Rosemary Garlic Roasted Turkey Breast

Rosemary Garlic Brined Turkey. A simple, flavorful, and crowd-pleasing Thanksgiving recipe. Brined overnight, buttered, and roasted to perfection. Every bite is juicy, garlicky, herby, and delicious!

Happy November! Turkey Day is almost here! We’re so excited to share our family’s secret to a perfectly juicy and crispy turkey. For years, we’ve struggled with the age-old problem of brining vs. crispy skin. But we finally cracked the code!

The secret? Brining overnight, then drying the turkey in the fridge and wrapping it in butter-soaked cheesecloth before roasting. This simple trick yields a mouthwatering turkey with a crispy skin and juicy meat.

We’ve got a lot to go over today, so let’s get into it!

Let’s Go Over The Ingredients

Alright, let’s talk turkey! For this recipe, you’ll need a few simple ingredients:

• Brine: A good brine is the secret to a delicious turkey. Our recipe has been a staple in our family for 20+ years. It consists of fresh rosemary, garlic, and a little bit of dried red chili. YUM!
• Turkey: The star of the show come Thanksgiving! For this recipe and pictures, you will see we used a 5-7 lb turkey breast. This is because we are a very small family and this is plenty for us! Though, don’t worry. If you have a bigger gathering, you can still follow the recipe. Any size turkey will work with this recipe.
• Unsalted Butter: Remember to use unsalted butter! The brine itself has plenty of salt for the turkey. The butter just gives a little bit of flavor, as well as makes the skin perfectly crispy.

Preparation is Key

This recipe is a multi-day process. So, plan ahead! Our brine recipe comes together quickly, but as with any wet brine, it must be completely cool before you can start the process.

It’s also important to note that, depending on the size of your turkey, the size of the container will vary. For a 5-7lb turkey bread, we’ve found that a 12 quart lidded container works perfectly. If you’re making anything bigger, you will need to size up accordingly. You could also use a brining bag, if needed!

We recommend brining the turkey for a minimum of 12 hours, but preferably 1-2 days. This really allows for all of those amazing flavors to soak into the meat. While it’s brining, you can go ahead and prep your dinner rolls or shoepeg corn casserole!

Once brined to your liking, it’s time to start baking!

Our Secret To A Delicious Thanksgiving Turkey

For years, we’ve been perfecting our Thanksgiving turkey recipe, combining tradition with a little innovation. The key to our juicy, crispy turkey lies in a simple yet effective technique that happens after brining. Once your turkey is brined to perfection, the key to that crispy skin is drying it out. This might sound counterintuitive, but trust us, it works wonders!

After brining, remove the turkey from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Be sure to get into all of those nooks and crannies. It MUST be dry!

Before roasting, wrap it in cheesecloth soaked in melted butter. This not only adds flavor and makes the skin extra crispy, but it also helps to protect the meat while roasting.

During our years of testing, we found that starting with the oven at 425℉/220℃ for the first 30 minutes, and then decreasing the temperature to 325℉/165℃ for the final hour, results in a turkey that’s moist, tender, and perfectly cooked.

Of course, if your turkey is bigger, the bake times will need to be adjusted. No matter how big your turkey is, bake it until the internal temperature reaches 165℉/74℃ with an instant read thermometer or a meat probe.

A quick note: Pink inside your turkey doesn’t always mean underdone. If your thermometer is accurate and reading 165°F, the turkey is safe to eat. Always check your thermometer before cooking. Boil some water and see what your thermometer reads. If it reads 212°F, which is the temperature of boiling water, it’s accurate!

If it’s higher or lower, write down the number and adjust the temperature as needed. Say the thermometer reads 214°F, that means your thermometer is reading 2 degrees higher than what it actually is. So, you will need to cook your turkey to 167°F degrees, as that will actually be 165°F.