Roast Turkey Breast

Do not do this. It amounts to bringing the breast to the "done" temp as quickly as possible. You won't like the result. Turkey, like many other meats, needs time to gain flavor and texture. Cooking at 450 degrees will give you stringy, tough-seeming turkey. Cook turkey breast at 325 or 350 for two hours, give or take, depending on the size of the breast. You can find many recipes along those lines with cooking times.

Would you share your "dry brine" recipe?

I make two of these each and every Thanksgiving, exactly as Bittman describes, except that I dry brine the breasts in the fridge for 24 hours before roasting. With this method, we get lots of moist, delicious white meat effortlessly. When my mother-in-law is here, I simply order one turkey drumstick ahead and roasted on the side for her. The rest of us prefer white meat.

you must clean your oven completely the day before you roast the breasts, or your kitchen will fill with smoke.

Followed Mark's directions and was not disappointed. The shortened cooking time with the high heat gave us a perfectly moist, browned breast. Was nervous after reading the comments but went ahead and am thrilled with the results.

When I roast a turkey breast I also toss a few necks into the bottom of the pan. Without those necks (or some other dark meat) you might not get enough browning on the bottom of the pan to make really good gravy.

Should the turkey breasts be covered with aluminum foil while in the oven?

DM, I follow the dry brining of Melissa Clark (NYT): 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt per lb of bird. (I mix sage and thyme into the salt.) Separate skin as much as possible from breast without breaking skin. W fingers, work dry brine evenly under skin, then on skin. Refrigerate about 8 hours in plastic. Unwrap to let skin dry in fridge for 1 day before T-day. On T-day, rest at room temp for 2 hrs before roasting; oil skin w neutral oil or clarified butter; roast w/o basting or turning. Amazing.

Dry brine for a whole 12-14 lb bird: Combine half a cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 6 tablespoons Morton's kosher salt) with two tablespoons of baking powder in a bowl. Carefully pat your turkey dry with paper towels. Generously sprinkle it on all surfaces with the salt mixture by picking up the mixture between your thumb and fingers, holding it six to ten inches above the bird and letting the mixture shower down over the surface of the turkey for even coverage.

This really does work, but it's much better if you do a dry brine rub a couple of days before, then take the plastic off after the brining time period, then let the breast sit uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 hours beforehand me the big day. Remove the breast from the refrigerator two hours before roasting time and let it sit uncovered on counter. I have made turkey breast exactly like this for many years with truly great results.

I, too, was curious about the baking powder. This from Serious Eats: "Adding baking powder to a dry brine can also improves your turkey skin. Not only does the baking powder work to break down some skin proteins, causing them crisp and brown more efficiently, but it also combines with turkey juices, forming microscopic bubbles that add surface area and crunch to your skin as it roasts." Theresa's method comes from the seriouseats.com website, if you want more information.

I'd recommend NOT using this method to roast a whole breast larger than the 6 lb specified in the recipe. I roasted an 8-lb breast, and the outside got a bit overdone before the meat near the bone was cooked. It was still more moist and tasty than breast meet cooked on a whole turkey. I also roasted several turkey wings (inexpensive!), adding onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and thyme during the last 20 mins, to make stock to supplement the drippings from the breast. Delicious!

This worked perfectly! I used the dry brine from Ina Garten's "accidental turkey" recipe but followed these instructions for roasting. A 6.7 lb bone-in turkey breast was done after about 1 hour 40 minutes, and then I let it rest (covered with foil) for 20 minutes. It was super moist with delicious crispy skin!

Is this recipe for a boneless or bone in turkey breast?

How do I make me some butt rub?

I must respectfully disagree. I have used the high-heat method on both whole birds and, more often, on breasts since the first such recipe appeared in the New York Times in the 90s (the title of which was something like "high-heat roasting makes Tom Turkey a bird of paradise"). One of the things I love about this approach is the crispy skin and moist meat the method produces. Make sure you clean your oven the day before, or you will have a kitchen full of smoke!