Cider Roasted Turkey Roulade

Ever since we went Apple Picking, this recipe has been on my list to cook for Thanksgiving. I didn’t want to cook a whole turkey and always wanted to make roulade. So I chose to use a turkey breast and stuff it with my Aunt Pete’s Cornbread Dressing.

You can also use a large turkey leg too instead of the breast. I was going to have the butcher de-bone one for me, but I ended up buying a frozen breast which I found out was attached to the bone. Ok, no biggie. I will use the bones for stock and practice my butchery. We won’t talk about that now. Let’s just say I need more practice. Just didn’t want to leave more meat on the bone than what I was cooking.

Some recipes seem intimidating at first, but once you break down the steps it’s not so bad. I decided to brine the turkey breast first using the fresh cider I bought from Apple Picking (read all about it here!). The brine has a few ingredients, but it was well worth it. The turkey turned out very juicy and aromatic.

First step: Defrost. Make sure you allow yourself enough time to defrost and brine. Mine was about 13 lbs so it took 2 days to defrost in the fridge.

Second step: De-bone and butterfly. Have your butcher do this or watch YouTube videos to learn like I did. Really I just followed the bone all the way around and tried not to leave any meat on the bone. You will need a sharp knife and patience.

Third step: Brine. Choose your recipe, then cover the meat completely and brine overnight.

Fourth step: Prepare dressing or stuffing of your choice. Make Aunt Pete’s Cornbread Dressing here. Spread a small amount of dressing evenly on the flesh side. Roll and tie with a butchers knot. Also refer to Youtube. That’s what I did.

Fifth step: Prepare pan for roasting

Tip: I know I mentioned Youtube a couple of times on preparing this dish, but it was very helpful to me. I am NOT a seasoned butcher and am learning so I will refer you to the professionals for that until I get better and will be more comfortable showing you step by step. Thanks for your patience.

It’s well worth the time and effort. You will get at least 8 servings from a small breast like this.

You will need:

1 roasting pan

A baster

Butcher’s twine

A large stock pot with lid

By: Giselle Raymond, Culinary Curator

December 4, 2018
8-10 Servings
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Ingredients

For the Brine
1 12-15lb turkey breast or 2 turkey legs
2 quarts, plus 1 cup apple cider
1 cup kosher salt, plus more
1 cup soy sauce
1 large orange cut in 4 wedges
1 lemon cut in 4 wedges
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
15-20 whole peppercorns
8 whole star anise pods
2 or 3 cinnamon sticks
6 garlic cloves smashed
6 slices of fresh ginger cut about 1/4” thick
2 sprigs cilantro or Italian parsley
*1 1/2 gallons cold water at the end to cover meat
For Roasting
1 prepared butterflied and brined turkey breast or turkey leg(s)
1 onion cut into 1/2” slices
2 carrots cut in half ( don’t bother peeling just wash or scrub)
3 celery sticks cut in half
2 apples cut into quarters
4 to 5 large Sage leaves
3 tbsp softened butter
Salt and pepper
Butcher’s twine

Directions

Step 1: First step: Defrost the turkey. Make sure you allow yourself enough time to defrost and brine. Mine was about 13 lbs so it took 2 days to defrost in the fridge. Use a baking dish to catch any liquids and place on the bottom shelf.
Step 2: Second step: Prepare your brine. Add 2 quarts of cider and the other brine ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil stirring to dissolve he sugar and salt. Let cool down to room temperature. This may take a couple of hours so in the meantime you can de-bone and butterfly your turkey breast.
Step 3: De-bone and butterfly. You can have your butcher do this when you purchase the meat or watch YouTube videos to learn like I did. Really I just followed the bone all the way around and tried not to leave any meat on the bone. You will need a sharp knife and patience.
Step 4: Third step: Brine. When the brine has cooled down to room temp, put the turkey into the brine and cover with the additional 1 1/2 gallons of cold water making sure to cover the meat completely. You may need to put a heavy plate on top to keep it submerged. Brine overnight.
Step 5: Fourth step: Prepare dressing or stuffing of your choice.
Step 6: Take out turkey from the brine and discard brine. Dry off meat with a paper towel.
Step 7: Spread a small amount of prepared room temperature dressing evenly on the flesh side. Roll and tie with a butchers knot. Also refer to Youtube. That’s what I did.
Step 8: Spread the softened butter all over the turkey. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Tuck sage leaves underneath the twine. Set aside and let stand at room temp for 1 hour.
Step 9: Preheat oven to 400F
Step 10: Fifth step: Prepare pan for roasting. Cut carrots, onion, and celery. Lay cut vegetables on the bottom of the pan. This serves as a roasting rack and will give a lot of flavor to your pan juices for gravy.
Step 11: Place the tied roulade seam side down in the pan. Pour in remaining 1 cup of cider and 1 cup of water in the pan. Add apples wedges. Roast for 20 minutes.
Step 12: Turn the oven temp down to 375F. Cover tightly with foil. Roast in the oven basting about 3 times for 1 hour. Take the foil off and roast an additional 30 minutes to brown the meat.
Step 13: Let the meat rest for a least 20-30 minutes before carving so that the roulade won’t fall apart on you.
Step 14: Use this time to make Easy Gravy.
Step 15: Take off the twine and slice into 1” thick slices.
Step 16: Serve immediately.
Step 17: Enjoy!