If you're bored with the usual Thanksgiving turkey, or, like me, do not feel very comfortable with last-minute carving, look no further! Turkey roulade is a perfect way to get all the mess behind you the day before, and to just have to cut lovely slices on T-Day. Since I'm not very enthusiastic about American stuffing, which is often made with mostly bread and herbs, I created a tasty mushroom stuffing, loaded with garlic, shallots and sage. The roulade process ended up being a little more challenging than expected, but you can always hide the mess below the turkey skin!!! Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
10 lbs. turkey breast - check out D'Artagnan - their meat is great!
1 shallot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 sweet Italian sausages
Sage leaves
Butter
2 individual packs of instant oatmeal
3 tbsp milk
1 shallot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 sweet Italian sausages
Sage leaves
Butter
2 individual packs of instant oatmeal
3 tbsp milk
Prepare the stuffing: Heat one tablespoon of butter in a pan, add the shallot and garlic. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes, until all the water is evaporated and the mushrooms start having a nice brown color. Add salt, pepper and let it cool down. In the meantime, in a large mixing bowl, soak the oatmeal with the milk, add the sausages (casings removed), as well as a few chopped sage leaves. Once the mushroom mix has cooled down, incorporate it into the bowl. Mix well and season to taste.
Debone the turkey breast: if your turkey breast is not deboned, remove the two breasts with a sharp knife, starting from the center of the turkey and working your way along the carcass. Once you have separated the two breasts, carefully pull out the skin. Butterfly the turkey breasts in order to reduce the thickness of the meat. If necessary, use a rolling pin and hammer it on the meat in order to make the thickness more even. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Spread half of the stuffing on each breast and roll it into a roast. Put the skin on top, insert the remaining whole leaves between the meat and the skin, and tie with some kitchen twine, every 1/2 inch. Put in a roasting pan. If you prepared the roulade the day before, you can keep it in the fridge until the following day. It is best to leave it uncovered, as this will dry the skin and make it crispier once you roast it.
On the serving day, preheat the oven to 375F. Use half a stick of soft butter and massage it all over the roasts. Put in the oven for about two hours. The roasts should render a lot of juice, which you can either serve in a saucer, or use to make a gravy.
Remove from the oven, let stand, covered with aluminum foil, for about 15 minutes, then cut slices with a sharp knife.
