I love roasted turkey, and have always thought it was a shame that most of us eat it just for Thanksgiving. Earlier this year, I stumbled on a recipe using turkey parts instead of a whole bird. The turkey tasted like it was roasted all day, but without all of the work.
Since this recipe uses turkey parts instead of a full bird, it’s the perfect solution if you want Thanksgiving turkey but are cooking for a small family. I hope this recipe will also encourage you to enjoy turkey all year long.
I think the reason that most of us only eat Thanksgiving style roasted turkey once or twice a year is because it involves buying a 10-20 lb turkey and then spending all day cooking.
Unless you have a huge crowd coming over, it’s expensive and a lot of work to roast a turkey…and you end up with a huge amount of food. This recipe uses turkey parts, so it works whether you are cooking for just yourself, cooking for 2 or for a small family.
I followed the recipe that I found on My Sweet Mission except I used turkey thighs instead of a turkey breast the first time I made it. The second time I used this recipe, I added some fresh parsley to the top. I like it both ways so feel free to add whatever herbs you like on top, or stick to salt & pepper and keep it simple.
I personally like the dark meat better than white breast meat, so I always use thighs. Not only is the dark meat a lot moister, but it is cheaper too. But use whatever you prefer.
I also tweaked the preparation instructions and cooking times based on best practices I found while researching cooking turkey.
Easy Roasted Turkey Parts:
Ingredients:
2 turkey thighs or 1 turkey breast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried herbs or 1/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped (optional)
Directions:
Start by patting them dry your turkey parts with a paper towel. Split the butter between your parts, using about 1/2 tbsp of butter for each thigh or a 1 tbsp for a larger breast.
Rub the butter across the skin of the turkey, and then tuck the extra butter under the skin.
Next drizzle the oil over the turkey, using your hands to smear it around so that the entire skin is covered.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then place on a roasting rack in a 9×13 metal baking pan (or a larger pan if you are making more parts). If you are using herbs, add them at this point too.
Make sure you place the turkey parts skin side up.
Place the pan in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.
Cook the turkey until your meat thermometer reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Be sure to put the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, cut the turkey in the thickest section and if the juices are clear, it’s done. If the juices are pink, put it back in the oven.
According to the Perdue Turkey website, bone-in breasts should take about 15-20 minutes per lb (1.25 – 1.75 hours) and thighs should cook for 1 hour 10 minutes.
See Perdue website for turkey cooking times based on which parts you are using and cooking method…
That said, it’s really a good idea to spend the money on a meat thermometer. You can get one at just about any store with kitchen utensils.
If you cook your turkey parts without any added herbs, you’ll end up with turkey like this. Crispy skin and juicy meat.
Here is the finished turkey when I added some fresh parsley. You could easily use dried herbs, fresh ones or just stick with the salt and pepper.
Printable recipe card below…click on the + sign for nutrition information for this chicken recipe.
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perfect for the single gal like me 😀
Karen, for Thanksgiving with just my husband and I I bought a tiny, 2 pound ham and simmered it on the stove for 30 minutes to serve. It’s good to know that there is also a way to make turkey in little portions. We usually go visit family for the holidays, but this year we moved and so we just couldn’t travel too.
I made this using turkey drumsticks and used dried thyme and ground sage and it turned out delicious. I’m glad I tried this, even picky hubby enjoyed it 😉
Made for the “Down Home Cooking” tag game – We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving meal tonight using this recipe & turkey drumsticks we bought on sale. There were 7 in the bag & I cooked all of them using the song mixture (parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme). I changed the lyric & added lemon pepper to the mix. They were very well-flavored & fork-tender — And the pan drippings made excellent mushroom gravy for the turkey & dressing. We’re sharing the 3 largest for 2 meals & I froze the other 4 for later guest use. You’ll get a 2nd review when that meal is served. Thx for sharing this lovely & very useful recipe.
These legs look wonderful!
Oh wow, we were guests at Mary Pat’s this week and enjoyed these sensational turkey legs. My husband and I are big fans of dark poultry meat and this recipe produced a wonderfully flavourful and moist result. Can’t wait to try this at home.
Thrilled that you enjoyed the turkey. I’m also a fan of dark meat, so buying a small turkey means I get all white meat, which I don’t want to eat. This recipe let’s me buy just the dark meat (I usually get thighs, not legs).
I just do parts like this for the 2 of us if we are home for Thanksgiving, or for any other time of year we want turkey without a weeks worth of leftovers. I make a seperate casserole of dressing, or lay the parts on the dressing in the baking pan. Your method is perfect. I used 2 thighs and three wing “drumettes” and for the herbs, used herbes d’province. Cook time was perfect.
We really enjoyed the turkey breast…I had a whole breast so I cut it in half and have plenty for leftovers…I used the normal salt and pepper version…loved that the skin came out nice and crispy…made for FYC tag game…