What happens when you buy something you don’t normally get at the food store? Well.. easy.. new dishes! 😉
I usually buy breast meat to cut up in chunks or the whole bird, but hardly ever the entire turkey breast. So, some research was in order for ideas and I decided to make it stuffed. I’ve stuffed meat before, in the traditional German style, rinderroulade, which is very nice and I’ll share with you as soon as I make it again. But turkey breast is dryer and thick, so I was careful to add ingredients that could add some juice to the dish.
Using a combination of bacon, vegetables, pears and pine nuts, the flavours were great together and the meat was very juicy.
For the gravy, which was delicious, I simply used the drippings and added some arrowroot powder to make it thicker.
- 2kg turkey breast with skin
- 4-5 slices of butter (about 1cm each)
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
- oven string with which to wrap the breast
- For the stuffing:
- 2-3 tablespoons organic, grass-fed lard
- 1 leek, clean, peeled, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, cleaned and diced
- 5-6 medium brown mushrooms, diced
- 3 pieces of pork back rashers or bacon, cooked and diced
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 pears, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon thyme (if you have fresh, use the leaves off a couple of sprigs)
- 5-6 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
- a sprinkle of turmeric
- coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- For the gravy:
- turkey drippings
- arrowroot powder
- For the turkey breast:
- Rinse and unwrap. If it needs to be “flattened” out, do so by placing a piece of cellophane paper over top and “beating” with a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin.
- Set aside.
- For the stuffing:
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt the lard.
- Add the leeks and soften.
- Add the celery, garlic and mushrooms, and cook until the celery is just about tender.
- Add the cooked pork rashers/bacon bits, pears, pine nuts, and spices and herbs.
- Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Season to taste.
- To stuff the breast:
- Place the stuffing on one side of the turkey breast and roll the meat over into a “roll”.
- With the string, hold the breast together.
- Place into an ovenproof cooking dish.
- Place the butter pieces over top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, then turn over and bake another 25-30 minutes, basting in between.
- To check if the turkey is done, use a meat thermometer to check; the internal temperature should be at 165-170. Cook longer if necessary.
- For the gravy:
- Place the turkey drippings (try to get just the drippings without the fat) in a small saucepan.
- Add some arrowroot powder (depending on the amount of drippings, about 1-2 teaspoons) and cook until thickened.
- Adjust for seasoning if necessary.
- To plate:
- Slice the turkey breast and serve with gravy and favourite vegetables or side dishes.
Yummy! Perfect to feed a crowd. Proves that you can celebrate and be healthy at the same time!