How to Roast a Turkey Breast in 5 Easy Steps + 10 Turkey Leftover Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to reheat a turkey breast without drying it out? ›

Simply heat your oven to 300 degrees, put the carved meat in a baking dish, and add some chicken broth or turkey stock to the pan. The meat will absorb some of the liquid as it heats, making it nice and juicy. Cover the pan tightly with foil and place it in the oven until the meat is hot, 20 to 30 minutes.

TO REHEAT COOKED TURKEY BREAST AFTER REFRIGERATION

Preheat oven to 325*. 2. Place the Turkey Breast in a shallow pan with a small amount of liquid (water or turkey drippings) 3. Cover in foil and heat approximately 15 minutes per pound, until the internal tem- perature reaches 160*.

To achieve a perfectly golden, juicy turkey, let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered in the oven. We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out; then, during the last 30 minutes or so of cooking, remove the cover so the skin crisps in the hot oven.

Arrange turkey slices and pieces on baking pan, with cut edges of breast slices pressed together to prevent them from drying out. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down onto the turkey to remove any air pockets. Cover entire pan with lid or aluminum foil. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Place foil-wrapped turkey breast in shallow roasting pan. Heat at 350° F for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and carefully remove foil. Place turkey breast back in pan and return to oven and cook for an additional 20 minutes.

Place the turkey pieces in a baking dish and drizzle with a few tablespoons of stock and/or butter. Cover the dish with foil and heat in the oven at 350°F for about 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can microwave the sliced turkey (cover with a damp paper towel) in a microwave-safe dish at 50% power in 1-minute intervals.

It's not a good idea to reheat turkey more than once. Technically, as long as it reaches 165° each time, it's safe to eat. That said, it's a food safety hazard to some degree, since every time you heat and cool food, it passes through the danger zone (between 40° and 140°).

USDA recommends using cooked turkey within 3 to 4 days, kept refrigerated (40°F or less). Refrigeration slows but does not stop bacterial growth. Turkey can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. Although safe indefinitely, frozen leftovers can lose moisture and flavor when stored for longer times in the freezer.

The Bottom Line

For your safest, juiciest leftover turkey experience, we recommend reheating it one time—and one time only—and avoid reheating turkey in a slow cooker.

Oven-Roasted Turkey

We recommend starting the turkey in a 425 degree oven for 30-45 minutes before tenting the pan with foil and lowering the temperature to 350 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the bird.

Do you roast a turkey breast side up or down? ›

It's personal preference whether you choose to cook a turkey breast-side up or breast-side down. The United States Department of Agriculture advises to cook a whole turkey breast side up during the entire cooking time.

When roasting a turkey without water, it will produce its flavorful juices. After cooking, you can extend the turkey's juices with broth or wine, then add it to your gravy for extra flavor.

In addition to gravy, you can also save dry turkey with a little chicken (or even better, turkey) stock or broth. Place your carved meat in a shallow baking dish and cover it with stock. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in low oven, somewhere around 250 degrees, for 5-10 minutes.