Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

I have always had a love hate relationship with turkey at Thanksgiving. I really love dark meat, but the turkey breast part always seems dry. If I ate the turkey breast, I usually smother it with gravy to give it some moisture. This oven roasted turkey breast is unbelievable.

No one sells a whole turkey in the middle of summer

When I was creating this recipe, my plan was to buy a whole turkey, since I love dark meat. I always order my groceries online so I ordered what I thought was a whole turkey. Well, I get the turkey home, cut open the bag, and put it in the sink. To my surprise, there were no legs and no wings. I grabbed the package out of the garbage and it said “bone-in turkey breast.” I felt really silly. I went to hyvee.com to see if they actually had a whole turkey. Apparently, a whole turkey is only available at Thanksgiving or Christmas time.

This oven roasted turkey breast is juicy and delicious. It has a little bit of a smokey flavor because I added some liquid smoke. (I really need to get a smoker and learn how to actually smoke meat, but liquid smoke is so much less work).

Tips for cooking a bone-in turkey breast or a whole turkey

• First you need to make sure that your whole turkey, or bone in turkey breast is completely thawed. Check out this handy calculator to calculate how long to thaw a turkey in the refrigerator. (This link also has a calculator to help you determine what size turkey you will need for the amount of people you have, and how long to cook the turkey based on weight).
• Once your bone-in turkey breast, or whole turkey, is thawed, season it with a teaspoon of sea salt on both the outside and the inside. Put it back in the refrigerator and let it sit for 24 hours. This helps make the turkey really tender.
• When you are ready to cook the turkey breast, make sure you bring it close to room temperature first. I usually let mine sit at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours. This will ensure that the turkey cooks evenly. If you are worried about food safety, check out this link. The FDA says poultry is safe to have at room temperature for up to 2 hours, 1 hour if air temperature is above 90 degrees.

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Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

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• Author: Lisa
• Total Time: 27 hours
• Yield: about 3.5 pounds of meat 1x

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Description

This oven roasted turkey breast is juicy and delicious. It has a little bit of a smokey flavor and the skin is beautifully crispy.  This recipe can be used for a whole turkey too, but your cook time might be different.  Just make sure that you cook it until the internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Ingredients

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• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 4 tablespoons liquid smoke, divided
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 9 pound whole, bone-in, turkey breasts (you could substitute a whole turkey)

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Instructions

1. Once your turkey breast is completely thawed, season it with the sea salt and put it back in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Take the turkey breast out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Place a cooling rack into the cookie sheet.
5. Pour water and 2 tablespoons liquid smoke into the bottom of the cookie sheet.
6. In a medium sized bowl, mix together butter, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, poultry seasoning and 2 tablespoons liquid smoke.
7. Dry off the bone-in turkey breast with paper towels.  This will help the butter mixture stick better.
8. Take the butter mixture and rub it all over the inside and outside of the bone-in turkey breast, making sure to get butter under the skin. 
9. Place the turkey, breast side up, on the rack that is inside your cookie sheet.  (If using a whole turkey, be sure to tie the legs together).
10. Bake until internal temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit at the deepest part of the breast, not touching bone.  I baked my turkey breast for 3 hours because it was about 8 pounds.  The package should have instructions on how long to bake.  You can check out this handy calculator or here is what my turkey breast package said:

  Weight                              Cook time

3-5 pound                         1 – 2 1/2 hours

5-7 pound                          2 1/2 – 3 hours

7-9 pound                          3 – 3 1/2 hours

Notes

To Freeze: Cook the turkey breasts as directed.  Let cool slightly, then pull meat off the bone.  Let it cool completely then put in a freezer bag and freeze.

When you are ready to use it:  Thaw in the microwave on the defrost setting or thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours. 

• Prep Time: 24 hours
• Cook Time: 3 hours
• Category: Turkey, Main dish