Orange-Brined Turkey Breast with Apricot-Rosemary Glaze

This always comes out well for us. See ‘Notes’ below.

Ingredients

Brine

4 cups water
12 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
¾ cup kosher salt
½ cup brown sugar
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
2 dried bay leaves
2 cloves garlic smashed
4 cups ice cubes
1 bone-in turkey breast 6-8 pounds

Glaze

½ cup apricot preserves
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Additional

1 cup white wine or chicken broth

Instructions

For the brine, heat water, orange juice concentrate, salt, brown sugar, 2 sprigs rosemary, peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic in a large pot over medium to a boil.
Cover pot and remove from heat; let cool 20 minutes. Stir in ice until melted.
Trim and discard excess rib and wing sections from the breast.
Submerge breast in brine in pot, cover, and refrigerate until ready to roast, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
For the glaze, combine apricot preserves, fresh orange juice, honey, Dijon, minced garlic, and 2 sprigs rosemary in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring glaze to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool; discard rosemary sprigs.
Remove breast from brine, and rinse and pat dry.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a rack inside a roasting pan and coat rack with nonstick spray. Place breast skin-side up on rack and pour wine into bottom of roasting pan.
Roast breast 30 minutes, rotate pan, reduce temperature to 325°F, then brust breast with glaze. Roast breast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, about 1½ hours more, brushing with glaze every 30 minutes until all glaze is used.
Transfer breast to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes before slicing.

Notes

2018

In 2018 we had a 5.75 lb. fresh turkey breast. With the oven rack in the lowest spot, we roasted the breast at 450°F for 15 minutes, then added the glaze. Then we turned the temperature down to 325°F and roasted for another 30 minutes, then glaze. We did two more cycles of 30 minute roast and glaze, and the turkey tested done after a total of 1 hour 15 minutes. (We put the turkey in around 1:50pm and it came out at 3:47pm. Extra time was for the glazing.)

2019

In 2019 we had two 3-pound split turkey breasts. Roasted at 450°F for 10 minutes, then glazed, and turned temperature down to 350°F. We then roasted for 6 more cycles of 15 minutes followed by glazing.

2020-2021

In 2020 and 2021, we got a ~3 lb. boneless turkey breast in honey brine from Wegmans (2020) and Weis (2021). Lined black roasting pan with foil, chopped onions and celery and added with baby carrots to bottom of pan. Turned on oven at 2:30pm, set to 350°F. Trimmed skin and fat from turkey and added salt, pepper, and glaze. Put turkey in at 3:00pm. Roasted one hour, glazing and turning occasionally, then broil each side 5 minutes on high to solidify glaze. We also made:

2 packages mashed potatoes in large saucepot; add 2-3 tablespoons butter.
1 package stuffing in medium saucepot; add canned mushrooms, chicken broth and water, and 1 tablespoon butter.
2 jars turkey gravy in small saucepot; add fresh sliced mushrooms.

2022

In 2022, boneless breasts were very hard to find. I was unable to find brined frozen or fresh boneless breasts, so I bought two Jennie-O fresh boneless turkey breast roasts from Gerrity’s. The weights were 3.34 lbs. and 3.49 lbs. I made the brine in a large stockpot according to the recipe, substituting 5.5 cups of orange juice for the orange juice concentrate and water, and adding the juice of one lime that I had on hand. I made the brine (and potato roll dough) around 9:00am. I rinsed the turkey breasts and added them to the brine at 9:40am. I was planning to put the stockpot outside, but the temperature quickly rose to the mid-40s, so we made room for it in the refrigerator. We turned on the oven to 350°F at 2:00pm. We added chopped onion, celery, and carrots to the foil-lined pan (the breasts just fit). Added the turkey, patted dry, and glazed. We put it in the oven at 2:30pm. Added more glaze after 30 minutes of roasting, and then every 20 minutes thereafter. We added a probe thermometer after 50 minutes. We did not turn the breasts over, but we did rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time. The turkeys needed 2 hours to get to an internal temperature of 165°F, so they were ready at 4:30pm. We could use even more mashed potatoes next time. R says to remember to have a green vegetable next year!!!

2 24-ounce packages mashed potatoes in large saucepot; add 3 tablespoons butter and ¼ teaspoon white pepper.
1 package stuffing in medium saucepot; add canned sliced mushrooms, chicken broth and water, and 1 tablespoon butter.
2 jars turkey gravy in small saucepot; add canned sliced mushrooms.

2023

In 2023, I wasn’t able to find the fresh boneless breasts we had last year. (We also had Thanksgiving dinner a week early this year, so that might have been part of the reason.) Instead, I got two frozen Butterball boneless breasts from Gerrity’s. We took them out of the freezer on Tuesday (dinner was planned for Friday). The turkeys had an inner mesh keeping them together (the tenderloin and possibly some other parts were just loose in the package). The instructions say to keep the mesh on, but we removed it so we could more easily glaze them. It was a bit of a mess at the beginning, but it actually turned out OK. We just nestled the loose pieces in between and underneath the larger breast pieces, put a piece of skin over them that we cut off the larger pieces, and they turned out fine (they did not overcook). This year, we used a foil roasting pan. As usual, we placed the turkeys on a bed of celery, chopped onions, and baby carrots. We turned on the oven to 350°F at 1:15pm, prepared and glazed the turkeys, and put them in the oven at 1:45pm. We had preheated the oven with the pizza stone on rack 3, and then placed the foil roasting pan directly on top of the stone. Glazed turkey after 30 minutes, and then every 20 minutes afterward. Rotated the roasting pan after one hour. The turkeys were done (tested at 170°F or higher) at 3:30pm. Although the skin/glaze got pretty dark in some spots, we didn’t need to cover them with foil. (We did cover the pan with foil to let it rest once we took it out of the oven.) Began eating around 4:15.

2 24-ounce packages mashed potatoes in large saucepot; add 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon sour cream, about 8-10 slices of Cooper cheese (grated), and ¼ teaspoon white pepper.
1 package stuffing in medium saucepot; add canned sliced mushrooms, chicken broth and water, and 1 tablespoon butter.
2 jars turkey gravy in small saucepot; add one of the gravy concentrate pouches from the frozen turkey breast (don’t add water).
Drop biscuits, with quantities increased to make 6 biscuits in hamburger bun pan.
Small side salad with tomatoes, red onion, and mild Italian dressing.
Canned and homemade cranberry sauce.
Almond tarts in mini tartlet pan, half with raspberry and half with apricot jam underneath the filling.
Pumpkin pie/whipped cream from Dad.

9 December 2023

Today we made another turkey breast, and left the netting on this time to see how it would work. We used a small (6 pound capacity?) foil roasting pan, and placed the turkey on top of a bed of celery. We put it in the oven on top of a baking stone on rack 3 at 1:53pm, after glazing. We glazed it again after 30 minutes, and then every 20 minutes thereafter. We rotated the pan after 1 hour. The turkey was ready (testing to 171°F or higher) at 3:33pm. Next time we can try letting it go to 175°F. We also made one pack of chicken Stovetop stuffing, one jar of chicken gravy (adding about half of the gravy packet that came with the turkey), and one pack of Reser’s steakhouse Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, with added Cooper cheese and sour cream. For some reason, the potatoes came out very loose, maybe because of the variety? We usually use the regular mashed potatoes, which may be stiffer.