Stuffed Turkey Breast | Full Fork Ahead

By McCarleyRHLAC

Ingredients

• Special equipment: kitchen twine or string and a meat thermometer
• 4 Tbs. (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and diced
• 2 Tbs. minced mixed fresh herbs, such as
• rosemary, sage and thyme
• 1 ⁄3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 box/bag bread stuffing, about 1 lb. total (we used Pepperidge Farm)
• 3 to 3 1⁄2 cups chicken stock, warmed, plus
• more if needed
• 2 boneless turkey breast halves, each about
• 4 lb., butterflied by your butcher and pounded
• to 1⁄2-inch thickness
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 jar turkey gravy base, prepared according to
• package instructions, for serving

Details

Adapted from fullforkahead.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat an oven to 425°F.In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, celery and fennel and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 10-15 minutes. Add the mixed fresh herbs, parsley, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the focaccia stuffing and 3 cups of the stock and stir to combine; add more stock if needed to form a moist stuffing. Set aside.

Place 1 butterflied turkey breast on a work surface, with a long side nearest you, and season with salt and pepper. Mound 3 cups of the stuffing in the center, leaving a 1-inch border on each long side. Fold the long side nearest you over the stuffing to enclose, gently pressing on the filling, then roll to form a cylinder; do not roll it too tightly or the filling will slip out of the ends. Using kitchen twine, tie the rolled turkey breast crosswise at 1-inch intervals. Rub the outside of the turkey breast with 1 Tbs. of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the other turkey breast half. (You will have some stuffing left over.)

Place the remaining stuffing in a casserole dish. Set the turkey breast halves, skin side up, on top. Roast for 25 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Continue roasting until the skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breasts registers 165°F, about 40 minutes more. At this point, also place the extra stuffing in the oven to bake for the remaining 40 minutes. Transfer the turkey breasts to a carving board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the twine and cut the turkey into 1/2-inch slices. Serve immediately with turkey gravy.

One breast could serve 4-6 I’m betting, two would serve 8-10.

Notes:

Again with the stuffing, if you enjoy the stuff, consider having extra to bake in a casserole dish – you can do this at the same time as the bird is baking. Place the extra stuffing in the oven after you turn the temp down to 350°F and bake for the remaining 40 minutes.

We did end up baking the turkey a little longer, until the meat thermometer read the right temp, but only about another ten or fifteen minutes.