Creative Cooking with Southern Flair!
Fried Turkey
Roulades
Ingredients
Citrus-Rosemary Cranberry Sauce
1 rosemary sprig
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 large Navel orange, zest and juice
1 lime, zest and half of juice (1 Tbsp. juice)
12 ounces, fresh cranberries
Apple, Sausage Stuffing
Note: Recipe makes enough stuffing to fill two whole, butterflied turkey breasts. If not preparing 2 breasts, the remaining stuffing can be added to a baking dish and baked at 400F until browned on top.
10 ounces butter/garlic croutons or your favorite bread cubes.
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup diced, white onion
1 cup diced, celery
1 cup diced, Honeycrisp apple
Salt & pepper
10 ounces ground, Italian sausage, browned
1/2 cup toasted, pecan halves, broken in half
1/3 cup dried fruit, such as golden raisins, cranberries, cherries, etc
2 teaspoons finely chopped, fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped, flat leaf parsley
3 large eggs, whisked
1 whole turkey breast (2 total breasts)
Salt & pepper
Note: Ingredients below will fill 1 prepared /stuffed turkey breast
Sage Bread Crumbs
1 cup French style, bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped, fresh sage
Dredging Ingredients
1 cup of all purpose flour
3 large eggs, whisked
Frying oil
Meat thermometer
Directions
Citrus-Rosemary Cranberry Sauce
Place the sprig of rosemary on a flat surface and lightly pound to macerate and release flavor. Add the rosemary sprig, sugar, salt, juices and zests to a sauce pan. Heat over medium temperature and dissolve sugar. Add the cranberries and cook, stirring often until cranberries have popped and liquid becomes syrupy. Be careful not to overcook. Syrup will thicken more as it cools.
Apple, Sausage Stuffing
Note: If not using butter garlic croutons, sub 1/2 cup of the broth with melted butter.
Pour the broth into a 10"x15" baking dish and arrange the croutons evenly over the top. Let sit and absorb the chicken broth.
Add the butter to a large skillet over medium temperature. Add the onion, celery, apple and season with salt. Cook until the onions are translucent and everything starts to soften. Remove from heat, add the sausage, pecans, dried fruit, herbs and mix everything together. Add the soaked croutons to a large mixing bowl and pour the sautéed mixture over the top. Season to-taste with salt & pepper and then mix in the eggs.
Turkey Breast Preparation
For each turkey breast:
Note: Using a (French) rolling pin as your meat pounder will cover more area.
Remove skin and sinew from turkey breasts and butterfly like an open book. The longest length of turkey should be facing you horizontally. Place plastic wrap over the top and pound in an outward motion to about a 1/2" thickness and about a 7" to 8" width. Trim off any uneven pieces if needed. Liberally season both sides of the butterflied turkey with salt & pepper.
Add some stuffing to the bottom end and start rolling up, compacting the stuffing as you roll. Leave about a 1/4" to 1/2" inch border at the end to fold over the opposite end/edge of turkey and seal. Place a piece of plastic wrap on your work surface, place the rolled up roulade on top and tightly wrap up. For easy slicing, the roulade should be placed in the freezer for a few hours, but not frozen.
Add the bread crumbs ingredients to a bowl and whisk together to incorporate evenly. When ready to slice roulade, prepare your coating by placing the eggs, flour and sage breadcrumbs in 3 separate, wide bowls. Place the roulade on a cutting board, and using a very sharp knife, slice into 1" to 1 1/2" rounds. Dredge a roulade into the flour, then coat in egg and then the sage breadcrumbs. Brush some of the egg onto the end to seal. Repeat.
Frying:
Set fryer temperature to 350F.
Fry the roulades in batches, until lightly browned. A thermometer inserted into turkey section should read 165F. Place fried roulades onto a baking sheet with a wire rack and place in oven at 200F to keep warm until ready to serve. Serve with the cranberry sauce.