Description
This best Garlic Herb Butter Roasted Turkey Breast recipe features a juicy, flavorful turkey breast roasted to perfection with a garlic and fresh herb butter spread under the skin. The roasting process is carefully timed and temperature-controlled to ensure tender, moist meat with a golden crisp skin. A rich butter sauce made from the pan drippings complements the turkey, offering an indulgent yet straightforward centerpiece suitable for holiday dinners or special family meals.
Ingredients
Scale
Turkey
- 2.5 – 3 kg (5-6 lb) single turkey breast, skin on, bone in (Note 1), NOT BRINED
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper, to taste
- Small bunch of fresh herbs – 4 rosemary sprigs, 8 sprigs sage, 10 thyme sprigs
- 12 garlic cloves, smashed with side of knife
Butter Mixture
- 150 g (5 oz / 10 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 tsp table salt or 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Remove fridge chill: Take turkey out of the fridge 45 minutes before cooking (or 30 minutes if in a hot environment) to bring it closer to room temperature for more even cooking.
- Preheat oven: Set oven to 200°C (390°F) with the rack placed in the lower middle position to ensure even roasting and browning.
- Prepare herbs and garlic: Place smashed garlic cloves and fresh herb bunch in the middle of a baking dish or ovenproof skillet that fits the turkey breast comfortably.
- Make butter mixture: Combine softened butter, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and fresh chopped herbs in a bowl until well mixed.
- Loosen skin: Carefully use an upside down teaspoon to gently separate the skin from the turkey breast flesh under the surface skin layer, allowing room for the butter mixture.
- Apply butter under skin: Spread about two-thirds of the butter mixture evenly beneath the skin on the top half of the turkey breast using your hands to ensure good coverage.
- Butter underside: Turn the turkey upside down and smear the remaining butter, minus about 2 tablespoons reserved for the skin, onto the underside of the breast.
- Position turkey and apply surface butter: Place turkey skin side up on top of the herbs and garlic in the baking dish. Lightly smear the reserved butter on the skin surface to prevent herb bits from burning.
- Make ahead option: At this point, the turkey can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Remove from fridge 45 minutes before roasting.
- Season turkey: Sprinkle salt and black pepper evenly all over the top and sides of the turkey breast for optimal flavor.
- Roast initial high heat: Place the turkey in the oven and immediately reduce temperature from 200°C to 180°C (350°F).
- Roast and baste: Roast for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, basting the turkey generously with pan juices every 30 minutes to maintain moisture.
- Check doneness: Use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast; it should read 74°C (165°F). Typical cook time is about 15 minutes per 500g (1 lb). For example, a 2.8 kg (5.5 lb) turkey took 1 hour 40 minutes.
- Cover if browning too fast: If the turkey becomes golden before fully cooked, cover loosely with foil to prevent burning.
- Rest the turkey: Remove from oven, transfer to a serving plate, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 15–20 minutes to redistribute juices.
- Prepare butter sauce: Remove herbs and garlic from the pan juices, squeezing their flavor into the sauce. Pour the pan juices mixed with butter into a jug and serve alongside the sliced turkey.
- Optional gravy: For gravy, whisk pan juices in a saucepan with 1/4 cup flour and 1 cup chicken broth, simmer, adjust thickness with water, season with salt, pepper, and optionally a splash of dark soy sauce, then serve.
Notes
- Use a bone-in turkey breast for the best flavor. If using brined turkey, reduce salt in the butter mixture to 3/4 tsp to avoid oversalting.
- Thaw turkey fully before cooking either by refrigerator thawing (24 hours per 2-2.5kg) or cold water thawing (30 minutes per 500g), never microwave thaw.
- Use a meat thermometer to accurately gauge doneness rather than relying solely on time due to variables like oven performance.
- Position the rack in the lower middle of the oven to avoid uneven browning or burning.
- Baste the turkey 8–10 times during cooking with pan juices to retain moisture and enhance flavor.
- Adjust butter sauce seasoning by tasting and adding salt, lemon juice, or more butter as needed for balanced flavor.
- Slicing turkey fairly thinly with some skin or underside attached gives the best eating experience and optimal juiciness.
- Leftover turkey stays moist and deli-style when kept whole with the butter and pan juices.
- Slow cooker variations of this recipe are available but this recipe is specifically for oven roasting.
- Dried herbs can substitute fresh in a pinch: use 1 tsp each of sage, rosemary, and thyme; omit parsley as it adds little flavor dried.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Approx. 300g uncooked turkey breast per serving
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 36 g
- Saturated Fat: 21 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 40 g
- Cholesterol: 135 mg
