Crispy and seasoned on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, this Jamaican jerk baked turkey breast with jerk gravy is a great way to level up your poultry game!
14-7 poundbone in, skin on turkey breastsafely thawed
1 tbsponion powderor dried minced onion
1tbspgarlic powder
3/4tspcayenne pepper
1tspcelery seed
1tsptable salt
1/2tspred pepper flakes
1/2tspcinnamon
4tspbrown sugar(can substitute granulated sugar if needed, but brown is preferred)
1tspdried thyme
1tspcumin
1/2tspnutmeg
dash of ground cloves
1/8cuplime juice(usually the juice of 1/2 of a large, juicy lime)
2tbspolive oil
4tbspunsalted butter, softened
Jerk Gravy Ingredients
between 1/2 a cup and 1 cup of chicken broth or stock, depending on amount of drippings
2tbspall purpose flour
all of the drippings from the turkey
2tbspjerk seasoning made for turkey
Instructions
Prep The Bird - Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the bone in skin on turkey breast on a roasting rack, and pat dry.
Make The Jerk Spice Blend: Combine the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, celery seed, salt, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, brown sugar (or granulated if you don't have brown), dried thyme, cumin, nutmeg and a dash of ground cloves in a bowl. Mix it together and put 2 tbsp aside for the gravy. With the remaining spice rub, add lime juice, olive oil and butter and mix well.
Rub The Bird - Using your hands, carefully separate the skin from the breast of the turkey. This allows it to get nice and crispy when cooking! Rub half of the jerk butter mixture under the skin on the breast meat, and rub the other half directly on the outside of the skin.
Bake It: Oven roast the turkey breast on the middle rack in your oven until the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees F on a meat thermometer. This is very dependent on your oven, how many times you open the oven door, and the exact size of the bird. In general, an unstuffed turkey breast will cook for 1 1/2- 2 hrs for a 2-3 pound bird, or 2 1/4-3 1/4 hours for a 6-8 pound bird. You have the option to baste the turkey if you want, or you can leave it be.
Let It Rest: Once done cooking, transfer the turkey to a platter and loosely cover with aluminum foil, allowing the turkey breast to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. Now make the gravy.
To Make The Jerk Gravy:
Scrape any drippings from the bottom of the roasting pan into a medium sized skillet, fat and all! Pour in between 1/2 a cup and 1 cup of chicken stock or broth, depending on how many drippings you got from the bird. Bring the sauce pan to a boil, and boil for 60 seconds before running the mixture through a wire mesh sieve to remove any fat or bone pieces.
Reserve about 1/3 cup of the strained gravy, and add the rest to the skillet. Mix 2 tbsp of flour into the reserved gravy and whisk until there are no clumps. Pour this mixture into the sauce pan with the rest of the gravy, and whisk to fully combine.
Now add the 2 tbsp of reserved jerk seasoning to the gravy! Whisk well, and adjust the thickness according to preference. If you would like it thinner, add more chicken stock. If you would like it thicker, repeat the step where you added the flour, but start with 1 tsp at a time until the desired thickness is met.
Pour it into a gravy bowl and serve over the jerk turkey! Enjoy!
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