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Roasted jerk turkey breast sliced on a plate with gravy.
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Jerk Turkey Breast

This jerk roasted turkey breast is juicy, flavorful, and coated in a herby, garlicky compound butter with a hint of sweet heat.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 40 minutes
Brine Time1 day
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American, Jamaican
Keyword: holiday, thanksgiving, turkey
Servings: 6 servings
Author: August DeWindt

Ingredients

Brine:

  • 1 ½ tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

Turkey:

  • 5 ½ - 6 ½ lb bone in turkey breast try to get one with no solution
  • 11 tbsp Butter unsalted, softened, about 1 1/2 sticks
  • 1 tsp Rosemary chopped
  • 1 tsp Thyme chopped
  • 4 cloves Garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp jerk marinade store brought or use my recipe
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • Sprigs of rosemary
  • Sprigs of thyme
  • 2 onions quartered
  • 2 lemons sliced

Butter injection:

  • 1 tbsp melted jerk butter

Instructions

Dry Brine:

  • Cut the backbone out of the turkey breast, save on the side if you’re making stock. Pat dry the turkey breast and season all over with the dry brine seasonings. Make sure to get under the skin as well and on the bottom too.
    Turkey breast with dry brine.

Turkey:

  • Take the turkey out of the fridge an hour before you’re ready to cook and bring to room temperature.
    Turkey breast with dry brine.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • To a small food processor or bowl add the butter, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic, jerk marinade and honey. Mix together until well combined. Save a tablespoon of the compound butter on the side.
    Jerk compound butter in a bowl.
  • Rub this compound butter all over the turkey breast, under the skin and on the bottom as well.
    Turkey breast with jerk compound butter on a wire rack.
  • Melt the reserved compound butter. Inject the turkey breast in different areas with the melted butter. If you don’t have an injector that is fine, you can skip this step and the breast will still be juicy. But, I recommend getting one.
  • To a baking dish large enough to hold the turkey breast, add the onion, lemon, rosemary & thyme. Place the turkey on top of this.
    Turkey breast in a glass dish before baking.
  • Roast in the oven on the bottom rack at 20 min per pound. Baste after 30 minutes. When the skin starts to look golden, loosely cover the turkey with foil. In the last 10 min of cooking take the foil off and baste again.
    Roasted turkey breast in the oven and with foil on top.
  • Take the turkey out of the oven when it reaches 160 degrees. It will come to 165 degrees while resting. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
    Roasted turkey breast in a glass dish on top of onions and lemons.
  • Slice & serve.
    Roasted jerk turkey breast sliced on a plate.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 2068mg | Potassium: 312mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 684IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg