Cooking turkey pieces in the oven can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be With some simple techniques, you can make moist, flavorful turkey every time In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to roast turkey parts to perfection.
Benefits of Cooking Turkey Pieces
There are several advantages to cooking turkey in parts rather than wrestling with a whole bird
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Pieces cook faster, usually in about half the time of a full turkey Legs and thighs may take only 1-1.5 hours, while boneless breasts need up to 2 hours
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It’s easier to get the doneness just right. With a whole turkey, the white breast meat dries out while you wait for the dark meat to finish cooking. Separate pieces allow you to remove each one when it reaches the ideal internal temperature.
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Pieces are simpler to brine or season. Brining a massive turkey takes up a lot of space in the fridge. Smaller cuts brine quicker and more efficiently.
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You have more control over portions. Buy extra of your family’s favorite cuts like legs and thighs to make dark meat lovers happy.
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No tricky carving needed. Let’s be real, carving a whole turkey is hard. Pieces don’t require this skill.
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The exposed skin crisps up better than a whole turkey’s skin inside the cavity. You get deliciously crispy turkey skin on all the pieces.
Picking Turkey Pieces
You have a few options when buying turkey parts:
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Butcher Counter: Ask the grocery store butcher to cut up a whole turkey for you. Specify what size pieces you need.
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Meat Section: Look for packaged turkey parts like breasts, thighs, legs etc. sold fresh or frozen near the chicken.
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Specialty Cuts: Try boneless turkey breasts or tenderloins for smaller gatherings.
Get the pieces a few days before cooking so they can thaw fully in the fridge. Rinse and pat the cuts dry before seasoning.
Prepping and Seasoning
To infuse lots of flavor into the turkey, coat the pieces all over with:
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Oil or Butter: For moisture and crispy skin.
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Seasonings: Herbs, garlic, citrus, spices, pepper, salt, paprika or a turkey rub.
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Aromatics: Like sliced lemons, oranges or herbs tucked under the skin.
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Brine or Marinade (optional): For extra juicy turkey, soak 12-24 hrs before roasting.
For super easy seasoning, try rubbing compound butter under and on the skin before roasting.
How to Roast Turkey Pieces
Follow these steps for perfect oven-roasted turkey parts:
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Heat Oven: Preheat to 325°F. Ready two rimmed baking sheets.
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Prep Pans: Place white meat on one pan, dark on the other. Add broth or water for gravy drippings.
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Roast at Low Temp: Cook thighs and legs around 1 hour until 165°F internal temperature. Breasts take up to 2 hours to reach 150°F.
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Rest: Remove pieces when done and let sit 30 minutes covered in foil so juices redistribute.
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Crisp Skin: Crank oven heat to 500°F. Return pans for 10 minutes until skin is browned and crispy.
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Make Gravy: Use the flavorful drippings to prepare turkey gravy while pieces rest.
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Carve and Serve: Slice rested pieces and arrange on a platter. Dig in!
It takes a bit more active time than roasting a whole bird, but the foolproof, tasty results are so worth it.
Helpful Turkey Roasting Tips
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Use a digital meat thermometer with alarm to monitor doneness and know exactly when pieces hit the target temp.
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Cut small slits in thicker pieces so seasoning penetrates fully and meat cooks evenly.
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Add aromatics like onions, carrots, celery or lemons to the roasting pan for extra flavor.
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For a smaller dark meat meal, just roast drumsticks and thighs.
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Tailor the seasoning blend to what your family enjoys – cajun, lemon pepper, paprika etc.
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Make extra flavored butter to dollop on sliced turkey for moisture.
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Quickly sear pieces in a hot pan before roasting for deeper, browned flavors.
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Brush with a glaze or sauce in the last 10-15 minutes for a lacquered finish.
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For whole bird with fast, even cooking, try spatchcocking the turkey.
FAQs About Roasting Turkey Pieces
Should I brine the pieces?
Brining does make the meat extra juicy and seasoned. But properly roasted pieces come out moist even without brining. It’s optional.
What if my turkey pieces are really large?
Keep the same method. Just allow some extra roasting time for bigger pieces and test them more frequently toward the end.
How do I crisp up the skin?
Letting the skin dry after rinsing, oiling/buttering it, and blasting at high heat at the end helps get it super crispy.
Can I stuff a turkey breast?
Absolutely, you can roast bone-in or boneless turkey breast over or around stuffing. Just ensure the stuffing also reaches a safe internal temperature.
What flavors complement turkey?
Classic turkey seasoning includes rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, citrus, paprika, curry, cumin, chili powder and pepper.
The Takeaway
Roasting turkey pieces rather than a whole bird may seem unconventional for the holidays. But you’ll wow everyone with incredibly moist, tender meat and crispy, flavorful skin. Follow these foolproof tips for oven-roasted turkey legs, thighs, wings and breast with minimal effort and maximum deliciousness!
How to Break Down a Raw Turkey
Cooking a turkey in parts first requires that you cut it into parts.* This is as easy as breaking down a chicken, and pretty much exactly the same process, except that a turkey is larger. How you do it, though, depends on the cooking method youve chosen.
*Of course you can also buy only the butchered parts you need, or ask a butcher to break down a whole turkey for you.
The legs come off the turkey the same way no matter what: Cut through the skin on the top side of the bird that stretches between the legs and the breast, working the knife down into the natural gap between the leg and the body of the turkey.
Pop the joint where the thigh connects to the body, then continue cutting to fully remove each leg.
What you do with the rest of the turkey will vary with the cooking method. If youre roasting the breast on the bone, as our recipe for roasted turkey in parts calls for, you have to cut the breastbone, with all its meat, from the back.
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Using a large, hefty chefs knife or a cleaver, this is relatively easy to do. The hardest part is when you get to where the wings meet the body, since the bones are thicker there. The trick is to find a path through the joints, instead of trying to cut through the bone itself, though a cleaver can do it with brute force if you dont feel like using finesse.
If youre cooking the turkey breast sous vide, youll need to remove the breast meat from the bone. If youre using our recipe for sous vide turkey breast, youll first want to remove the skin covering the breast, since the recipe will have you crisp it in the oven and use it as a garnish.
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After that, cut out the wishbone, which runs along the breast where it hugs the neck.
Removing the wishbone makes it easier to slice off the meat in one large piece, since it otherwise gets in the way of the knife. (Really, you should remove the wishbone in all cases, since its just as much in the way when youre carving any fully cooked bird, whether it was roasted whole, spatchcocked, or in parts.)
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The final step is to slice the meat off the breastbone. Just like when youre carving a roasted bird, start with the knife adjacent to the keel, then slice downward until you meet the bone. Continue to work the knife along the bone, separating the meat from it as you go.
With your bird butchered, youre ready to get cooking with any of the following recipes.
Braised Turkey Parts
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With this red wine–braised turkey legs recipe, you lose the crisply roasted skin, but what you get in return is meat thats silky and imbued with a deeply flavorful sauce. Admittedly, it isnt gravy, but it holds its own in terms of deliciousness.
The process follows a classic French-style braise, first browning the legs in a pan, which builds a good base of Maillard-reaction-y flavor (sounds sexy, right?). Then you sauté aromatics, like onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and add the wine and some chicken stock or turkey stock. The turkey legs get nestled into this, their skin peeking up from the inky broth to brown as the liquids reduce and the meat grows extra tender.
When the legs are done, the final step is to strain the cooking liquid, then thicken it with a roux made from butter and flour. Its not traditional for Thanksgiving, but it is elegant.