This Thanksgiving, instead of cooking a whole roasted turkey, I’ll be teaching you how to make a delicious and moist turkey roulade that will steal the show.
This comprehensive guide explains how to prepare and put together a whole, bone-in turkey breast to make a boneless turkey roulade that’s ready for roasting.
As a food blogger, you have to “celebrate” the holidays well in advance so that I can share the recipe with you guys and you have a tasty recipe to try when the time comes. You might be asking, “What’s the deal with Turkey in September?” Well, that’s just part of the job!
This year, like in years past, we won’t be prepping a whole turkey for our Thanksgiving spread. For the two of us, that is obviously too much food, and I dislike having leftovers for a week. Making a smaller turkey dish, like oven-roasted or slow-cooked turkey legs or breasts, is the answer.
I’m making Turkey Roulade with Turkey Breast this year, and I’ll walk you through the preparation process here.
Hey there, turkey enthusiasts! Are you ready to take your Thanksgiving game to the next level? Then buckle up, because we’re about to embark on a culinary adventure that will transform your turkey from ordinary to extraordinary Today’s mission: mastering the art of butterflying a whole turkey breast
But first, let’s address the important query: “Why butterfly a turkey breast?” The answer is straightforward, my friends: versatility. With the help of this method, you can make mouthwatering roulades, succulent stuffed breasts, and turkey steaks that cook even faster. It’s also surprisingly simple to do, even for inexperienced cooks.
So, let’s gather our tools and get ready to butterfly like a pro!
What You’ll Need:
- A whole boneless, skinless turkey breast
- A sharp boning knife or a paring knife
- A cutting board
- Kitchen twine or butcher’s string
- A meat mallet (optional)
Step 1: Prepping the Turkey Breast
- First things first, let’s get our turkey breast ready for action. Remove it from the packaging and give it a good pat-down with paper towels to absorb any excess moisture.
- Next, grab your trusty knife and carefully remove any remaining skin. Slide the blade under the edge of the skin and gently pull it away, separating it from the meat. Don’t worry about being too perfect; we’re just aiming for a clean canvas.
Step 2: The Butterfly Transformation
- Now comes the moment of truth: the butterfly cut. Place the turkey breast skin-side down on your cutting board. Starting at the narrow end, make a horizontal cut through the meat, about halfway through its thickness. Imagine you’re opening a book, but instead of pages, you’re revealing a juicy turkey masterpiece.
- Continue slicing along the breast, keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board. You want to create two even layers of meat, ensuring they’re connected at one end like a hinge. Remember, the goal is not to cut all the way through, but to leave a 3/4-inch “hinge” intact.
Step 3: Unfolding the Turkey
- With a gentle touch, open up the butterflied turkey breast like a giant, edible book. Now you have a large, thin piece of meat ready for your culinary creativity.
Step 4: Pounding for Perfection (Optional)
- If you want to create a super-uniform thickness, grab your meat mallet and give the turkey a gentle pounding. This will help it cook evenly and ensure a tender, juicy texture throughout. Remember, a little goes a long way, so don’t go overboard.
Step 5: Time to Fill and Roll (Optional)
- Now, the fun part begins! If you’re planning to create a stuffed turkey roulade, spread your favorite filling evenly over the butterflied breast, leaving a small border around the edges. Think of it as painting a masterpiece on your edible canvas.
- Once your filling is in place, carefully roll up the turkey breast, starting from the end opposite the hinge. Make sure it’s nice and tight, but not so tight that the filling starts to ooze out.
Step 6: Securing the Roll
- To keep your turkey roulade from unraveling during cooking, grab your kitchen twine or butcher’s string. Tie it securely at regular intervals along the length of the roll, creating a snug, sausage-like shape.
Step 7: Cooking Your Butterflied Creation
- Congratulations, you’ve officially butterflied a whole turkey breast! Now, the possibilities are endless. You can roast it, grill it, pan-fry it, or even poach it. Just remember to adjust your cooking time based on the thickness of your creation.
Pro Tip: For extra flavor and juiciness, brush your butterflied turkey breast with melted butter or olive oil before cooking. You can also add a tablespoon of butter to the bottom of your roasting pan for an extra burst of richness.
There you have it, folks! You’re now equipped with the knowledge and skills to butterfly a whole turkey breast like a seasoned pro. So go forth, experiment, and create culinary masterpieces that will leave your guests in awe. Remember, cooking should be fun, so relax, enjoy the process, and don’t be afraid to get creative!
And hey, feel free to contact me using the comments section below if you have any questions or to share any of your butterflying experiences. Let’s get this turkey party started!.
The FIFTH STEP is to clean the skin.
This is probably my least favorite step, but it’s a necessary one.
The turkey skin will have a lot of fatty sections, with some being thicker than others. You need to scrape off the fat WITHOUT tearing the skin. I use a knife held at a shallow angle and scrape the knife’s edge along the stretched skin in an attempt to remove as much fat as possible.
I feel confident using the knife’s sharp edge because I’ve done this a lot before and can do it without unintentionally ripping or cutting the skin. However, you can use the blunt edge of the knife to do this if you prefer.
After trimming off most of the fat, which can be tightly stretched out on your chopping board, your turkey skin will be thinner than it was before.
The FOURTH STEP is to butterfly the turkey breast meat.
For a turkey roulade, you will not need to completely butterfly the turkey breast. Butterflying the turkey breast along the dotted line shown below will open up the breast. The purpose of butterflying the breast is to make the piece of meat evenly thick throughout.
To do this, I place a sharp knife flat on the center of the turkey breast meat and work it up the surface toward the outside, thicker portion of the meat. Once the meat curves upward, as shown by the dotted line in the above image, that’s where I only start cutting into the breast. ) .
Next, I carefully peel the turkey breast while making tiny cuts all over it to “open up” the cut piece of meat and make it evenly thick (see below). I then use the flat side of a meat tenderizer, just to smooth out the piece of meat.
Alternatively, you can use the meat tenderizer’s flat side to evenly distribute the breast meat without having to chop and peel as described earlier. Repeat with the second turkey breast and set both pieces aside.
How to Butterfly with Martha Stewart
FAQ
Can you butterfly a whole turkey?