Round about November and December, many home cooks are scrounging around for a roast turkey breast recipe. They want to find one that will produce a moist, tasty bird for a special dinner like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

They also want roasted turkey breast recipes that appeal to everyone's taste buds. And that's not always easy! The whole purpose of this page? To share a very simple recipe for roast turkey breast-- one of my very favorites! Keep in mind, though, that cooking is alchemy... experiment and have fun! It's ok to play with your food and tweak recipes so they better reflect your traditions and palate. This recipe is a great jumping-off point for doing just that.

Not looking for a specific recipe, but for some advice? For more tips on cooking a turkey breast, visit this page.

Buying Frozen Turkey Breast

Before we talk about cooking up a roast turkey breast recipe, there are a few things every cook needs to know about buying this tasty piece of meat.

What Size to Buy. When you're buying a bone-in whole turkey or turkey breast, you want at least one pound of turkey per person. 1.5 pounds per person allows for leftover meat for those all-important football-special turkey sandwiches the next day.

When to Buy. Want to save money on your holiday turkey breast? You should have no problem finding an affordable turkey breast if you start watching the sales a couple weeks ahead of time. Note, however, that if you find a great price several months ahead of time, turkey has a shelf life of about 9 months in the freezer! So you have plenty of time... or can buy several turkey breasts and keep them until they're ready to cook. While cooking a whole turkey is more of a specialty thing, cooking turkey breast can be done any time of year.

How and When to Thaw. To defrost the turkey, allow for one full day in the refrigerator for every 5 pounds of bird. This is the safest way to defrost the turkey. Just use a large bowl or pan in case the wrappings leak. That will keep your refrigerator clean and avoid any chance of cross-contamination. Once it's defrosted, you want to give the turkey breast a thorough rinse in cool water then pat it dry.

Check here to learn a bit about the best ways to thaw a turkey.

My Favorite Lemon and Herb Roast Turkey Breast Recipe

Today, we're going relatively "Western traditional" for this roast turkey breast recipe. However, if you're looking for something more creative, you can try a Cajun deep fried turkey breast, or plenty of other types of roast turkey breast recipes. Play with the herbs, spices, and flavorings... the sky's the limit.

The quantities below are for a seven-pound turkey breast. If yours is bigger, you may need to up the amounts a bit, and increase the cooking time accordingly.

• Print this Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp. garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 tbsp. fresh minced sage
1 tsp. fresh minced thyme
1/2 tsp celery seed
2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt (fleur de sel is also nice)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. softened butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
Celery salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, to taste
1 C. white wine
1 C. chicken stock

Instructions: 1. Preheat a conventional oven to 325 degrees or a convection oven to 300 degrees.

2. Combine the garlic, lemon zest, sage, thyme, celery seed, salt, pepper and butter, stirring until they're well integrated. Gently loosen the skin of the turkey and stuff the butter mixture evenly underneath.

3. Next coat the exterior of the turkey breast with olive oil (inside and out). Lightly sprinkle the entire surface with celery salt, pepper, onion, garlic or other personally enjoyed herbs that you like with poultry.

4. Put the turkey breast into the roasting pan (place it on a rack to keep it from getting soggy) and pour the wine and broth into the bottom. Cook for about two hours, during which time you can baste it regularly with the wine/broth mixture at the bottom of the pan.

5. If you notice the skin getting too brown, just tent it with aluminum foil. Keep the aluminum foil loose so that you don't steam the bird and loose that crispness.

6. The turkey is done when it registers 165-170 on a meat thermometer.

7. When cooked through, you want to take it out and let it rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Slicing it before then will rob you of some great juices. Make sure to keep the drippings in the pan for your gravy.

Check this page for tips on how to carve a turkey or turkey breast.

More Flavor Options for Roasted Turkey Breast

With this or any other roast turkey breast recipe, there are a lot of other flavor profiles you can try. For example, instead of the customary sage and herbs, substitute soy sauce, ginger, and a little hot pepper into the butter for Asian fusion turkey. Other examples include:

• Putting slices of peeled oranges under the skin and/or into the cavity for a fruity flavored bird.
• Honey glazed turkey breast
• Cranberry apple basted turkey breast
• Mustard and herb rubbed turkey breast
• Bacon roasted turkey breast

Just to name a few! You can also scale down your regular recipe for a whole roast turkey (we've got a ton of those right here on this page) and turn it into a roast turkey breast recipe. One of my favorites is this bacon-butter coated turkey-- it works great with a breast!

What... no Turkey Gravy?

Wait! That 15 minutes while the turkey rests is the perfect time to make gravy from the pan drippings. Take a tablespoon full of butter and melt it in a sauce pan. Sprinkle in two tablespoonfuls of flour to make a roux. Now slowly add two cups of your turkey drippings (add chicken broth if you don't have enough) stirring constantly. This gravy thickens as it comes to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can find more in-depth instructions on making turkey gravy from pan dripping right here. We'll take you through it step by step.

Or you can visit my turkey gravy recipe page for more turkey gravy options.