Super-succulent turkey breast
- Barney Desmazery
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Serves 6 - 8
Easy
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 1 hr and 30 mins
plus overnight brining and resting
A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.2 ratingsRate
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A turkey breast is an easy alternative to cooking a whole turkey. We’ve put fennel and orange in our dry brine mix, but you could use salt, pepper and sugar
Gluten-free
High-protein
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Alternatives
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Showing items 1 to 3 of 3
Rustic sausage, apple & cranberry stuffing
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Wings-for-dinner gravy
A star rating of 5 out of 5.3 ratings
A star rating of 4 out of 5.2 ratings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Units:
MetricUS
-
1 tsp fennel seeds
(optional)
-
1 tbsp black peppercorns
-
small bunch of thyme
chopped
-
1 orange
zested
-
50g flaky sea salt
-
1 tsp light brown soft sugar
-
2-2.5kg boneless, tied turkey breast
(see below for a whole turkey)
-
50g butter
softened
-
thyme and parsley sprigs
to serve (optional)
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Nutrition: Per serving (8)
- kcal427
- fat23g
- saturates8g
- carbs1g
- sugars0g
- fibre0g
- protein54g
- salt3.55g
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Method
-
step 1
Using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder, crush the fennel seeds with the peppercorns, then crush in the thyme and orange zest, then finally the salt and sugar. Sit the turkey in a roasting tin skin-side up, on a rack, if you have one. Season all over with the salt mix, then chill in the tray, uncovered, overnight. Will keep chilled for up to two days.
-
step 2
Remove the turkey from the fridge 2-3 hrs before roasting. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush off any excess salt mix. Lift the turkey out of the tin and rinse and dry the tin. Sit the turkey back in (on a rack if you have one). Smother all over with the butter, then roast for 1 hr 15-1 hr 30 mins, removing and basting with the butter every 30 mins. To tell if it’s cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part and check the juices run clear, or use a meat thermometer – it should read at least 65C in the thickest part.
-
step 3
When the turkey is done, leave it to rest for at least 15 mins on a board with a groove to catch the juices – don’t cover it otherwise the skin will go soggy. Once rested, carve into slices – about 1cm thick is ideal. Arrange the turkey on a platter over the stuffing (see recipe below), scatter with the herbs, if using, and serve. Use the carving and resting juices for the gravy (see recipe below).
Recipe tip
Roasting a whole turkey
To use our dry brine mix (above) on a whole turkey, simply make the mix following step 1, and use it to season a 5-6kg turkey the day before. Remove the turkey from the fridge 2 hours before you want to cook it. Rub the butter all over the turkey, then place on a rack and roast for 2 hrs, basting with the juices every 30 mins. To tell if it’s cooked, insert a skewer into the thickest part and check the juices run clear, or use a meat thermometer – you want the thickest part of the breast to be 65C and the thickest part of the thigh, 75C. If the temperature is lower, return the turkey to the oven for 15 mins, then check again, repeating until the optimum temperature is reached. Leave to cool for 10 mins on the rack, then transfer to a board to rest for at least another 20 mins.
Recipe from Good Food magazine, Christmas 2024
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