Half Turkey Breast with Herb Butter
Having a smaller Thanksgiving gathering or maybe you just want Thanksgiving dinner when it’s not Thanksgiving? Cooking a half turkey breast is a great way to go!
This turkey recipe is for a half-breast and its my favorite way to cook turkey. It’s a much quicker and easier way to enjoy roasted turkey. And most importantly, I’m going to teach you how to avoid tough + dry turkey. Let’s make it!
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Ingredient notes
Half-turkey breast recipe
- 2 lb turkey breast
- fresh thyme
- fresh sage
- salt
- pepper
- butter
How to avoid dry turkey
The truth is no matter what beautiful blend of seasonings you might come up with to flavor your turkey, its no good if the meat is tough and dry. I think we’ve all been there and it’s actually incredibly easy to avoid. Are you ready?
All you need to do is sprinkle the meat with salt 24 hours prior to cooking. I will forever be grateful to Samin Nosrat for teaching me this via her book, Salt, Fat Acid, Heat.
This ensures flavor penetrates the meat and doesn’t just sit on the outside and perhaps equally as important, tenderizes the meat.
If you do this, all you really need is a few simple seasonings to have a delicious turkey on your table. I go with a simple herb butter make with fresh thyme and sage, a little pepper and that’s it!
What to serve with it
I’ve got you covered with all the best Thanksgiving side dishes! Each recipe is linked below. 🙂
W/ CINNAMON & ORANGE
W/ PROSCIUTTO
Half turkey breast with herb butter
I’m so glad to be able to have dry turkey days behind me. Salting the meat ahead is a total game changer! This simple herb butter and a little black pepper is all you need for the perfect bird. Except you also need cranberry sauce 😉
- Prep Time: 24 hrs
- Cook Time: 2.5 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: main
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- turkey breast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 5 tbsp butter, softened
- pepper
Instructions
- Sprinkle the turkey breast all over fairly liberally with salt 24 hours before you plan to cook. Make sure to lift the skin and rub salt underneath.
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- Combine softened butter with chopped herbs until mixed. Rub the butter all over the turkey breast and under the skin. Sprinkle with black pepper.
- Cook for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375F. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165F on a meat thermometer. Start checking at one hour and 45 minutes, then in 15 minute increments until it reaches temperature. Insert in the thickest part of the breast. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?
If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you! You can also find me on Pinterest!