Roast Turkey Breast with Roasted Garlic Gravy

1. Stage

Preheat the oven and prep the turkey wings: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Chop the turkey wings into pieces with a cleaver or heavy kitchen knife (or have your butcher do this for you). Coat the wings with some olive oil and salt well. Arrange in one layer in a roasting pan.

2. Stage

Roast the garlic and chopped turkey wings: Slice off the top 1/4 of the garlic heads and discard. Nestle the heads into some aluminum foil and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the garlic. Close the foil and place in the roasting pan with the turkey wings. Put the pan in the oven and roast at 350°F for 45 minutes. Remove the garlic (do not unwrap), turn the turkey pieces and roast another 15 minutes.

3. Stage

Remove the moisture from the turkey breast and let it sit: While the turkey wings are roasting, take the turkey breast out of its package and pat the outside dry with paper towels. Sit it on a plate or board that will catch any juice that runs out until you need it in Step 5.

4. Stage

Make the turkey wing stock: When the turkey wings are ready, remove them from the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Place the cooked wings in a medium pot and cover with water. Add a cup of water to the roasting pan and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add this to the pot with the turkey wings. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.

5. Stage

Roast the turkey breast: While the wings are simmering, coat the turkey breast with more olive oil, then sprinkle it all over with salt. Sprinkle it as well with black pepper, thyme and sage. Place the turkey breast skin side up in the 425°F oven on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the pan (this will help prevent the oven from smoking). Put the turkey in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350°F and cook until the thickest part of the breast reads 155°F with a meat thermometer, about 80-90 minutes for a 6 to 7 pound breast. To be on the safe side to keep from overcooking the turkey, check the internal temperature of the breast after 1 hour. Note: USDA guidelines recommend cooking chicken to 165°F or until no longer pink in the middle. However, we prefer to remove the turkey breast from the oven at 155°F. The turkey should reach 165°F as it rests; check with an instant-read thermometer.

6. Stage

Make the gravy while the turkey breast is roasting: Pour the turkey stock through a fine-meshed strainer into a bowl. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pot and stir in the flour. Cook the butter flour mixture over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the mixture is the color of coffee-with-cream. Add the hot turkey stock to the butter flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Stir in enough stock to make a thin gravy, about 2-3 cups. Squeeze all the garlic from the garlic heads into the gravy. Simmer gently while the turkey breast cooks, adding more turkey broth or water if the gravy gets too thick.

7. Stage

Remove the turkey from oven, let rest: When the turkey breast is ready, remove it from the oven, cover it with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.

8. Stage

Finish the gravy: Pour the gravy into a blender and purée until smooth. Return the gravy to the pot and add salt and pepper to taste. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of butter to finish.

9. Stage

Carve the turkey breast: Cut straight down from the keel bone (the keel bone separates each half of the breast) until your knife hits the breast bone. Slice the meat off and, using short strokes with the knife, free the meat from the bone. If you want, pull off the tender underneath the breast and slice this piece separately; it tends to fall off the rest of the breast when you slice it anyway. Slice the deboned breast and serve.