| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 8 hr |
| Prep: | 1 hr |
| Inactive: | 4 hr 45 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (14 to 16-pound) fresh turkey
- Brine, recipe follows
- 1 tablespoon dry rubbed sage
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 6 quarts water
- 8 cups ice cubes
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 7 fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoons black peppercorns
Instructions
- Remove the legs and wings from the turkey, or have your butcher do it. Reserve for stock.
- Put turkey breast into a large pot or doubled up clean plastic bag. When brine mixture is completely cooled, pour over turkey and place in refrigerator for 12 hours.
- Rinse under clear cool water for 5 minutes, drain well and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, combine dried spices and lemon zest. Rub turkey with canola oil, lightly sprinkle rub on turkey, any extra rub can be placeed in cavity. Cover loosely, refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Remove from refrigerator and let rest on counter for 15 minutes
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F while turkey is resting.
- In a large, deep baking pan, fitted with a rack, place turkey breast side down and roast for 35 minutes. Carefully turn turkey over and reduce heat to 375 degrees F. Continue to roast turkey for 1 hour 45 minutes or until temperature at the deepest part of the breast reads 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Make sure to check bird every 15 minutes after first hour has passed.
- Take out of oven, loosely tent with foil, let rest in pan for 10 minutes. Carve and serve immediately.
- In a large stock pot, combine 3 quarts water, 1 cup kosher salt, brown sugar, molasses, sage leaves and peppercorns. Heat until salt dissolves, remove from heat. Add in 3 quarts cool water and 8 cups ice.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 519 |
| Total Fat | 27 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 7 grams |
| Cholesterol | 245 milligrams |
| Sodium | 643 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 1 grams |
| Protein | 67 grams |
| Sugar | 1 grams |
Reviews
I’ve made this the last 2 years and was just perfect each time!! They were my first try’s as well. It was Super easy. Definitely recommend getting a digital thermometer you can leave in while it cooks. I set it to go off at 160 degrees, carry over temp will continue to rise 5+ degrees depending on size. Google if not confident in placing the probe and check with an instant read when alarm goes off at 160. Lots recommend cranking the heat at the end instead of the beginning, but the brine works so well it’s not necessary. I didn’t even do any basting, but did tent after the high temp stint.
Fantastic! Soo worth the effort! Delicious every year!!
Amazing! So moist, tender and full of flavor.
The brine recipe should be first…
Never going back ~ this was absolutely perfect! Turkey was juicy and tasty! Makes a lot of brine, too much for my turkey bag and I ended up with a lot on my counter and floor but it certainly made for a wonderful tasting bird!
One word: AMAZING! Thanks Guy!
The BEST recipe ever. Followed exactly and it turned out moist and so flavorful. Thanks, Guy!
I cheated on Alton Brown today and made this turkey breast. I was looking for a recipe that would make great sandwiches (versus a Thanksgiving-style meal) and this was perfect. Soooooo delicious. The herb crust is what makes it.
Fabulous
Brined and seasoned an eight pound bone in turkey breast using this recipe. The turkey was moist and flavorful- our best turkey ever!