Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

Last Updated on April 12, 2022

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since publishing this post, we have received many comments from readers complaining about the quality of their bone-in turkey breasts. We decided to buy another turkey breast and try it again to determine if something had changed. You can read our updated thoughts toward the end of this post. 

Sometimes you want a traditional turkey dinner without so much … turkey. A turkey is a big bird, and unless you’re hosting a crowd or you have a good-sized freezer to store leftovers, you may not want to cook an entire turkey. Or, perhaps you only want to eat white meat and not dark meat.

Aldi offers some options. In anticipation of holidays such as Easter or Thanksgiving, the discount grocery store sells a variety of turkeys, ranging from whole Butterballs to antibiotic-free turkeys to — for those who want less bird or only the white part of the bird — turkey breasts. You can purchase a bone-in turkey breast that still has a good amount of meat, and it even still looks and feels a little like a whole turkey if you want that traditional aesthetic.

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast was $1.39 per pound at the time of publication. I bought my 9.19-lb. turkey breast for $12.77. It was sold in the Aldi Find (Special Buy) freezer section, and because it’s an Aldi Find, it is only available for a short time. Turkeys like these usually show up at Aldi just before major holidays. For instance, I bought mine just before Easter.

This is a turkey breast with ribs, portion of back, and wing meat, and neck skin basted with turkey broth, salt, sugar, and natural flavoring. The package does not say where the turkey comes from, but it is likely from the U.S.

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)

It comes with a little plastic gravy packet tucked inside the turkey. Ingredients for the gravy are: water, rice flour, salt, modified corn starch, autolyzed yeast extract, onion powder, sugar, garlic powder, vegetable gums (guar, xanthan, and carob bean), natural flavors (including turkey stock), spices, caramel color, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate.

One 4-oz. serving of turkey nets you 160 calories, 8 grams of total fat (10% DV), 2 grams of saturated fat (10% DV), 240 mg of sodium (11% DV), 0 grams of carbohydrates, and 17 grams of protein (33% DV). One 1/4 cup of gravy has 15 calories, 430 mg of sodium (19% DV), and 3 grams of carbohydrates (1% DV).

The turkey breast should be thawed before cooking. The packaging states not to open the bag the turkey is in until it is defrosted. The turkey breast should be kept cold and should not be thawed at room temperature. Instead, the package says to place the turkey on a tray in the refrigerator for one to three days to thaw. It generally takes 24 hours for every 3.5 to 4 pounds of turkey.

Note: my turkey had a LOT of bloody liquid come out of it as it thawed, making it a messy endeavor when I got it ready to place in a roasting pan in the oven. I’ve never had a cut of meat leak so much liquid during the thawing process. I recommend setting the turkey in a large casserole dish in the refrigerator, and check it periodically to make sure the liquid does not overflow from the dish.

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

Cooking instructions. (Click to enlarge.)

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

Seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme, and ready to go in the oven.

To cook the turkey breast, the package says to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the breast from the bag, and remove the gravy packet from inside the breast. Put the gravy packet in a dish or container in the refrigerator while the turkey cooks.

The package includes a roasting time chart that is dependent on your turkey’s weight.

  • 3-5 pounds: 1 to 2 1/4 hours
  • 5-7 pounds: 2 1/4 to 3 hours
  • 7-9 pounds: 3 to 3 1/2 hours

Cook until the interior of the turkey reaches 165 degrees. If the breast is fully browned before the rest of the turkey is cooked, cover it loosely with a tent of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. Remove the foil after baking, and allow the cooked turkey breast to stand for 20-30 minutes.

My 9-ish-pound turkey breast was plenty done after 3 hours in the oven, and it browned nicely without needing a foil tent.

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

The gravy packet with instructions. (Click to enlarge.)

To prepare the gravy, pour contents of the package into a small saucepan and heat on medium high heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until the gravy boils. For best flavor, add 1/4 cup of turkey drippings from your freshly cooked turkey. For thinner gravy, add more drippings, chicken broth, water, milk, sherry, dry red or dry white wine. For gravy with a twist, add 2 tablespoons parsley, 1/4 cup sour cream, or 1/4 cup sauteed green onions, chopped celery, or sliced mushrooms. The package says to use the gravy within five days of thawing.

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

The finished turkey breast, fresh out of the oven.

I served this turkey breast alongside some of Aldi’s Hawaiian stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. It was tender and flavorful for a turkey breast, and, if you like to nibble on poultry skin like I do while carving the bird, the skin cooked up nice and crisp and salty. The gravy was on the thinner side, but I didn’t stir it as much as I probably should have while it was heating, and I don’t know if that affected thickness. It still tasted rich and savory and no one seemed to mind much.

There also was plenty of meat for leftovers. After feeding dinner to my family of four, we still had a mostly full 2.5-quart dish of meat. I’ll be packing some of the meat up to freeze and save for casseroles later, and I froze the partial turkey carcass to make stock with as well.

And if this turkey breast is still too much meat for you, you can always go with Aldi’s cornish game hens instead.

UPDATE (4/12/2022) — After receiving many comments from readers alleging that their bone-in turkey breasts were fatty, tough, game-like, or otherwise inedible, we purchased another bone-in turkey breast from Aldi this spring to see if something was different about the birds currently in stores.

Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast

Turkey breast, take two.

We found two gravy packets inside our turkey instead of one packet, and the gravy is still as thin as ever with these turkeys. We roasted the turkey in our oven following the standard directions on the package, and it turned out as we would expect turkey to turn out. It wasn’t any fattier than other birds we’ve cooked, and it had a similar taste and texture to other turkeys we’ve cooked. As far as we can tell, it’s not really different from the turkey we roasted the first time around.

Being longtime Aldi shoppers, one thing we have learned is that your mileage may vary with certain Aldi products depending on what region you live in. It’s possible Aldi may source their bone-in turkey breasts from different regional suppliers, so what kind of turkey you get might depend on what kind of stock your local store receives.

The Verdict:

The Kirkwood Bone-In Turkey Breast is a good option if you don’t want to cook a whole turkey or if you want to stick with white meat over dark. It made for a nice family dinner in our house.

About Rachael

Rachael is the Co-founder of Aldi Reviewer. When she isn't busy shopping at Aldi, she enjoys cooking, gardening, writing gothic romance, and collecting more houseplants than she probably should. You can learn more about her at rachaelsjohnston.com.

23 Comments

  1. WE are cooking our turkey breast today and we also did not have a gravy pouch.

  2. anyway to know if this is a gluten-free product?

  3. Disappointed to find two gravy packets and a big glob of fat I don’t even think the meat itself was even 2lbs I feel as a consumer I was ripped off this wasn’t a very happy thanksgiving to find out I was ripped off product wise thanks

    • I am sorry to say that I found two gravy packets in a couple of my turkey breast purchases as well … at 8 oz each … you’re paying quite the premium for gravy. On the plus side: the gravy is gluten-free and keeps perfectly in the freezer for another occasion. However, having purchased 7 breasts for a church dinner event, I did not end up with enough meat (after removing the gravy and excess fat/skin) and had to quick cook some chicken breasts to supplement.

  4. We purchased this product at Aldi’s Chardon Ohio
    For Thanksgiving dinner. We used an oven thermometer
    And followed the instructions exactly. It looked perfect when removed from the oven. We sliced thin and
    Served it hot. It was not eatable. It was as tough as shoe
    Leather. We are returning it for a refund.

  5. I bought one this year and it was the most awful thing I’ve ever had! So tough nobody could eat it. It also had a very strange taste. Somebody asked me, and I don’t think jokingly, if I was sure it was turkey. Plus it was just a bunch of chunks tied together with a huge glob of fat on the bottom. Couldn’t slice it…didn’t really matter because nobody ate more than a bite or two. What a waste of money.

  6. Delicious, moist turkey breast. Very flavorful and not salty. Cooked a 9 pound turkey breast at 350 degrees over indirect heat and with hickory chips on a Webber grill. Beautiful golden brown after three hours.

  7. Worse turkey breast ever. Embarrassing to serve on thanksgiving. Tough no flavor turned us off turkey.

  8. Yep…it was awful. Nobody could eat it. Couldn’t even tell if it was turkey since it had a weird taste. I don’t know how anybody could think it was any good. I also don’t know how they could call it a “breast” when it was nothing but a bunch of chunks tied together in a net on top of about a pound of fat. yuck!

  9. I wonder if they’ve changed something about this turkey breast. It was great when we made it last year.

    • I think they have a purveyor that supplies poor quality product to save money. Ours tasted more like wild Turkey. Very tough and dry with a game-like flavor despite brining and using moist cooking methods. We thawed and made two for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas Eve 2021. All three breasts were awful. Worst Turkey breast I ever had.

  10. We purchased 3 Kirkwood frozen Turkey breasts for Thanksgiving and Christmas 2021 in November 2021. Package said they were brined but this was not true. We made two for Thanksgiving and the meat was dry and very tough even though we cooked using an Intant Pot to insure moisture and tenderness. The third Breast I thawed in the refrigerator, brined, and then rinsed before pressure cooking….moist heat method. Again, VERY TOUGH AND DRY. Also had a “game-like flavor. It reminded me of the wild turkeys my son in law hunts. Will never purchase these again. Surprised about this because the Kirkwood whole chickens are fantastic.

  11. The one I had was totally inedible. I cut it into chunks and froze. I made soup with one of the chunks in the crockpot…8 hours…the meat as so tough and stringy it was still inedible. It also made the soup taste weird. I can’t explain it and have no idea what a wild turkey tastes like, but this was honestly the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. I still have 3 chunks in the freezer that will more than likely be thrown out since I can’t even make edible soup with them. What a waste of money.

  12. This turkey breast was not edible….it was tough and had a strange taste. We wondered what we were actually eating as it tasted nothing like turkey. Will , never, ever purchase Kirkwood meats again, biggest waste of my money. Worst turkey ever. Disgusting to be sold off as a “food”. What is going on with this company?

  13. I was very disappointed in the Turkey Breast that I purchased. Packaging says with gravy packets and there were none.

  14. I just purchased one for thanksgiving and now I’m terrified to make because of all the negative comments!!

  15. I just bought one today 11/17/22 and now I’m terrified too! Although I do have to wondering if at least some of the reviewers bought Boneless Turkey Breasts, not the Bone-In that I bought. I say this because one person said it “was just a bunch of chunks tied together in a NET on top of a pound of fat” That doesn’t sound like the description of a bone-in turkey breast. I’m hoping no matter what that as were farther past the pandemic, that the “gamey” turkey’s were because of supply issues. Fingers crossed for both of us! 🤞🤞 🦃

  16. I’ve made this Turkey before and it came out really good. I did NOT follow the directions it came with and instead used a recipe I found on Pinterest (lots of butter for moisture). Making it again this year! I think it really just depends on how you cook it.

  17. My family had this turkey for today’s thanksgiving meal. I prepped it by covering it in olive oil and a rub that we use when we smoke whole chickens. I roasted it in a large cast iron pot with the lid on, it was 6.5 lbs, cooked for a little over 3 hrs. We all liked it very much! If anything it was a just a tad tough but not a bad bird overall, we’ve had waaaay worse! We have some left over that should make a very nice creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup.

  18. Unfortunately, I wish I had looked for reviews for this bone in turkey breast before cooking it for Thanksgiving dinner this year. We could hardly slice it because it was so tough. Also, it did not taste like turkey. No strange taste, it was tasteless. Good thing we baked a ham also.

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