Ingredients
Brine
- 2 cups apple cider
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ bunch fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup kosher salt
- 1 orange, peel removed with a vegetable peeler and then juiced
- 1 whole bone in, skin on turkey breast (about 5 pounds)
Glaze and Roasting:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Directions
- For the brine, in a large pot big enough to hold the turkey breast comfortably, combine the cider, maple syrup, thyme, bay leaves, salt, orange peel and juice with 2 quarts water. Bring to just a simmer. Add 2 quarts ice water (about half ice/half water). Let come to room temperature. Submerge the turkey in the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight or all day (about 12 hours).
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange a rack (a V-shaped roasting rack is ideal, but if you don’t have that, any rack is fine.) in a large roasting pan. Remove turkey from the brine, rinse well and pat dry. Loosen the skin of the turkey breast with your fingers and rub the butter under the breast. In a small bowl, stir together the paprika, dry mustard, sage, garlic powder and pepper and rub all over the turkey breast. Set the turkey on the rack breast side up and roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the maple syrup and mustard. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and brush the turkey with some of the glaze. Continue to roast, basting twice more, until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the breast. Let the turkey rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes before carving.