the top and bottom and lift the skin slightly to rub it between the skin and the meat.

When you are done with the rub, place the breast back onto the rack with the skin side up.

Add the carrots, onion and celery into the bottom of the roaster. Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the roaster.

Place into the preheated oven on the middle rack and cook for 25 minutes. The skin should turn a golden brown.

Baste the turkey with the pan juices.

Lower the heat to 325F.

Baste the turkey periodically (every 20 minutes).

If the bottom of the pan become dry, add another cup of chicken broth.

Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Use an instant read meat thermometer, inserted into a thick part of the breast, to check the temperature.

A 7 pound turkey will take about 2 hours at 325F, after the initial 25 minutes at 475 degrees.

Once cooked, remove the turkey from the roaster, put onto a shallow serving dish and cover loosely with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes before cutting.

Meanwhile, prepare the gravy and your side dishes.

Turkey Pan Gravy

To make the gravy pour out the turkey juices from the roasting pan into a large saucepan using a strainer to remove the vegetables. Discard the vegetables. They have done their job of providing flavor for the gravy.

Allow the juices to sit for a few minutes.

The fat will rise to the top.

Pour off the fat and reserve the remaining juices.

Stir in the as much of the chicken stock as needed to the juices to make a total of 2 cups liquid.

In a new saucepan, combine the butter and flour over medium heat, whisking continuously. Cook for a minute or two.

Use a whisk to stir in the turkey juice with chicken stock.

Bring to a simmer.Cook for 2-3 minutes until the gravy begins to thicken.

Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, as desired.

*Note: If you want to have more gravy, just use additional chicken stock, and increase the amount of flour in proportion, so that the gravy will thicken.

*Optional: You can brown the gravy by adding a capful of gravy browner, like Kitchen Bouquet.

Serve the meal with cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes.