Roasted Turkey Breast with Onion Sauce
Every year when MPG goes deer hunting, he manages to bring back more than just a freezer full of venison. Usually the bounty includes feed sacks full of turnips that I end up sharing with everyone I know … seriously, nobody can eat that many turnips! Last year, he brought home a turkey breast that was as big as most whole turkeys I see in the grocery store. It was fresh from the farm … no hormones injected, no water or other filler injected. It was all meat, beautiful large turkey breast meat.
Now … if you know me you know that turkey isn’t my favorite meat. I don’t buy it at the grocery store unless it’s Thanksgiving (I haven’t figured out how to get out of that tradition!) and I certainly don’t order it in restaurants. But, I’m not going to turn it away, either. I decided I needed to cook this one just to make room in the freezer for this year’s hunting bounty!
Roasting a turkey breast is pretty simple. I used my large turkey roaster so there would be enough room for the breast, seasoned it with salt, pepper and thyme, then roasted it in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes (I used my convention setting. If you don’t have this, roast at 400 degrees), then turned the heat down to 350 degrees and roasted for about another hour until it reached 160 degrees internal temperature. I didn’t weigh my turkey, but I’m estimating it was 6lbs raw.
I let the turkey breast rest – covered – for about 15 minutes to let the juices settle before slicing. I used the time to finish up my onion and white wine sauce. Sauteed onions and thyme are one of my favorite combinations and I couldn’t think of anything that would compliment the hunk ofr white poultry meat any better.
Onion and White Wine Sauce
Ingredients:
- Half stick butter
- 1 medium sliced onion
- 1T thyme and continue cooking
- 2T all-purpose flour
- 1C chicken broth
- 1C dry white wine
- 2T white wine vinegar
Melt the butter in large pot.
Add sliced onions and let cook through. I don’t let mine get brown, I prefer this sauce to keep it’s white color. Once the onions have cooked a bit, add the thyme and continue cooking.
Add flour to the butter and onion mixture and stir until you have a rue the consistency of thin peanut butter. Add the chicken broth and wine, bring the sauce to a slight boil and stir continuously. Add vinegar, continue stirring. If sauce is too thick, you can add a bit more chicken broth or wine to thin it out. Add salt and white pepper to taste … this is optional.
Slice the turkey and place on a platter, then spoon some of the sauce over it for presentation. Serve the remaining sauce in a gravy boat or bowl.
I served this with roasted asparagus … (sprinkle with olive oil, salt and garlic. Toss to coat. Place on baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. When you can smell the asparagus, it’s done. Don’t over cook it! Ewe …)
… and Whiskey Sweet Potatoes.
