I'm a huge fan of stuffing and I can eat it alone, or as a part of a meal. In this recipe I stuff a turkey breast with mushroom cornbread cranberry stuffing, and you can modify the stuffing or use a different stuffing.
There are some great reasons to make a stuffed turkey breast, also known as a turkey roulade. The presentation is unique and packed with flavors. It's also easier to control the moistness and roasting time when the breast is separate from the rest of the turkey. And then you can roast the parts separately so you don't over roast them, which sometimes happens when you're roasting a whole turkey.
Feel free to use your stuffing of choice, replace the mushrooms with chestnuts, use another kind of bread, and so on. I happen to love this combination of mushrooms, cornbread, dried cranberries, and fresh herbs.
The recipe can also be prepared a day in advance, stored in the refrigerator before roasting.
Roasted Stuffed Roasted Turkey
Equipment
- Food processor (optional)
Ingredients
- 4 ounces mushrooms
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 celery stalk trimmed
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- ½ tablespoon olive oil for the stuffing
- pinch or 2 of salt for the stuffing
- 2 corn muffins or 3 pieces of corn bread
- 5 pound turkey breast deboned, tenders removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for the turkey
- ½ teaspoon salt for the turkey, split across the inside and outside of the stuffed turkey
- 2 cups turkey stock or chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C or gas mark 5).
- Use the turkey bones removed from the turkey breast to create turkey stock. I add the bones and about 4 cups of water to my pressure cooker and cook for about 30 minutes or so. If you have time, slow cook the turkey stock ahead of time.
- Place the mushrooms, celery, cranberries, sage, rosemary, and thyme in a food processor and pulse to finely chop the ingredients. Alternatively, you can chop all the ingredients by hand with a knife.
- Warm up a skillet on a medium heat and add the olive oil for the stuffing.
- Add the stuffing ingredients from the food processor to the skillet, and then add crumbled corn muffins to the skillet as well. Toss the stuffing for a few minutes while cooking it. Add a pinch or two of salt to the stuffing as you cook it.
- Place the turkey breast on a flat surface, skin side down. If needed, place parchment paper over the turkey and pound it a bit to flatten the breast. Sprinkle the entire inside of the breast with salt.
- Spread the stuffing across the breast, leaving about 1 inch border around the edges.
- Roll the breast over the stuffing the long way. Rub the outside of the breast with olive oil. Sprinkle salt across the breast.
- Wrap pre-measured kitchen twine around the breast to hold it together. Place the breast in a roasting pan.
- Add about 1 cup of stock to the bottom of the roasting pan. You can also add some garlic cloves (peeled) to the bottom. This can be used to make a quick gravy from the pan drippings at the end.
- Roast the turkey for 50 minutes or until the temperature of the center of the breast reaches 165°F. Add more stock to the bottom of the pan as necessary to prevent the bottom from drying out.
- Let the roast sit for a few minutes before slicing. Take this resting time to make a quick gravy.
- To make a clear gravy on the spot, take the pan drippings and liquid, add it to a small saucepan and add additional turkey stock to until you have enough gravy. Simmer for a few minutes. Separate the clear gravy from the pan bits and serve warm.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for a few days.
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