When considering a smaller crowd, cooking a whole turkey can be excessive, time-consuming, and wasteful. A turkey breast is a perfect alternative, providing juicy, flavorful meat without the hassle. Our recipe for citrus sage roast turkey breast with gravy is designed for smaller gatherings, offering a delightful and satisfying meal. The combination of zesty citrus, aromatic sage, and rich gravy creates a tantalizing dish that will impress your guests. So, gather your ingredients and let's embark on this culinary journey to create a remarkable feast for your small crowd.
Here are our top 4 tried and tested recipes!
CITRUS-SAGE ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH GRAVY: SMALL CROWD
Provided by Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez
Categories turkey Roast Thanksgiving Dinner Lemon Orange Sage Gourmet Sugar Conscious Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free No Sugar Added
Yield Makes 4 servings, with leftovers
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Roast turkey breast:
- Heat oven to 425°F with rack in lowest position. Discard any excess fat from inside turkey cavity. Pat dry inside and out.
- Stir together butter, sage, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Grate enough zest from orange to measure 1 teaspoon and add to butter mixture. Halve orange lengthwise and save one half for another use. Cut remaining half into wedges.
- Starting at wider, thicker end of breast, gently slide an index finger between skin and flesh of breast to loosen skin, leaving skin attached to breast at other end (be careful not to tear skin). Push butter mixture evenly under skin on both sides of breast, and massage skin from outside to distribute butter evenly.
- Put turkey on V rack in roasting pan and sprinkle all over with 3/4 teaspoon salt (if using a kosher turkey, see the Cooks' notes) and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Put orange and red onion wedges in area between rack and breast. Add 1 cup water to pan and roast turkey 30 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Rotate breast 180 degrees and baste with pan juices, then roast 30 minutes.
- Rotate breast again 180 degrees, and baste with pan juices. Tent breast loosely with foil and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (test both sides, close to but not touching bone) registers 165°F, 25 to 40 minutes longer. (Baste with juices once more; if pan becomes completely dry, add 1/2 cup water.) (Total roasting time: about 1 1/2 hours.)
- Transfer turkey to a platter, reserving juices in pan. Let turkey stand, uncovered, 25 minutes. Discard orange and onion wedges.
- Make gravy while turkey stands:
- Pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 1-quart glass measure (do not clean roasting pan), then skim off and discard fat. (If using a fat separator, pour pan juices through sieve into separator and let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour pan juices from separator into measure, discarding fat.)
- Position roasting pan across 2 burners, then add 1 cup water and deglaze roasting pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Pour through sieve into glass measure containing pan juices. Add enough turkey stock to pan juices to bring total to 2 1/4 cups (if stock is congealed, heat to liquefy).
- Melt butter in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium-low heat and whisk in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add stock mixture in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Stir in any turkey juices accumulated on platter and simmer 5 minutes. Season gravy with salt and pepper.
CITRUS TURKEY ROAST
I was skeptical at first about fixing turkey in a slow cooker but once I tasted this dish, I was hooked. With a little cornstarch to thicken the juices, the gravy is easily made. -Kathy Kittell, Lenexa, Kansas
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 5h30m
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Cut roast in half. Combine the garlic powder, paprika, oil, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; rub over turkey. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the garlic, 1/2 cup broth, water, wine, orange juice and lemon juice. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until a thermometer reads 175°. , Remove turkey and keep warm. Discard garlic cloves. For gravy, combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth; stir into cooking juices. Cover and cook on high for 15 minutes or until thickened. Slice turkey; serve with gravy.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 162 calories, Fat 6g fat (0 saturated fat), Cholesterol 66mg cholesterol, Sodium 652mg sodium, Carbohydrate 4g carbohydrate (1g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 23g protein.
ROSEMARY AND CITRUS TURKEY FOR A CROWD
This recipe makes things easier on you if you're feeding a crowd at Thanksgiving. Instead of roasting two birds, or a giant, hard-to-maneuver 22-pounder, borrow a trick that caterers use at large weddings. There's the official wedding cake for show, while in the kitchen there are sheet pans full of the same cake recipe, baked into flat, easily sliceable pieces. Using the same logic, here you'll find a recipe for one whole turkey roasted for that Norman Rockwell moment. Then, pans of easy-to-carve turkey parts are cooked in the same oven at the same time. Monitor everything carefully: The whole bird takes the longest to roast, while the parts roast in about half the time, the white meat often finishing before the dark. You will need a large roasting pan with a rack, and two 9-by-13-inch baking pans.
Provided by Melissa Clark
Categories dinner, main course
Time 3h
Yield 20 to 24 servings
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Remove giblets from inside the turkey; reserve for stock or gravy. Pat meat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, allspice, garlic and citrus zests. Pat mixture all over turkey and turkey parts (including inside the whole turkey cavity). Stuff one bunch of rosemary in cavity of whole turkey. Strew remaining rosemary and the thyme all over turkey and turkey parts. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
- Remove whole turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before you plan to cook it so it can come to room temperature. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange oven racks so the pan with the whole turkey will fit on top rack, and the two pans with parts will fit underneath.
- Place whole turkey (with herb branches clinging to it) on a rack in a roasting pan. Take parts out of the fridge and place the breasts in a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan. Place the legs and wings in a separate 9-by-13 roasting pan.
- Distribute onions, carrots, celery and apples into all three pans, scattering them on the bottom of the large roasting pan under the whole turkey, and tucking them in among turkey pieces. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons wine over each pan of turkey parts and pour 1/2 cup wine in the bottom of the whole turkey pan.
- Transfer whole turkey to the oven and roast for 1 hour (let the parts come to room temperature while the turkey starts roasting).
- Add parts to the oven underneath the rack with the whole turkey on it, and roast for an additional 30 minutes.
- Squeeze the juice from the 2 zested oranges. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and sprinkle about a third of the orange juice into the bottom of each of the three pans.
- Drizzle the butter or oil all over the whole turkey and the pieces. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meat registers 165 degrees, about 20 to 30 minutes more for the whole turkey, and 15 to 45 minutes longer for the parts. (Note: The turkey breasts may cook faster than the dark meat, so keep your eye on them.) If the breast of the whole turkey starts to look too brown before the bird is cooked through, cover it loosely with foil.
- When the whole turkey is cooked through, remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 20 minutes while the parts finish cooking.
- When all the turkey parts are cooked through, adjust oven temperature to broil. Broil turkey parts until skin turns golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Let parts rest for 5 minutes before carving and serving. If you want to use the drippings for gravy or stock, strain or use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables first.
CITRUS & HERB ROASTED TURKEY BREAST
This recipe will make you love turkey again. Brining with lemon, rosemary and orange juice makes it so moist and flavorful. It's the star attraction at our table. -Fay Moreland, Wichita Falls, Texas
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 3h
Yield 10 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- In a 6-qt. stockpot, combine the first 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add cold juices to brine; cool to room temperature., Place 1 oven roasting bag inside the other. Place turkey breast inside both bags; pour in cooled brine. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible, and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally., In a small bowl, beat herb butter ingredients until blended. Remove turkey from brine; rinse and pat dry. Discard brine. Place turkey on a rack in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from turkey breast; rub herb butter under the skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks. Refrigerate, covered, 18-24 hours., Preheat oven to 425°. In a small bowl, mix butter and seasoned salt; brush over outside of turkey. Roast 15 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 325°. Roast 1-3/4-2-1/4 hours longer or until a thermometer reads 170°. (Cover loosely with foil if turkey browns too quickly.) Remove turkey from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 411 calories, Fat 23g fat (10g saturated fat), Cholesterol 151mg cholesterol, Sodium 482mg sodium, Carbohydrate 1g carbohydrate (0 sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 48g protein.
Tips:
- To ensure the turkey breast is cooked evenly, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. The turkey is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius).
- Cover the turkey breast with foil during roasting to prevent it from drying out. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking to allow the skin to crisp.
- To make the gravy, use the drippings from the roasting pan. Add chicken broth, white wine, and herbs to the drippings and simmer until thickened.
- Serve the turkey breast with roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
- For a more flavorful turkey breast, brine it in a mixture of water, salt, sugar, and herbs for 24 hours before roasting.
- If you don't have sage, you can use other herbs such as rosemary, thyme, or oregano.
- This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled to feed a larger crowd.
Conclusion:
This citrus sage roast turkey breast with gravy is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for a special occasion or a weeknight meal. The turkey breast is moist and flavorful, and the gravy is rich and creamy. Serve it with your favorite sides for a complete meal that everyone will enjoy.
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