Turkey Roulade

I promised you some recipes this week from our fabulous Thanksgiving celebration last week. This is one of my favorites. We just use our regular sausage stuffing recipe as there always seems to be enough. We also glaze the roulade with our homemade apple habañero jam (which is super easy; I will post that soon.) Last year, Mary actually boned the turkey breast on Thanksgiving morning…quite the undertaking. This year we ordered an extra turkey and had the very nice butchers at Whole Foods do it for us. The boned the breast and kept the pieces for us, which meant more meat and more soup, YUM! You can, of course just buy a breast, but it must be whole and not split. This recipe is surprisingly easy and I think it actually makes a better product than the whole turkey. It stays very moist and is very pretty when you cut it. Not to mention, it makes for great leftovers to send home with your guests. Try it out…maybe for Christmas?

Kelly

Glazed Turkey Roulade

1 whole (2 halves) turkey breast, boned and butterflied (about 5 pounds)

2 onions halved

3 stalks celery cut into 3 inch pieces

3 carrots cut into 3 inch pieces

3 cups prepared stuffing

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Place the stuffing in a large bowl. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan with cooking spray and place the vegetables on the pan.

Rinse the turkey breast then lay the butterflied turkey breast skin side down on a cutting board.

Use a heavy pan to pound the turkey breast to a more even thickness.

Dry the turkey very well (this is very important.) Spread the stuffing in a 1/2-inch-thick layer over the meat, leaving a half-inch border on all sides.

Don’t mound the stuffing or the turkey will be difficult to roll. Starting at 1 end, roll the turkey like a jelly roll and tuck in any stuffing that tries to escape on the sides.

Tie the roast firmly with kitchen twine (or close with tooth picks as we did here, though twine is better) every 2 inches to make a compact cylinder.

Place the stuffed turkey breast seam side down on the rack on the sheet pan. Brush with the melted butter, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Roast for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until an instant-read thermometer registers 150 degrees F in the center. About 20 min before the turkey is done, brush with the glaze. Repeat twice about 5 minutes apart.

Cover the turkey with aluminum foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Carve 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve warm.

If you make leftover stuffing, you can place it in a buttered gratin dish and bake for the last 45 minutes of roasting alongside the turkey.