Roasted Turkey Breast with Cornbread-Sage Stuffing and Brandy Gravy

The turkey conundrum: How to keep the breast meat from drying out while the dark meat finishes cooking? By roasting a bone-in turkey breast by itself, we've eliminated the stress and cut the cooking time by several hours.

What you get is perfectly moist, tender white meat with crisp, salty skin—all in under an hour. If you don't have time to make the gravy or want to cut calories, skip it. This succulent bird doesn't need it.

Ingredients

Stuffing
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

½ cup chicken stock

4 cups stale cornbread, crumbled into large pieces

2 large eggs, beaten

Turkey
One 3 ½- to 4-pound bone-in turkey breast, halved at the breast bone (see Tips, below)

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

Gravy
One 1 ½-ounce container veal or chicken demi-glace

1 tablespoon brandy

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

½ cup heavy cream

Preparation

Stuffing
1. Preheat oven to 425°F and grease 9-by 13-inch roasting pan.

2. In large skillet over moderately high heat, melt butter. Add onion, celery, garlic, nutmeg, pepper, and bay leaf, and sauté until vegetables soften, 5 to 6 minutes.

3. Stir in sage and cook 30 seconds more. Stir in stock and simmer, uncovered, until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

3. Put cornbread in large bowl and pour vegetables over. Toss to mix well. Add eggs and stir to combine.

Turkey
1. Rinse breast halves and pat dry. Season generously with kosher or coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and rub all over with olive oil.

2. Mound stuffing in center of roasting pan and arrange turkey on top, making sure breast halves aren't touching. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of turkey (do not touch bone) registers 170°F and juices run clear when pierced with fork, 45 to 55 minutes.

Make the gravy while turkey is roasting.
1. In small saucepan over moderately high heat, combine demi-glace, ½ cup water, and brandy. Bring to boil, stirring until smooth.