| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 9 hr 55 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 9 hr 55 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons rosemary needles
- 8 large sage leaves
- One 6-to-7-pound turkey breast, skin-on and bone-in
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon maple sugar, divided
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small, high-sided saucepan over medium heat. When the butter starts to foam up, drop the heat to low and cook until it reaches 300 degrees F. Fry the parsley, rosemary and sage until bright green and crisp, about 60 seconds. (Be careful: when you add the herbs, there will be splattering.) Strain the butter through a fine-mesh sieve into a heat-safe container and transfer the herbs to a paper towel-lined plate. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
- Carefully remove the skin from the turkey breast and lay flat on a piece of parchment paper set inside a sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Debone the breast, remove the tenderloins and place the breast smooth-side down. Make a shallow diagonal cut in the thickest part of each lobe to open them up and then score the breast.
- Cover a half sheet pan with plastic wrap, allowing 8 inches of overhang in both directions. Sprinkle the center with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of maple sugar and place the two breasts, flush together, directly in the center. Cover with plastic wrap and lightly pound to an even thickness. Remove the plastic wrap, realign the breasts if they’ve separated and brush the scored side with 3 tablespoons of the herb butter. Massage in the chopped herbs and season with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of maple sugar. Roll the breast into a cylinder and wrap tightly with the plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 450 degrees F.
- Remove the plastic from both the skin and the roll. Carefully position the roll on the bottom of the skin. Roll up as tightly as possible, tucking the skin’s edges in as you go: we’re looking for full coverage here. With the seam-side down, truss the roll with twine at 1-to-2-inch intervals.
- Place the roll on a rack set inside a half sheet pan, brush with 2 tablespoons of the herb butter and season with the remaining teaspoon of salt. Insert a remote probe thermometer into the center of the roll at a 45-degree angle.
- Roast the turkey until the thermometer reads 100 degrees F, about 40 minutes, then baste with an additional 2 tablespoons of herb butter and rotate the pan 180 degrees. Continue to roast until the thermometer hits 150 degrees F, about 20 minutes more. Rest 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 737 |
| Total Fat | 47 g |
| Saturated Fat | 21 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 73 g |
| Cholesterol | 277 mg |
| Sodium | 948 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 737 |
| Total Fat | 47 g |
| Saturated Fat | 21 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 73 g |
| Cholesterol | 277 mg |
| Sodium | 948 mg |
Reviews
I have made this for the last three years. My husband who hates turkey likes this version. It is not difficult to prep, just follow all the steps, and roasts quickly. This recipe is a keeper. I did use less salt than called for but that is our taste.
this will be my third year making this with my Thanksgiving meal and its never a disappointment. I was always a dark meat person and this is now my go to cut. I’ve converted multiple people who “didn’t like turkey” thanks this this one. Top tier.
I made this for my Friendsgiving last year and it was absolutely delicious! Everyone loved it so much I’m making it again this year.
My family requested this again after I made it last Thanksgiving. I am grateful for the video of Alton Brown making it (YouTube). Sooooo much better than baking a entire Turkey for just 6 people.
I made this for New Years and everyone enjoyed it. I even found a new favorite compound butter recipe to use even without making the whole thing. It went great on the side of bread we had with the dish, and I’ve even made more with the extra fresh herbs we had. The only issue I had was how much it smoked in the house. I think 450 is too high but at the same time you still want that crispy skin (see chicken wing recipe). I turned it down to 400 for part of the time and it was to temp much faster than I thought and even what the recipe suggested. Next time I will keep it at 400 and see how it goes. I’ll also be sure to get UNsalted butter verse my normal salted as it made the compound butter too salty, especially on plain bread. Also, the drippings make an amazing easy gravy if you’re into that sort of thing.
I contemplated whether to make this for Christmas dinner this year, but all eyes were on me to make this dish while watching the video, done by Alton Brown.
I decided to give it a shot and started preparing it yesterday, I switched out the maple sugar for Sugar in the Raw and everything else that the recipe called for stayed.
Final result……The family absolutely loved it and I was very pleased with it. It was just the right amount and slopping on the cranberry sauce just made it even better.
Very juicy and moist, so I didn’t make the gravy. Overall, I give it a 10!! Fantastic!!!
I decided to give it a shot and started preparing it yesterday, I switched out the maple sugar for Sugar in the Raw and everything else that the recipe called for stayed.
Final result……The family absolutely loved it and I was very pleased with it. It was just the right amount and slopping on the cranberry sauce just made it even better.
Very juicy and moist, so I didn’t make the gravy. Overall, I give it a 10!! Fantastic!!!
We did this as our thanksgiving turkey, and it worked out really well. We’ve done this style before, based on a serious eats recipe, and liked it, but this version with the herb butter was great and even our 3yo loved it. Admittedly we went a bit light on the maple sugar, but we tend to like less sweet.
Love your recipes usually but this one was way, way too salty.
Love it!