Let’s start this by saying, this isn’t the prettiest thing I’ve made. You’re seeing the second go of this recipe – the first time it was perfect. And it was pretty. I almost wasn’t going to share this because this turkey breast wasn’t as pretty as the first one – but hey. Let’s learn from my mistakes!
So, because of #quarantine, this Thanksgiving is looking a little different. There is basically no reason to make a whole turkey, so a turkey breast is a great alternative! You could even roast some turkey legs, too, if you want the dark meat.
But what happened with this turkey breast? I ended up with a boneless turkey breast – mistake number one. Go for the one with the bone. This guy came to me in a few pieces and ended up not giving me enough surface area for a good roll.
You’ll need to de-bone and butterfly your turkey breast – but really, ain’t no thang! I used this tutorial to learn how to do it and it’s perfect. The key is a sharp knife. (Really, a sharp knife is always the key.)
Then you have to pound the breast into a thin piece. If you leave it too thick you’ll end up with a turkey breast looking like mine – without a nice roll of filling!
So let’s recap – secrets to a great stuffed turkey breast:
- Bone in turkey breast, that you’ll butterfly with a sharp knife
- Pounding the crap out of the turkey breast, to get a nice 1″-ish thick piece
Turkey Breast Stuffed with Mushrooms, Bacon and Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 turkey breast, de-boned and butterflied
- 5 slices of bacon
- 4 oz mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and minced
- 1/3 c dried cranberries
- 1 orange, zested
- 1/3 c parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Prepare a roasting pan and set aside.
- De-bone and butterfly the turkey breast. Pound until you get a 1" -ish thick piece, or until you get it as thin as possible without breaking through the breast and creating two pieces.
- In a large skillet, add the bacon. Cook until crispy and remove from the pan, set aside.
- To the bacon grease, add mushrooms, onions, rosemary, cranberries and sautee until the onions are translucent.
- Add the rosemary and orange zest and sautee until fragrant. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Remove from the heat, add the parsley and stir to combine. Allow to cool enough to handle.
- Spread the filling over the turkey breast, and begin to roll away from you.
- Secure turkey breast with cooking string.
- Roast turkey breast for 20 minutes at 400. Then lower to 325 and roast another 10-20 minutes, or until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 165.
