Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast

By Samin Nosrat

Published Nov. 11, 2020

Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Breast
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
Total Time
1 hour, plus 24 to 36 hours’ brining
Rating
4(4,024)
Comments
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The proven alchemy of a salt-and-buttermilk brine does wonders for the often-dry roast turkey breast. The recipe is so easy, the trickiest step will be pulling out your kitchen scale to weigh out the salt. But it's worth doing if you can in order to ensure a properly balanced brine. Emerging from the oven with a beautiful lacquered skin and an incredibly moist and tender texture within, this roast is ideal for a scaled-down Thanksgiving meal, a cozy family dinner or to generate a stack of unbelievably tasty sandwiches.

Featured in: The Buttermilk-Brined Turkey of Your Thanksgiving Dreams

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2cups buttermilk
  • 33grams fine sea salt (2 tablespoons)
  • 1half turkey breast (about 2½ pounds), on or off the bone
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

300 calories; 13 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 40 grams protein; 629 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    One to two days before you plan to cook, place buttermilk and salt in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and stir to dissolve salt. Place turkey breast in the bag and seal carefully, expelling the air. Squish the bag to distribute buttermilk all around the turkey, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. If you’re so inclined, you can turn the bag periodically so every part of the turkey gets marinated, but that’s not essential.

  2. Step 2

    Two hours before you plan to start cooking, remove the turkey from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Discard buttermilk, set the breast on a rimmed plate and bring it to room temperature.

  3. Step 3

    Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees. Place breast skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack or parchment paper.

  4. Step 4

    Place baking sheet on the prepared oven rack and roast the turkey until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the breast without touching bone registers 150 degrees, about 40 minutes for a boneless breast or 50 minutes for a bone-in breast. (You may want to tent the breast with aluminum foil if it’s darkening too quickly.)

  5. Step 5

    Transfer turkey to a cutting board or platter and allow to rest at least 15 minutes before carving.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
4,024 user ratings
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Comments

Bonnie

Can you double this recipe using a whole breast?

Madeiro

I had the same question as others regarding doubling the recipe for a 5lb breast. On a whim, I messaged Samin on Instagram — and she responded! Here is what she wrote. “Yes! Double the salt and buttermilk for double the weight of meat! Happy cooking!” Mystery solved. Happy cooking indeed.

Juliet Jones

Could we please try to do this without using a plastic bag? Perhaps in a bowl or rectangular terrine-type container? Maybe we need to increase the amount of brine to ensure the turkey breast is covered. Or just turn frequently.

Mavid

I had a 6.25 lb. Whole breast that I brined for 24 hours. I made a bed of carrot and celery sticks, an onion cut in eighths, a couple of sprigs of rosemary and thyme and a few sage leaves and a head of garlic with the top cut off in a 9x13 pan. I placed the drained breast on top of the veg. Roast at 425 degrees then turn temp down and add hot water to the top of veg about 1-1/2C. Melt 2T butter add 2T flour make a brown roux then add the strained drippings. Simmer until thickened. Perfect!

Colleen

I've made this a few times it's so moist, and very tasty! I backed down the salt in the brine to half the recommendation finding it a bit too salty.

TFA

On the saltier side so I didn't love it at all.

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