Recipes
Rolled, Stuffed Turkey Breast and Thigh Roasts
No less impressive than carving a whole bird, these turkey breast and thigh roasts are perfect for smaller gatherings. The intensely-flavored stuffing features homemade garlic truffle croutons, vegetable stock reduction and fresh sage. We suggest one breast and one thigh, but you can roll these roasts however you like. The homemade croutons are worth the time investment, but they do need to start a day ahead.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
To make the croutons a day ahead
- About 16 ounces crusty Italian bread
- 4 ounces prepared mayonnaise, we use Sir Kensington’s Classic Mayonnaise
- 4 large cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 teaspoon coarse black truffle salt
To finish the stuffing
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
- ½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
- ¾ ounce fresh sage leaves, stemmed and chopped
The turkey
- 1 boneless turkey breast, skin on, about 3 ½ pounds
- 1 boneless, skinless turkey thigh, 1 ½ to 2 pounds
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fine grey sea salt
- Coarsely ground black pepper
Optional gravy for serving
Directions
Make the homemade garlic truffle croutons
Prepare the homemade croutons one day before cooking the turkey. Slice the bread 1-inch-thick and let sit in the open air on wire cooking racks for 2 hours. Place the mayonnaise in a medium-sized dish. Crush the garlic into the mayonnaise, and then stir together with the truffle salt. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Prepare the grill for indirect roasting at 350°F. If using a Kalamazoo Hybrid Fire Grill, the setup is as follows:
- Preheat the grill with all main burners set to HIGH and the hood closed. Once the hood thermometer reads 400°F, turn all but the far left burner OFF. Keep the hood closed and monitor the temperature, adjusting burners as needed to maintain 350°F.
- The bread will be roasted in the right side of the grill, away from the heat.
Use a soft spatula to spread the mayonnaise into both sides of the bread slices. Roast in the indirect zone of the grill at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned (we do it on the same cooling racks the bread was drying on). Flip the slices over halfway through cooking. Remove from the grill and let rest on wire racks for 4 hours. After that time, cut into cubes, place in an air-tight container, and keep at room temperature until ready to use.
Make the stuffing
Reduce the vegetable broth in a large skillet over medium heat down to 1 cup volume, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula, about 30 minutes. Whisk in the butter until melted and combined. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Add 2 cups of the homemade croutons, the mushrooms, parsley and sage. Stir to combine.
Butterfly the turkey roasts
Use a sharp knife to carefully butterfly the turkey. Every boneless turkey breast and thigh will be a little bit different, but the goal is to create a uniform thickness by butterflying the meat. The breast may need to be folded open twice, but the thigh, which is smaller, will likely be sliced only once.
Spread two thirds of the stuffing mixture onto the butterflied turkey breast, and one third onto the thigh. Roll each tightly, and then secure with butcher’s string. When rolling the breast, ensure that the skin ends up on the outside of the roast. Coat the outside of each roast with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Cooking the turkey
Prepare the grill for indirect roasting at 400°F. If using a Kalamazoo Hybrid Fire Grill, the setup is as follows:
- Preheat the grill with all main burners set to HIGH and the hood closed. Once the hood thermometer reads 450°F, turn all but the far left burner and the ignition burner OFF. Turn the ignition burner to LOW. Keep the hood closed and monitor the temperature, adjusting burners as needed to maintain 400°F. You may need to turn the remaining main burner down to MEDIUM.
- The turkey will be roasted in the right side of the grill, away from the heat.
Place the rolled turkey breast roast, skin-side-up, in the indirect zone, directly on the grill grate. Close the hood and roast for 10 minutes. Add the rolled turkey thigh roast to the indirect zone, positioning it farther from the fire than the breast, close the hood and continue roasting. Starting the thigh after the breast, and positioning it a little farther from the heat will help the two roasts finish cooking at the same time.
Total cooking time should be roughly 100 minutes. Rotate the roast every 20 minutes for even browning. Remove the roast from the grill when the internal temperature of the meat and the stuffing registers 165°F on an instant-read meat thermometer. Transfer to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil for 10 minutes.
Slice 1-inch thick and serve. Gravy is recommended.