A Run Up to Thanksgiving – 3 Days Out

Sometimes cooking a whole turkey is just too much. You can do a turkey breast, start to finish, in about 2 hours. You will have plenty of meat and great leftovers with none of the hassle of cooking a whole bird. Besides you never know where that bird has been, might have been on somebody’s head. Even if you decide to cook a whole turkey, the herb and spice blend in this recipe works great.

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INGREDIENTS

1 whole, bone-in turkey breast (6 to 7 pounds)
2 tablespoons, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon, garlic – minced
2 teaspoons, lemon juice – freshly squeezed
2 teaspoons, dry mustard
2 tablespoons, fresh rosemary leaves – chopped
1 tablespoon, fresh sage leaves – chopped
1 teaspoon, fresh thyme leaves – chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons, kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon, freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup, dry white wine

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the turkey breast on a rack in a roasting pan, skin side up.
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, rosemary, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture evenly all over the skin of the turkey breast. (You can also loosen the skin and smear half of the paste underneath, directly on the meat.)
3. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.
4. Roast the turkey for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest and meatiest area of the breast. Check the breast after an hour of so; if the skin is overbrowning, cover it loosely with aluminum foil.
5. When the turkey is done, remove from the oven, cover the pan with aluminum foil and allow the turkey to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve warm with the pan juices.