More Turkey Talk

Turkey, turkey, turkey. Here's the second in our series of Turkey Tales from yesterday's Thanksgiving Dinner. Please refer to part one posted earlier as written by The Big Guy.

I might be old but I'm not stupid. When the big guy handed over the tray of turkey bits, I took one look at it and told him to carry on as if he's normal. Since he'd accomplished the de-boning excercise posted previously, I figured he might just as well continue and that way I wouldn't have to stick my hands in all that raw meat.

We've made this particular Stuffed Rolled Turkey Roast together several times and honestly, each time it just gets better. This time it was better than better because all I had to do was hold the darn thing while the big guy tied it. Oh of course, I had to give him advice while he did it, and baste the resulting roast every half hour as it cooked, but that was it. Easy right?

The big guy laid out the turkey flat on the board, skin side down and filled in any wholes with pieces of thigh meat. As you can see the filets are left to the side and get special treatment.
The bird is stuffed with a forcemeat stuffing (" Forcemeat is a mixture of ground, lean meat emulsified with fat. The emulsification can be accomplished by either grinding, sieving, or pureeing the ingredients. The emulsification may either be smooth or coarse, depending on the desired consistency of the final product")...thanks Wiki. 

 

In our case, the stuffing consists of freshly ground pork, the fattier the better, along with dried thyme, rosemary, some poultry seasoning a freshly grated nutmeg. Emulsified along with 3 eggs and some heavy cream, the mixture looks a little like uncooked pate when it comes out of the food processor. Spread evenly over the center third of the bird, it is then covered with a layer of honey ham slices, followed by two breast filet's running right down the center. The turkey is then rolled, wrapped and tied with the ends tucked inside.

 

I know I'm making that process sound pretty darn simple, but it took 4 hands and a fair bit of swearing to get the job done. One of the reasons for the swearing is that we bought a "BIG" bird ..over 18 pounds because it was really "cheap", but honestly this process is more easily accomplished with a 10 to 12 pound bird. The resulting turkey roast weighed in a 13.6 pounds. Don't forget to weigh the darn thing so you know how long it'll take to cook. Slathered with butter, it hit a 450 oven for 20 minutes after which the heat was lowered to 350.

 

It roasted for 3.5 hours, was basted every half hour with stock and/or pan drippings and covered loosely with foil for the last hour.

It left the oven a perfect 170, and covered and left to rest for half an hour, the finished internal temperature was a perfect 180.

It sliced beautifully and certainly earned the place of honor on the plate, along with the deepest darkest most flavorful turkey gravy imaginable (sans the Madeira), to say nothing of the host of sides. I'll fill you in on those tomorrow, but for now...I think there's a little turkey in our future. What about you?

This is a very novel way of cooking a bird as it keeps it very moist. Cooking a perfectly moist bird is a lot harder than it looks because the white meat cooks faster than the dark meat ...well you know what it's like. Also, every single part of the bird can be utilized - I made a huge pot of stock out of the carcass bones and still have the legs and wings set aside in the freezer marked soup to be enjoyed later. While I admit the preparation is darned labor intensive, the bird can be boned the day before, then stuffed and rolled just before cooking. As per usual, it's important to keep the raw meat including the forcemeat very cold until it goes into the oven to prevent any kind of bacterial contamination.

As for the finished result - the 13.6 pound roast can easily feed 20 people, slices perfectly and tastes sublime.  Download Stuffed Rolled Turkey Roast

Stuffed Rolled Turkey Roast (from JBug’s Kitchen)

For the Forcemeat stuffing:
1 pound finely ground pork
1/4 pound ground fresh pork fat
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme, sage and rosemary

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Make the stuffing: In a food processor blend the pork and fat. With the motor running, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and combine well. With the motor still running, add the heavy cream in a stream. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Chill, covered, for at least 30 minutes. Stuffing may be prepared a day in advance, but be sure to keep it very cold!

For the Turkey:

1 – 10 to 12 pound turkey, boned (See blog post for instructions)

4 ounces thinly sliced pre-cooked honey roasted ham

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 cups homemade turkey stock

Arrange the turkey skin side down with a long side facing you, filling in areas as required with thigh meat. Set breast filet pieces aside. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Smooth stuffing over middle third portion of flattened turkey, leaving approximately 1 inch border at the ends. Cover center of  stuffing with a layer of the ham and place the breast fillets on top of the ham, with ends touching.  Roll the roast with skin covering outside, using skewers to attach roast together, tucking in ends and creating a cylinder shape. Tie well with string.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Place tied roast on rack in roasting pan and slather outside with unsalted butter. Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes. Lower heat to 350 and add turkey stock to bottom of roasting pan to a depth of one half inch. Roast for approximately 15 minutes per pound, continuing to add turkey stock to pan as required and basting every half hour. Cover loosely with a foil tent when roast becomes browned to your liking.  Remove from oven when roast has reached an internal temperature of 170. Cover with foil and let rest for half an hour before slicing. Internal temperature of bird will rise to 180 during this rest period.

Meanwhile, skim fat from roasting pan and make gravy from drippings. Slice roast to serve.

Hint - the stuffed and rolled turkey as it is in pretty darn good in the low carb department, particularly since the stuffing is made from meat rather than bread; however, watch those side dishes. Turnip and green vegetables are best.

Comments

[Nanan]

Beautiful - and our French ancestors would be proud!!!! - I love forcemeats - I think it would save this driest of fowl! And heck - everything is better with a bit of pig!!!!! Beautiful looking Thanksgiving Meal!

[June]

Thanks Lea and you're so right about the "bit of pig". Can't wait to read about your dinner!

[pam]

That is the most impressive turkey I have ever seen! Seriously!

[June]

Thank you Pam. I'll tell you one thing I know for sure - the sandwiches are absolutely incredible because it slices like a dream.

[Mags]

Speechless here. And so very, very impressed.

[June]

Ah Thanks Mags. The Big Guy says "aw shucks, I just love impressin' you".