Turkey Roulade

I've gotta admit, I've been avoiding this post for a while. It has been overwhelming me. But the results are just too good to not share.

I'm not sure who to give credit to (or blame), but we came up with a turkey roulade for a family dinner of 10. The idea was let's do something we haven't done before. Our adventure began at the city's largest indoor fresh market. Note to self - do not under any circumstances, go to a fresh market on a Saturday afternoon the day before a major religious holiday.

This recipe comes from Wish Magazine online . It has a great variety of fun and interesting recipes for entertaining.

First, the stuffing:

Shitake Mushroom & Swiss Chard Stuffing
(we doubled this recipe)

2 1/2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup sherry
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup saueed Swiss chard, chopped
3/4 cup 35% cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 lemon, zested

Zest the lemon, chop the shallots garlic and chives:



In a saute pan, cook mushrooms in olive oil for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. Deglaze with sherry and remove from pan and let cool.



Then chop and saute the Swiss chard:





If you have turkey tenderloins that you've cut away from the breasts of the turkey, place them into food processor and pulse with cream and remaining salt and pepper. Blend Swiss chard, mushrooms, garlic mixture, lemon zest in food processor. Pulse until well combined. Remove from food processor and mix in chopped chives.



Next comes the turkey...

The recipe calls for 2 turkey breasts, boneless, skin on (1 1/2 lbs each). But since we doubled the stuffing and didn't want anyone to go hungry, we just went with whatever the butcher said would serve 10 people. After getting home and taking a closer look at turkey once we got home, the doubts started. Will this really serve 10?



Maybe we should make another full turkey (yes, we had a backup bird defrosted). I decided I would just cut up the turkey and we would make a second roulade. Only problem is, I've never cut up a turkey. In fact, the idea of carving up an uncooked turkey has always grossed me out.

Never fear. I'm sure youtube will show me how to cut up a turkey. I could only find this video:



So...the battle began. Psychgrad vs. The Butterball

In one corner...weighing 15 pounds in multi-coloured packaging.....BUTTERBALL TURKEY! In the other corner...weighing...more than 15 pounds. Dressed in black with a vest from MEC....Psychgrad!



First came the wings. Easy enough.



Removing the breasts was easy, although I didn't succeed in removing the breasts as a whole. I did get momentarily grossed out by what felt pretty similar to snot between the skin and the breast. As well as looking at the inside of the carcass.





Lastly, I removed the dark meat (thighs and legs). Success - Psychgrad 1, Butterball 0.

Next came the actual stuffing. First, a layer of crushed garlic.



Then the stuffing



Roll the turkey up and tie it with butcher's twine. Season with salt, pepper and your herbs of taste (we used thyme and rosemary). Drizzle breasts with a little olive oil. Although the recipe calls for using an oven proof saute pan, we opted to use an open roaster since we had a larger amount.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Roast until golden doneness or until internal temperature reads 165. Having a meat thermometer is a total life saver and a lifesaver especially when one isn't sure. Allow breasts to rest tented for 10 minutes before slicing.



The turkey came out great. Nice and juicy.





Among other dishes, we served potatoes.



Of note, we made way too much turkey.