Name: Roast Brined Turkey Breast with Crisp Skin
Total time: 7 h 5 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups kosher salt; 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 1 fresh, whole, bone-in, skin-on turkey breast (6- to 8-pounds), rinsed and prepared according to illustrations 1 and 2 below; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , 3 tablespoons at room temperature, 1 tablespoon melted; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock (optional)

Why This Recipe Works

For a recipe that would give us both moist, flavorful meat and a tasty, crispy skin, we started by brining the turkey breast in a salt and sugar solution. We discovered that slow roasting at 325 degrees did the most to produce tender meat with just a trace of chew. We noticed that the skin was crispiest where it had touched no meat—a small section that stretches across the two halves of the breast. We wondered if we could get the same effect all over the breast by releasing all of the skin from the meat in our turkey breast recipe. The answer was yes. A bit of finesse was required to accomplish this, but the beautifully browned and crisped bird that emerged from the oven was well worth it.

Before You Begin

If you are unable to purchase a turkey breast without a pop-up timer, leave it in place and ignore it. If removed, the timer will leave a gaping hole for juices to escape during roasting. If making an accompanying pan gravy, you may want to throw some carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in the roasting pan, (see related recipe).

Instructions

Mix salt and sugar in 1 1/2 gallons cool water in large clean bucket or stockpot until completely dissolved. Set turkey breast in brine, making sure it is submerged. Cover and refrigerate 5 hours.

Twenty minutes before roasting, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix room-temperature butter with pepper in small bowl. Set aside.

Remove turkey breast from brine and pat dry. Prepare breast for roasting following illustrations 3 through 7.

Place turkey breast in oven, wide neck end toward oven rear. Pour 1/2 cup water or optional white wine or stock over pan bottom to prevent drippings from burning. Roast 15 minutes, then rotate roasting pan. Roast until skin turns golden, 15 minutes longer. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees; continue to roast breast, rotating pan once, about halfway through cooking until internal temperature in deepest part of breast registers 160 to 165 degrees (depending on preference), 30 to 45 minutes longer.

Remove turkey breast from oven. Let stand 20 minutes. Carve and serve.