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Herb and Butter Roasted Turkey Parts. Roast your holiday turkey in half the time and without any stress. Made with butter, fresh herbs, garlic, onions, and wine, this simple roasted turkey will become the recipe you make every holiday season. Use a sheet of butter-soaked cheesecloth to help the turkey achieve that perfect golden skin we’re always looking for. This turkey recipe is almost effortless but, most importantly, so delicious—especially with my simple pan gravy!
I wasn’t sure I would share this recipe, but after I shared it on Live with Kelly and Mark last week, I knew I needed to give it to you all as well! There was so much excitement around this turkey recipe, and I fully understand why.
If you have the butcher cut the meat, it’s pretty much effortless. It also ensures you’ll get a perfectly cooked turkey every single time. You’re going to love this!
I started making this recipe a few years ago. My family is a little picky when it comes to turkey meat. Most of them only like the breast meat. So, one year, I decided to roast only the breasts. It ended up being so much easier than dealing with the entire turkey!
Last year, I got even smarter and asked my butcher to break down the whole turkey for me. Then, I could also roast the thighs and legs (mainly for my oldest brother, Creighton). Roasting just the breasts is great, but I wanted to have some of the juices and flavors from the thighs and legs as well. Plus, I knew the gravy would be more delicious with the juices from the thighs and legs!
Everyone loved the turkey so much that this year, I’m doing the same. We have a smaller group, so it will be perfect.
I’m very excited to give you all the recipe, and just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, too!
Let’s Dive Into The Details
Ingredients
- turkey parts, breast, thighs, and or wings
- salted butter
- fresh sage, thyme, and parsley
- lemon
- cheesecloth
- garlic
- yellow onions
- broth
- white wine
- flour
Special Tools
For this recipe, you need either a roasting pan or a large cast iron skillet.
Steps
Step 1: the turkey
If you’re going to use a whole turkey, my best advice is to have your butcher cut it up for you. I call my local Whole Foods and have them break the turkey down before I head to the store.
Trust me, this will save you so much time, hassle, and cleanup. Plus, it’s totally free!
Once you have the turkey pieces, you can use all breasts, all thighs, wings, or a mix. I recommend a mix for a super flavorful gravy, but using just the breasts will be great too!
Do what’s going to be best for you and your guests!
Arrange the turkey pieces in a roasting pan. Let them come to room temp for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking.
Step 2: make the herb butter
For the herb butter, I mix one stick of salted butter with fresh sage, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, and black pepper.
Rub the butter all over and underneath the turkey’s skin. I usually season with more salt.
Step 3: the butter-soaked cheesecloth
Dampen the cheesecloth in water, then ring out the excess water.
Melt one stick of butter and submerge the cloth in it. Now, drape the cheesecloth over the turkey. I know this feels weird but think of it like a butter-soaked blanket for your turkey. The butter drips down on the turkey as it cooks, keeping it moist and protecting the skin from burning.
Step 4: roasting
Arrange the onions, shallots, and garlic around the turkey. Roast the turkey at 450° for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 400° and roast until the turkey registers 160° on a meat thermometer. For a 14-pound turkey, that should take another 45 minutes to 1 hour.
I recommend using a meat thermometer for best results, as the times will vary depending on the size of our turkey pieces.
Step 5: roasting
Now, let the turkey rest and make the gravy.
For the gravy, place the roasting pan on the burner. Add the wine and scrape up all the browned bits. Now add butter and flour, then whisk in the broth.
Season with sage, salt, and pepper. I like to add a pinch of cayenne too.
Step 6: slice up the turkey
Slice the turkey. Don’t stress on slicing it the perfect way.
Serve the turkey with lots and lots of gravy – of course!
Enjoy this recipe! I hope it provides you all with a very stress-free holiday dinner!
Looking for more dinners? Here’s a few more to try!
Smothered Chicken in Mushroom Wine Pan Sauce
Crockpot Thai Short Ribs with Coconut Rice
Crockpot Short Rib Bourguignon
Lastly, if you make this Herb and Butter Roasted Turkey Parts, be sure to leave a comment and/or rate this recipe! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Herb and Butter Roasted Turkey Parts
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 328 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 (14-16) pound fresh turkey, cut into pieces (see note)
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 piece large of double lined cheesecloth
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, melted
- 2 yellow onions, quarted
- 2 shallots, halved
- 1 head garlic, tips of the cloves sliced off
- 6 cups broth
White Wine Pan Gravy
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- drippings from the turkey
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Ask your butcher to cut the turkey into pieces: breast, thighs, wings, and legs. Remove the turkey from the fridge one hour before roasting and allow it to come to room temperature.2. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Arrange the turkey pieces in a large roasting pan or between 2 skillets3. To make the butter. In a bowl, combine 1 stick of butter, sage, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Gently lift the skin of the turkey pieces by using your fingers and going in between the skin and body of the bird. Rub the herb butter under the skin of the bird, spreading some of the butter on top of the skin as well. 4. Arrange the onions, shallots, and garlic around the turkey. Melt the remaining stick of butter. Dampen your cheesecloth with water and squeeze dry. Submerge the cheesecloth in the melted butter, making sure all the cheesecloth has soaked up the butter. Lay the cheesecloth over the turkey. Drizzle any remaining butter over the turkey.5. Place the roasting pan in the oven for 30 minutes at 450° F. Add the 2 cups of broth and reduce the oven temperature to 400° F. Continue cooking until the turkey registers 160° F on a meat thermometer. 6. Remove the turkey from the oven and tent with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, then slice the meat against the grain. 7. Meanwhile, make the gravy. Strain the liquid from the roasting pan, skimming off most of the fat. Add enough broth to equal about 4 cups total of drippings/broth.8. Place the roasting pan over two burners and add 1/2 cup wine, scraping up all those brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is deglazed, add the butter. Once melted, add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden, around 5 minutes.9. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the remaining 1/2 cup of white wine, whisking as you go to let the wine reduce down. Slowly add the reserved broth, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the sage. Continue to stir until the gravy has thickened to your desired thickness, around 8 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm with the turkey.
Actually disregard my prior comment! I acccidentally clicked on this one instead of the whole turkey recipe LOL
Hi! So.. I had this recipe starred all week and I want to keep the turkey whole not cut up.. will I follow the same instructions?!
Hi Erycka,
Thanks so much! You can actually just follow this recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/herb-and-butter-roasted-turkey-with-white-wine-pan-gravy/
I hope this helps! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Hey Tieghan!
Thanks for posting! Saw this on Kelly and was excited to make it. We aren’t big turkey people and there was only 2 of us so we decided to get a small boneless 3 pound turkey with skin on. I’m going to use this method, but what would you recommend for cooking time? Thank you!
Hi Laura,
I would follow the recipe as written roasting at 450F for 30 minutes and then reducing to 400F until you reach 160F. I hope this helps! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
What are your thoughts about using a countertop roaster for turkey in general. And thoughts about using the butter soaked cheesecloth with the bird in the roaster?
This looks amazing by the way!
Thanks!
Linda
Thanks so much, Linda!! I have never used a counter roaster, so I really can’t speak to that. I think it’s worth a try! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
Linda
Do you place the turkey on a rack in the roasting pan?
Hi Susan,
For this recipe, I do no use a rack. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Hi, If I make this ahead can it be easily reheated???? Maybe add extra broth so isn’t dry?
Hi Julie,
If you can avoid making this in advance and reheating, I would recommend that:) Turkey can easily dry out. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
I LOVE the cheesecloth method, do it whenever I’m the cook! Could you do this just with a turkey breast? Seems like it would be no problem.
Thanks so much, Susan! You bet, you could just do the turkey breast. Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Hi, Got my turkey all in sections (just one large breast though)…three questions:
1.) the Turkey is 20 lbs. about how long should this take to cook?
2.) should I split the breast in to two pieces?
3.) if I am making the “make ahead gravy†do I need to add broth to the roasting pan?
Thanks! I am very excited to make this, the gravy and the rolls!!!
Hi Kathy,
1. I would plan 3 to 4 hours but start checking after 2 hours
2. I would split the breast in half for even cooking
3. Yes add the broth to keep the turkey moist
Hope this helps!! Happy thanksgiving!!!
Thanks Tieghan. Everything was delicious. The turkey was a bit hit. The only thing was it didn’t brown. Was I supposed to take the cheesecloth off at some point? My husband said it was the best turkey he ever had!!! And the rolls were a HUGE hit. We will also be making them and the gravy again. Thank you.
Quick question: Should the cheesecloth be removed a few minutes before the turkey finishes roasting in order to brown & crisp the skin? There’s no mention in either the notes or the recipe instructions of the best time to remove the cheesecloth. Thank you.
Hi Joanne,
You do not need to remove the cheesecloth at all, the turkey will brown and crisp under the cheesecloth. Just remove before serving:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xxT
Love this idea, but I hate the name. Turkey ‘parts’ sounds kinda gross to me! Maybe call it turkey sections! Last year I did something similar, I had the butcher spatchcock the turkey for me.
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, Jessie! Happy Thanksgiving! xxT
I have a question about the legs, thighs, wings vs. breast. I’ve always thought that one of the problems with cooking the whole turkey the traditional way is that the breast can become dry because the other parts take longer to come to temp. So, if cooking in parts, would it make sense to do the breast and other parts separately or does it not make a difference?
I know you mentioned that the juices from both make the best gravy, so I’m not sure how to resolve that if cooking separately. Would you combine or just use the pan that cooked the thighs?
White meat does cook faster than the fattier dark meat.
Three ways around this, as these are sectioned off.
1. Start everything at the same time. When breast meat comes up to around 160, pull it and tent it. Continue with dark meat until it comes up to temp.
2. Start your thighs and drumsticks first. 30-45 minutes later, depending on temp you are roasting, let your breast meat and wings join the party and continue until done.
3. I’ve only done this with a whole turkey. Start the whole thing off. When the breast start to brown, tent them with a doubled aluminum foil shield and continue. It does work, but it is combersome!
Hope this helps since I actually know the answer!
This should be included in the directions! Thank you.
Hi Tiegan, Question: In step 5 of your recipe, it says “Place the roasting pan in the oven for 30 minutes at 450° F. Add the 2 cups of broth and reduce the oven temperature to 400° F. Continue cooking until the turkey registers 160° F on a meat thermometer.”
However, in the description of the steps for the recipe between the pictures, you write “Arrange the onions, shallots, and garlic around the turkey. Roast the turkey at 450° for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 400° and roast until the turkey registers 160° on a meat thermometer. For a 14-pound turkey, that should take another 45 minutes to 1 hour.”
You don’t mention adding the broth…
Just wondering if I should add the broth after roasting for 30 min at 450 degrees…?
Thanks, and excited to try this out,
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
You can add the broth as directed in the instructions, I don’t always include every single detail in the write up of the recipe, just giving a quick overview before sharing the exact instructions. I hope this helps! Happy Thanksgiving! xxT
Excellent! Thank you so much for running this recipe today! Happy Turkey Day!!
Of course, happy to share! Happy Thanksgiving! xx