Dry Brined Turkey Breast with Apple Cider Gravy
This dry brined turkey breast is incredibly tender and juicy from a flavorful dry brine and the perfect way to serve turkey for a smaller crowd! Serve with your favorite side dishes and lots of flavorful apple cider gravy on top.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 369kcal
Ingredients
Dry Brined Turkey Breast
- 1 (3-5 lb) bone-in or boneless skin-on turkey breast (see notes*)
- 3 medium dried bay leaves, crushed into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary, plus extra sprigs for roasting
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 medium carrot, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 small yellow onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
Apple Cider Gravy
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 cup chicken or turkey broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Dry Brined Turkey Breast
- Arrange a roasting rack in a 9x13 baking pan and place turkey breast-side up on top. Set aside for a moment.
- In a small bowl, combine crushed bay leaves, thyme, orange zest, salt, and brown sugar.
- Use your fingers to loosen the skin on turkey and generously rub some of salt mixture under the skin and on the outside all over turkey. Refrigerate turkey uncovered at least 24 hours or up to 48.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Remove turkey from refrigerator 30 minutes before you plan to roast it and use damp paper towels to rub dry brine off turkey.
- In a small bowl, combine softened butter, garlic, and rosemary. Season butter with salt and pepper to taste.
- Rub butter all over turkey breast, using your fingers to rub underneath the skin and on top. Scatter carrot, onion, and additional rosemary sprigs around turkey.
- Bake turkey breast at 350F for 1 to 1-1/2 hours (about 20 minutes of cooking per pound of turkey) until turkey registers 160F when a kitchen thermometer is inserted in the thickest part of turkey (do not touch the bone if using bone-in turkey)
- Carefully drain off the pan drippings into a medium skillet, lightly cover the turkey breast with foil, and allow to rest 20 minutes while you make the gravy.
Apple Cider Gravy
- Use a spoon to skim excess grease off of pan drippings until you're left with about 1 tablespoon in pan. Heat pan over medium heat and add garlic and butter. Stir 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Whisk flour into butter mixture and allow to cook 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Slowly begin adding apple cider and chicken or turkey stock, whisking constantly until gravy is smooth and bubbly.
- Thin gravy with a few extra splashes of apple cider if needed and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep gravy warm for serving.
- Once turkey has rested, carve into slices and serve warm with apple cider gravy on top. Enjoy!
Notes
*Bone-in or boneless turkey breast both work in the recipe, however roast time will vary slightly. Use 20 minutes of cook time per pound of turkey as your benchmark, use a kitchen thermometer to temp turkey, and add additional time as needed.
Storing Instructions
Store turkey and gravy in refrigerator up to 6 days. Turkey and gravy may also be frozen up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Serving: 6 oz turkey (approx 1/4 cup gravy) | Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 13.5g | Protein: 58.1g | Fat: 11.1g | Saturated Fat: 6.2g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 1478mg | Potassium: 793mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 6.3g | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 3mg