Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Italian Sausage and Sourdough Dressing

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Italian Sausage Sourdough Dressing

A boneless turkey breast is perfect when entertaining small groups for Thanksgiving. A 4.75 lbs. turkey breasts serves 8-10 people generously. The Butterball brand of boneless turkey breast is very easy to prepare. The netting that surrounds the breast halves can be problematic if the desire is to achieve a crispy herb coated crust. My experience has been when removing the netting after it is cooked pulls all the herbs and the skin right off the breast halves and leaves a bare turkey breast. In order to ‘save the skin’, I opt to remove the netting before cooking and use kitchen string to bound the breast halves back together. This way it is easy just to snip the strings after it has roasted and remove them before slicing the breast leaving the herbs and skin intact. It is important to make sure when bounding the breast halves back together that the thick end of one breast half is sitting on top of the thin end of the opposite breast half so that there is an even thickness to the bound breasts. This will ensure that the bound breasts cook evenly. It is also important to make sure that the skin is covering as much exposed meat as possible. A 4.75 lbs. completely thawed boneless turkey breast will roast in about one hour and 45 minutes giving the cook plenty of time to prepare the side dishes.

Herb Roasted Boneless Turkey Breast

1 (4.75 lbs) Butterball boneless turkey breast, thawed

Kitchen string

Olive oil

2 T dried thyme

2 T dried oregano

2 T fresh rosemary, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

Allow two days to thaw the breast in the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap and remove the netting from the turkey breast. Rinse and pat dry. Place the thick end of one breast half over the thin end of the other breast half. Using kitchen string tie the breast halves at two inch intervals making sure the skin covers as much of the exposed breast meat as possible. Using your hands smear olive oil over the entire surface the bound breast halves. Salt and pepper to taste the entire area then sprinkle the herbs over it pressing them in with your hands. Place the bound turkey breasts in a glass 9“x13” Pyrex dish. Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Remove from oven and let it rest for 15 minutes. Using kitchen shears cut the strings and remove from breasts before slicing.

Roast Turkey Gravy

2 T unsalted butter

2 T all-purpose flour

1 (14.5 oz) can of less sodium chicken broth

Leftover turkey juice and brown bits from the Pyrex dish

Salt & pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan heat the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the flour and whisk until there are no lumps. Cook the rue for about 5-6 minutes until it is a golden brown color. Slowly add the chicken broth and the turkey drippings (just a little at a time) whisking constantly. Cook until the gravy has thickened about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Italian Sausage and Sourdough Dressing

1 (19 oz) pkg. of Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage links, casings removed

2 T olive oil, divided

1 (16 oz) round of sourdough bread

2 cups of onion, diced

1 cup of celery, diced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 ½ t rubbed sage

Salt & pepper to taste

½ cup parsley, minced

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 (14.5 oz) can less sodium chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the sourdough bread into 1 inch cubes. Spread the bread cubes on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake the bread cubes for about 15 minutes switching the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven and let them cool. Turn the temperature of the oven up to 425 degrees. In a large sauté pan heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add half the sausage breaking it up with a spatula and cook until no longer pink about 5 minutes. Remove sausage to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the other half of the sausage. Wipe the skillet out with a paper towel and heat the remaining 1 T olive oil on medium heat.  Add the onions and celery and cook until almost translucent about 5 minutes. Add the sage, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that the sausage is salty so do not over salt. Cook for about 2 minutes. In a large bowl mix the baked bread cubes, sausage, the onion mixture and the parsley. Mix together the eggs and the broth. Stir into the bread mixture. Generously butter a 9” x13” Pyrex dish. Pour the dressing into the dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes removing the foil about 15 minutes before it is done to toast the top of the dressing.

Roast Butternut Squash and Broccoli

4 large stalks of broccoli, stalks peeled and each stalk cut into 4 spears

4 cups of butternut squash, peeled and seeded, cubed

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet toss the broccoli spears and the cubed squash with a generous amount of olive oil with your hands. Salt and pepper the broccoli spears and the squash to taste. Roast for about 25 minutes.

Serves 8