Having cooked Thanksgiving for the past 17 years, I consider myself quite the turkey expert. I have cooking the whole bird down to a T. This past Thanksgiving, Jamie and I were remarking that for a family who is as large as ours is, and who loves turkey as much as we do, it's surprising that we only have turkey once a year. On Thanksgiving. We could quite easily roast a smaller bird, and eat it, throughout the year, but we just never do it.
Yesterday I was at the grocery store, tracking down snack items for Buggys class, when I ran across a bone-in, skin-on Turkey breast, and thought...why not? It's got the bone and the skin for flavor- one of the reasons I have been against cooking just a breast...Really, what good is turkey without all the built-in flavor enhancers?!? So I brought it home with me and cooked it.
Life changing. I kid you not. Turkey, pan gravy, and all the thanksgiving yuminess in no time. I served it with steamed zucchini and artichoke risotto. Perfect family meal. Life changing. Guess what we will be having for dinner regularly? I can't wait to play around with flavors, now that I've nailed the cooking technique. And trust me when I say this... It's easy.
And have I mentioned... life changing?!?
Ingredients
4 - 5 lb turkey breast, skin-on, bone in
1 cup of butter (2 sticks), softened
2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced
Handful of Italian Parsley
8 stalks of fresh Thyme
4 stalks of fresh Rosemary
1/2 cup of Chardonnay
1/2 cup of chicken stock
3 T of flour
1/2 cup of milk, warmed
2-3 cups of chicken stock (separate use)
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat Oven to 450.
In a stove-top safe roasting pan, layer onions on top of each other in center of the pan. Top with fresh herbs. Rub softened butter all over turkey breast, under skin, in cavity, and under the bone. (If you don't plan on making gravy, you can coat the breast in olive oil instead). Salt and pepper the breast, top and bottom. Lay breast skin side up, over onions and herbs, using them to create a natural roasting rack. The flavor will infuse the breast, and also flavor the drippings for pan gravy. Pour liquid into the bottom of the pan.
Roast at 450 for 25 minutes. Lower heat to 375, basting turkey with pan liquid when you do so. Continue to cook for one hour, basting every 20 minutes. Using a meat thermometer make sure breast has reached 165 degrees.
Remove turkey to carving board and tent with tin foil. Let rest 20 minutes before carving.
While turkey is resting, make gravy. Place pan on stove top, and turn heat to medium. Add flour 1 TSP at a time, whisking vigorously several minutes between each addition. Once pan drippings and flour have been combined, whisk in warmed milk. Add chicken stock in 1/2 cup increments, whisking every time, until mixture is slightly thick.
Serve gravy over sliced turkey.
