Stuffed and Rolled Turkey Breast
Finding whole turkeys in Italy is not easy but finding turkey breast is. It is sold more and more in supermercati. Honestly, I have never been a fan of turkey but when I watched my friend, chef Mario Ragni from Perugia, make this butter flied stuffed turkey breast, I was hooked. It was moist and flavorful and is perfect when you want to have a turkey dinner with just white meat.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb whole chestnuts
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
- 1/4lb prosciutto, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh rosemary needles
- 4 tbsp parsley, minced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- One 4lb skin on turkey breast, butter flied *
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- With a small sharp knife make an x in the top of each chestnut. Place them on a baking sheet and roast them for 25 minutes or until the skins split open. Let the chestnuts cool then crack them open with a nutcracker. Remove the nutmeat and place in a large bowl.
- Reduce oven temperature to 400F
- Heat ¼ cup of the olive oil in a small skillet and brown the breadcrumbs over low heat. Transfer the crumbs to the bowl with the chestnuts.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the skillet and cook the prosciutto until it is brown and crispy. Add to the chestnut mixture. Stir in the rosemary, parsley, garlic, cheese and 1 tablespoon of oil and mix everything well. (The stuffing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days ahead).
- Lay the turkey breast out on a cutting board. Place a large piece of wax paper over the turkey and pound it with a meat pounder to flatten it to an even thickness. It should be about ½-inch even thickness.
- Rub the turkey evenly with salt and pepper. Spread the stuffing mixture evenly over they turkey to within ½-inch of the sides. If you have some stuffing left over, save it for the top after the meat is rolled.
- Starting at one long side, roll the turkey up on itself like a jelly roll and tie it with kitchen string every two inches or so.
- If some of the stuffing falls out while rolling, shove it back in with your hands.
- In a large skillet large enough to hold the turkey breast, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Brown the turkey on all sides.
- Transfer it to a rack in a roasting pan and add any pan juices from the skillet. Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper and pat on any remaining stuffing over the top.
- Add ½ cup of wine to the pan. Roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers 170 F on an instant-read thermometer. Baste the meat occasionally with the pan juices, adding the remaining 1-cup wine to the pan halfway through the cooking time.
- Let the meat rest loosely covered with aluminum foil for 15 minutes. Cut the roll into ½-inch thick slices, arrange them on a platter, and pour any pan juices over the meat. Serve hot.
- *The term butter flied means to slice a piece of meat vertically almost cutting it in half but stopping ½ inch from the edge so the meat remains in one piece but can be opened like a book. You can do this yourself or ask your butcher to do it for you.*
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