Roast Turkey Breast with Cranberry Merlot Sauce
Roast turkey breast topped with savory sweet cranberry Merlot sauce for a creative alternative to traditional gravy
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 95 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: roasting
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- TURKEY INGREDIENTS
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp minced fresh rosemary
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 lb roast turkey breast
- CRANBERRY MERLOT SAUCE
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 small garlic, minced
- ½ cup merlot wine or other dry red wine
- 2 tbsp cranberry relish or jam
- pinch minced fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- juice from the resting turkey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325, convection roast setting if you have convection oven.
- To reconstitute the dried morels, place the morels in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let the morels steep in the water for 30 minutes. Then place a damp paper towel in a sieve, with a bowl underneath. Pour the morels with the soaking liquid into the sieve. Save the soaking liquid that is caught in the bowl. Remove the morels from the sieve and rinse them. Coarsely chop the morels and set them aside.
- Make the herb butter: place the softened butter in a small bowl. Add the minced garlic, the rosemary, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine well, and set aside.
- Rinse the turkey breast and pat dry. Set the turkey out on a clean work surface, and rub the butter all over the turkey. Put more on the skin side, work some under the skin if you can.
- Place the turkey breast on a roasting rack, skin side up, in a roasting pan. Place in the oven and roast. Roasting times vary based on your oven and the size of the turkey. Roasting times for a 3 to 5 lb turkey breast are typically given as 90 to 120 minutes. Check at 90 minutes, temperature in middle should be 170 degrees. Our 4 pound turkey breast was ready at the 90 minute mark. When done, remove the turkey breast from oven and let rest for 10 minutes on a large platter.
- Toward the end of the turkey roasting time, make the cranberry Merlot sauce. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add the Merlot and cranberry jam to the saucepan, whisking to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the rosemary, thyme salt and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce the sauce. Keep warm as the turkey finishes cooking. Stir in a tablespoon or two of the juice from the resting turkey.
- Slice the turkey to serve. Plate a few turkey slices, topped with the cranberry Merlot sauce. Enjoy!
