Easy Roasted Turkey Breast with Citrus Thyme Butter
You'll love this recipe because pan roasting a boneless turkey breast is much easier (and quicker!) than roasting a whole bird. It's also much easier to carve too.
The slow roasting at 325F keeps the turkey moist and tender, and the citrus thyme butter adds so much flavor too! The pan gravy is made at the bottom of the roasting pan so that when your turkey is done, your pan gravy is done!
Ingredients
3 pounds Turkey Breast, Boneless, Skin-On
4 tbsps Salted Butter, melted
2 large Navel Orange, 2 tsp zest + sliced into wheels
4 tbsps Fresh Thyme, minced
1 tsps Kosher salt
1 pinch Freshly Cracked Pepper, to taste
3 cups Chicken Broth
1 cups Dry White Wine
1 tsps Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce
2 small Bay Leaves, Dried or Fresh
3 sprig Fresh Rosemary
3 tbsps cornstarch
3 tbsps cold water
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325F.
In a large roasting pan, prepare the gravy. Add the broth, wine, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk to combine. Add bay leaves and rosemary sprigs. Set pan aside.
In a small bowl combine melted butter, 2 teaspoon orange zest, minced thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and allow to cool slightly.
Loosen the skin under the turkey breast with a spoon or your fingers, keeping the “pocket intact”. Spoon 2 tablespoon of the butter mixture under the skin of each breast. Brush the skin with the extra butter and place it on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
Slice navel oranges into ¼ inch wheels and place them under the bottom of each breast on the roasting rack. This will allow the meat to be infused with citrus as it roasts.
Roast turkey for 1 hour and 40 minutes, basting with a spoon or silicone brush until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature of the meat registers at 163F via a digital Meat thermometer. Remove it from the oven to rest and as it rests it will come up to 165F, the perfect temperature for a moist turkey.
Remove breasts from pan with turkey forks to a carving board and pour the gravy through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a pitcher.
Reheat the gravy until it is very hot and boiling. Make a cornstarch slurry by combining the water and cornstarch and stir with a fork until lump-free and smooth. Add the cornstarch slurry, slowing a little bit at a time until gravy reaches the desired thickness. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Then transfer to a gravy boat.
Slice breasts on the diagonal, place on a platter, garnish with fresh thyme and small mandarin oranges if you wish, and serve with the pan gravy.