From now on I’ll be going by Katie “Ina Garten” Dawson. Because clearly, this recipe proves I’m fancy enough for that now. When Adam and I were on our anniversary trip in the Smoky Mountains, we spent a decent amount of time in the evenings watching Food Network.  We don’t have regular cable at home, so it’s always a treat to watch it while we’re away.  And before you get all huffy and say that we shouldn’t watch TV while on our vacation and that’s not romantic and blah blah blah… If you don’t think watching food being made isn’t romantic to me, then you don’t know me.

ANYWAYS, all the food shows were highlighting their Thanksgiving specials since it was right around the corner at the time.  One cook (Valerie Bertinelli, I think) was making a Friendsgiving feast that featured a turkey roulade.  I was immediately intrigued.  I, of course, had seen roulades (fancy way of saying rolled meat) but I had never attempted to make one.  It had to be complicated, right?

No.

Valerie Bertinelli made it look super simple and I knew that I wanted to give it a go.  So I decided I would make a little holiday feast for Adam and I and then invite my sister and brother-in-law over.  That way I would have plenty of little guinea pigs to try out my first roulade and I could eat even more turkey.  Win-win.

And then I got sick.  The weekend I was to make my turkey feast. Stupid body.

So, the holiday roulade feast was canceled and the turkey breast I bought sat in my freezer until this weekend.  I decided to give the roulade a shot because even though Thanksgiving is over, maybe you need Christmas dinner ideas.  I know ham is king of the Christmas table, but maybe you don’t like ham or want more turkey in your life.  Make this roulade and feel fancy AF.

I promise you it isn’t hard.  It might feel awkward to pound and roll and tie up meat, but it isn’t hard.  And the cranberry sage stuffing?  Delicious.  If you can’t find turkey breast (which shouldn’t be too hard this time of year) or don’t like turkey (I won’t judge… much) you can also make this with chicken breast.  They will be smaller and you will probably have to make more than just one, but the process is still the same.

Ok, let’s get to rolling some meat!

Turkey Breast Roulade with Cranberry Sage Stuffing 

For the Roulade 

• 1 boneless, skinless turkey breast, about 5 to 6 pounds
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• kitchen twine

For the Cranberry Sage Stuffing 

• 1/2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 shallot, diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 fresh orange juice + zest from half the orange
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
• 3 whole cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 cup fresh parsley, loosely packed
• 2/3 cup sage, loosely packed
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Place the cranberries, shallot, minced garlic, orange juice, zest, cinnamon, and a little salt and pepper in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium-low heat until the cranberries burst and break down and create a chunky sauce, about 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.
2. While the cranberries are cooking down, add the toasted walnuts, whole garlic cloves, nutritional yeast, and salt into a food processor or blender.  Pulse until the walnuts and garlic are broken into small crumbs.
3. Add the parsley and sage and pulse again until the leaves are mostly broken down.  Add a little more salt and pepper and then turn on the food processor or blender.  Slowly drizzle the olive oil in until gone.  You may need to scrape down the sides a few times as you do this.
4. Once the cranberry sauce is done, let it cool for 5 minutes and then add half the sage pesto and stir to combine.  Set aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 and place a roasting rack into a pan (if you don’t have a roasting rack, do this).  Lightly oil the roasting rack.
6. Get out the turkey breast and prepare to butterfly it.  Place the breast perpendicular to your work area.  Keeping your knife parallel to your work area, cut through the middle of the breast almost to the end but don’t cut all the way through.  It should open like a book (follow this tutorial if you need pictures).  Pound the butterflied turkey breast so it’s of even thickness.
7. Spread the cranberry sage stuffing on the inside of the turkey, but don’t go all the way to the edges.  Cut out four long pieces of kitchen twine.  Starting at one end of the turkey breast, roll towards the other end.  Keep the roll tight but don’t squeeze the life out of it.
8. Place the turkey roll on top of the twine, seam down.  Tightly secure the ties around the turkey breast so it keeps its shape while it roasts.  Rub the top of the breast with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place on the roasting rack and into the oven.
9. Cook for 30 minutes, then lower the oven to 350 and cook another hour and fifteen minutes until a meat thermometer reads 155. Pull it out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
10. After 10 minutes rest, cut the twine off and then cut the roulade into slices.  Serve with gravy, if you so desire.  Which you probably should.