Boneless Stuffed Turkey Breast

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

For my wedding, my father and I boned and stuffed five 30-pound turkeys. It’s actually easier to bone and stuff a turkey than a chicken. I’ve also made the ‘turducken’ – boned turkey, stuffed with boned chicken, duck and stuffing. Fun to do…once.

Instead of whole turkey for Thanksgiving, or just for less people, you can stuff a boneless turkey breast and cook it the day before. This takes much less time and stress than whole turkey. Then, you can also cook turkey legs and thighs in slow cooker or braise in oven to melting tenderness. Chilled, the stuffed, boneless turkey slices easily and can be reheated in gravy. It’s also excellent cold with salads.

Gluten-Free Boneless Stuffed Turkey Breast

Ingredients:

• fresh or thawed, 7 lb hotel style breast, remove both breasts, or get butcher department to remove for you.
• 2 cups gluten-free chicken stock
• ¼ c sherry or wine – optional
• Gluten-free cornstarch to thicken
• 4 slices of gluten-free Oscar Meyer Center cut bacon or Jones Dairy Farm bacon, scissored into small strips
• 1 small to medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Gala, Fuji or Braeburn apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped – like shredded cheese
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely crushed
• ½ c craisins – optional
• ½ c chopped pecans – optional
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried sage, ‘rubbed’ into small pieces – buy fresh in store in advance of Thanksgiving, and gently dry in oven or microwave. Store in glass jar.
• ½ c fresh parsley, chopped
• pepper
• Gluten-free corn muffins, to total about 10-12 oz in weight broken into small pieces. Or make homemade gluten-free cornbread.

Directions:

1. Place bacon, onion, apple, garlic and butter in a microwave safe 6-8 cup jug  (I use pyrex/anchor hocking jugs) and cook in the microwave for a few minutes until bacon is giving up its fat and onion and apple are soft.

2. Add craisins and stir well so they start absorbing juices and plumping up.

3. Stir in herbs and freshly ground pepper, pecans. I personally don’t add salt since both bacon and corn muffins contain salt.

4. Mix in gluten-free corn muffins. I prefer the corn muffins to be broken into really small pieces not left as chunks.

5. Place the turkey breast on a chopping board. If the skin was left on, carefully remove it and retain. Cut breast in half lengthwise, almost all the way through and open the breast up like opening a book.

6. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top and bottom of the meat and pound the meat as flat as you can without tearing.  If you bought turkey tenderloin, pound it flat. Or make individual portions or use boneless chicken breasts.

7. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap and spread stuffing out over all of the breast almost to the edges and use the bottom sheet of plastic wrap to help you roll the breast up like a jelly roll. Don’t roll the plastic wrap inside the meat. I spear the breast with about 4 short stainless steel skewers to hold it together – available in grocery store. Don’t use toothpicks, the wood swells and is difficult to remove.

8. Place the breast/s in roasting pan or large skillet, cover with retained skin if you have it and pour stock and sherry over meat.  Cover with foil or lid and bake in a preheated 350* oven, basting every 20 minutes for about 1+1/4 hours, but check at 45 minutes and again at one hour. Cooking time depends on coldness of meat going into oven, size of breast, oven temperature.  Check the temperature of the inside of the meat with an instant read thermometer.  It should read about 155/160*.  Remove from oven and allow to stand  and firm up, temperature will continue to rise.  Overcooking will make the meat very dry.

9. Thicken the juices and pour over slices of turkey. Reheat slices of cold turkey in the gravy the next day. Serve carved very thin as part of a cold buffet