Here’s an idea I saw in a magazine and decided to give it a try for Thanksgiving. It was not hard to do and the best part is that I did 2 rolls and it took only an hour in the oven. I bought a whole turkey breast which still had the bone in the middle. There are 2 halves. Cut along the bone on both sides to get 2 breasts. I removed the skin and then filleted the starting on one half of the breast going one way and other half going the other way so the fillet is around 3/4″ thick.
Make sure the grain is going across left to right so when the roll is cut, you will be cutting across the grain.
I made the stuffing by sautéing a chopped chicken/pesto sausage and onions with celery, dried cranberries with olive oil. Then I added the seasoned bread crumbs with sage, pepper and a little salt. Add broth and drizzle olive oil to moisten the breadcrumbs. I kept in on the dryer side since I figured it would absorb some of the juices from the turkey while cooking.
Here is a photo of the fillet with layer of stuffing on top just before rolling:
Stuffing:
1 diced chicken/pesto sausage
1 diced small onion
1 stalk diced celery
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup olive oil – use 1/8 cup to sauté then the rest to drizzle over bread crumbs
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 t dried sage
pepper/salt to taste
broth to moisten bread crumbs
Leave a space along the edges so the stuffing does not fall out. Stuff back in if it does. Roll the turkey up using firm pressure but not too tight.
Then wrap bacon around overlapping the edges. Tie with oven string to keep it together. Bake 30min at 375 degrees then reduce to 350 for another 30 minutes or until an inserted thermometer reads 165 degrees.
When done, remove from oven and let rest for at least 15 minutes. This way it stays firm while slicing.
