Rolled slow-cooked turkey breast
Rolled slow-cooked turkey breast
Turkey is a fairly new addition to our family Christmas table, but a very welcome one. I don’t tackle a whole turkey – my oven isn’t big enough, but also it feels a bit too daunting an undertaking on a day that’s busy enough already. We serve it with a simple potato bake, often a ham and a big green salad.
This is a bit of a cooking project, but the steps are easy and you do them in advance, so all you need to do on the big day is bung the turkey in the oven for 2 hours, then slice and serve. Here’s a timeline that might help break down the steps:
2–4 DAYS AHEAD (or weeks or months if you freeze it): Make the chicken stock.
1–3 DAYS AHEAD: Prepare the stuffing and spice rub.
1 DAY AHEAD: Roll and tie up the turkey so it’s ready to cook.
You could make a classic gravy for your turkey or just serve it with a jar of cranberry sauce, but I much prefer this dark jus. It tastes rather special and it is Christmas, after all.
Ingrediënten
- 1 double turkey breast butterflied
- 2 cups 500 ml dark chicken stock
- Olive oil for drizzling
- 1 tsp plum jam or quince paste or something sweet
SPICE RUB
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ÂĽ tsp ground turmeric
- 2½ Tbsp 50 g butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
STUFFING
- 2½ Tbsp 50 g butter
- 1 brown onion diced
- 1 cup 115 g walnuts
- 3 cups 180 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 handful sage leaves
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg
Instructies
- For the spice rub, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to make a paste.
- Set aside while you make the stuffing.
- For the stuffing, melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium–low heat.
- Cook the onion for about 10 minutes or until completely softened.
- Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until they are crunchy and golden.
- Remove from the heat and use a sturdy glass to bash the walnuts around and break them into small pieces (or transfer them to a board and roughly chop).
- Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl, tip in the onion and leave to cool for a few minutes.
- Chop the sage and rosemary with the garlic, salt and pepper, creating a herby paste.
- Add the paste to the breadcrumbs and onion, then add the egg and chopped walnuts and gently stir to combine.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Pop the stuffing into the fridge to cool while you get everything else ready to roll … literally!
- Lay the turkey breast out flat and rub it inside and out with the spice rub.
- Spread the stuffing over the turkey and roll it up into a football shape, then tightly tie it together with kitchen string.
- At this point you can cook the turkey, or cover it with a damp tea towel and place it in the fridge, ready to cook tomorrow or the day after.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
- Place the turkey in a roasting tin.
- Pour 1 cup (250 ml) of the dark chicken stock into the tin, drizzle the turkey with a little olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 2 hours, basting with the pan juices halfway through (baste it more often if you can – the more basting, the better).
- Transfer the turkey to a carving tray to rest.
- Pour the pan juices into a saucepan and scrape in any bits stuck on the bottom of the roasting tin.
- Add the remaining 1 cup (250 ml) of chicken stock.
- Cook over high heat until the mixture has reduced by half into a thick, delicious jus.
- Stir in the plum jam or quince paste and do a taste check – does it need more sweetness, salt or maybe acidity?
- Adjust to taste and then keep warm until needed.
- Carve the turkey and pour the hot jus over the top.
- Serve immediately (or as quickly as you can get your crowd to the table).
