For an elegant main course for the holiday season, you should try this delicious Turkey Breast Roulade.
It has everything you would want – amazing stuffing (my Mushroom Wild Rice Dressing to be exact), moist and perfectly cooked turkey breast, and a sauce that’s out of this world! Because it’s in a neat roll, there’s no tricky carving. Just slice and serve!
The ingredients for this delicious Turkey Breast Roulade include a half skinless and boneless turkey breast, Mushroom Wild Rice Dressing, olive oil, white wine, chicken broth, shallots, heavy cream, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Because it was just the Master Taste Tester and me, I used a 1-1/2 pound turkey breast. If you’re cooking for more people, use a larger turkey breast.
Process:
I started by brining the turkey breast overnight using the same brine as I use for my roast chicken. I removed the turkey breast from the brine, rinsed it well, and patted it dry. Then, I placed it between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pounded it to an even thickness of about 1/2-inch.
I removed the plastic wrap from the top of the turkey, and spread the dressing evenly over the turkey breast, making sure that I left some room at the edges.
Then, I rolled the turkey breast up in jelly-roll fashion, and tied it in 2-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Generally, I roll it from the shorter edge to produce a fatter roulade, but this time, I rolled it from the long edge to produce a thinner roulade. The reason that I rolled it from the long edge was that I wanted a shorter cooking time. The choice, however, is yours.
I pulled out my 14-inch cast iron skillet (but you could any oven-safe roasting pan), set it over high heat, and added some olive oil. When the oil was quite hot, but not smoking, I added the roulade which I had sprinkled with salt and pepper, and cooked it on all sides until it was golden brown. This took about 5 minutes.
Ready for Oven:
Before popping the turkey roulade into a preheated 375° F oven, I poured some white wine and chicken broth into the pan, and inserted a thermometer into the thickest part of the roulade.
I cooked theTurkey Breast Roulade until the thermometer registered 165° F. Because of the thickness of the roulade, it only took about 30 minutes to reach temperature. Had I rolled it into a fatter roulade, it would have taken at least twice as long. Anyway, I transferred the roulade to a cutting board, and covered it loosely with foil while I made the saucec.
Making the Sauce:
For the sauce, I added the shallots and remaining wine to the pan, and cooked it over high heat until the shallots were soft and most of the liquid had evaporated. Then, I added the remaining chicken broth and cooked it over high heat until it was reduced by about a half.
Finally, I added the cream and green onions, and cooked the mixture until it reduced slightly. At this point, I thought that the sauce was still a bit thin, so I finished it off with some beurre manié (about a tablespoon of room temperature butter mixed with a tablespoon of flour) to produce the right consistency.
Serving:
Before the Master Taste Tester cut the Turkey Breast Roulade, I removed the kitchen twine. Talk about good. The turkey was moist and perfectly cooked, and the sauce out of this world. Because there were just the two of us, there were some leftovers that reheated beautifully. Yum!
- 1 boneless and skinless turkey breast half between 1 1/2 and 3 pounds
- 1 recipe Mushroom Wild Rice Dressing or dressing of your choice
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup white wine divided
- 2 3/4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon chopped green onion white and green parts
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- If desired, brine turkey breast. Rinse well, pat dry.
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- On a large cutting board, place the turkey breast on top of a sheet of plastic wrap and butterfly the breast so that it opens up to 1 large flat piece of even thickness. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap and pound to an even thickness of just under 1/2-inch. Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the turkey; spread the stuffing evenly over the turkey breast, spreading to within 1 1/2-inches of the edges. Roll the turkey breast up, jelly-roll fashion, and tie the roulade in 2-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Season the outside of the breast with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large ovenproof skillet or small roasting pan over high heat. When hot, add the olive oil. When the oil is very hot but not smoking, add the roulade and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and 3/4 cup of the chicken broth to the pan and transfer to the oven. Roast, uncovered, until the turkey is cooked through and a thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 165° F, between 30 minutes and 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the roulade. If necessary, add more broth or water to keep the juices from evaporating on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the roulade to a cutting board and let rest, covered loosely with foil, for at least 15 minutes before carving.
- While the roulade is resting, place the skillet on the stovetop and add the shallots and wine to the pan. Cook over high heat until the shallots are soft and the wine is almost completely reduced, scraping to release any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining chicken broth and cook until reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the heavy cream, and green onions; cook until reduced slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. If necessary add beurre manié consisting of 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon flour; whisk to combine. Keep warm until ready to serve the turkey. Do not allow the sauce to boil.
- When ready to serve the turkey, remove the kitchen twine, slice the roulade crosswise into 1-inch slices, and serve with the sauce. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
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