Christmas Easy Roast Turkey Breast - Video Recipe

Check back for a weekly dose of Christmas recipes all this month -  it's a digital happy hour at the Cheap$kate Chateau!

Roast a whole turkey for Thanksgiving? No thanks!! I'll go the easy route and just roast a turkey breast - it's quick and easy to do my way. Take the pressure off and keep it simply delicious.

And as a bonus, I add Stuffing under the flap of the breast wishbone skin and I add an extra mound of Stuffing that the turkey breast rests on. So you get it all with my Easy Roast Turkey Breast recipe.

The advantage of only cooking a Turkey Breast is you don't have to worry about dark meat when cooking a whole turkey. Usually, dark meat takes longer to cook than white meat, so often the white meat will dry out even when covered with aluminum foil to help keep it moist.

I don't know about you but I like a succulent slice of turkey breast, not a dry bite of bird. 

Of course, you have to be a "white meat" person for this recipe, I like both white and dark...can't we all get along?

Turkey breast comes in many sizes/ weights starting at about 5 pounds, so you will serve 3 or 4 guests easily and there's little waste, without a lot of carcass bones and skin to throw out.

The good old days.

These days.

You could just buy a whole Turkey on sale and break it down. (Practice on a whole chicken first.) It's economical and you can make separate meals with dark meat and wings later. Defrost a frozen turkey in the refrigerator so it stays cold. It may take 3 to 4 days until the whole turkey is soft enough to slice apart. 

The trick to breaking down a chicken or turkey is to slice into where the poultry leg and wing connect to the main body until you see bone. Next, grab the leg or wing and pull away from the body until you hear a crack - that is the joint separating. Finally, just slice around the round joint and continue slicing until the part is free. You can try to cut through bone, but you need a cleaver or saw for hacking. For a whole breast I slice easily through the rib cage and break the joints just underneath the breastbone.

Refreeze the dark meat legs, thighs, and wings. The backbone is great for a veggie-loaded Turkey Soup. Of course, you can roast a breast and a leg or thigh together if you are feeding a few.

Usually, figure about 15 minutes of roasting per pound of the breast at 350 degrees. My (about) 5-pound Turkey Breast cooked in an hour and a half - that's half the time of roasting a whole turkey!

 The skin gets crackly and the meat stays moist. Always allow a few minutes of resting time once the Roasted Breast is out of the oven while setting the table and finishing side dishes.

I can't resist Bread Stuffing with Roast Turkey Breast and I'm not particular. I use a typical boxed stuffing from my local 99c only Store and add a few sauteed veggies for good measure. I like cornbread or plain white bread stuffing. 

A chopped stalk of celery and some chopped onion, mushrooms, and garlic all sauteed together, are what I add, then follow the box directions. If I have a small package of breakfast sausage I'll saute that too and mix it all together. My Easy Stuffing Recipe is a click away here. 

Almost everything in the grocery store is on sale this time of year so keep a lookout and click here to see some of my yummy side dishes -- Bacon Wrapped Brussels Spouts or a Green Bean Casserole with French Fried Onions, anyone?

You don't need the whole bird to make a satisfying Thanksgiving meal, my Easy Roast Turkey Breast will do the job!

Easy Roast Turkey Breast - Video

Play it here. The video runs 1 minute, 38 seconds.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

4-6 pound turkey breast - It comes in various sizes so cooking time will vary. But in general, it's about 15 minutes per pound at 350 degrees -- the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast should be 150-155 degrees. My turkey breast took an hour and a half at 350 degrees. 

Salt and pepper to taste - just sprinkle on as much or little as you like, about a teaspoon total.

Optional - a box of favorite Stuffing. Follow the box directions or see my recipe by clicking here.

Directions

Nothing to this recipe really, just preheat the oven to 350 degrees and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Okay to put some fresh or dried herbs under the breast skin if you like. Rosemary is a pungent herb, or sage and rosemary, too. 

Place the turkey breast skin side up and let it roast until done, about an hour and a half or until the juices run clear when sliced, or the internal temperature is 150-155 degrees in the thickest part of the breast.

If you are a stuffing fanatic then add some to the turkey breast before roasting. I like to stuff the wishbone area which usually has a large flap of skin to enclose the stuffing. 

Turn the breast cavity facing up and lay in the stuffing against the wishbone. Raise up the skin and fasten with a couple of toothpicks. Finally make a mound of stuffing on your roasting pan and place the breast right on top of it, covering it with the breast cavity.

The turkey juices will flavor the stuffing perfectly. And you get a little crunchy layer of stuffing that cooks against the pan.

If you are looking for a few side dishes to go along with the plump roasted breast then click here to see what I recommend.

Whether you roast the breast with stuffing or without, try my Easy Roasted Turkey Breast for Thanksgiving, or anytime.