Turkey Roulade with Mushroom-Pancetta Stuffing puts a new, sophisticated twist on Thanksgiving’s main course!
This butterflied turkey breast is stuffed, rolled into a roulade, roasted and sliced for a beautiful presentation. The stuffing is a savory combination of leeks, mushrooms, pancetta, walnuts, Parmesan and herbs. In place of gravy, I drizzled the roulade slices with sage-flavored browned butter. Oh. My. Gosh. What a delicious marriage of flavors!
‘Recipes You’ve Always Wanted to Try for Thanksgiving” was the theme for this latest Gourmet Group gathering. Two important and opposite goals inspired this theme. My family expects to be served their time-tested favorites every Thanksgiving. But I long to sample new recipes every year. Solution? Gather up the Gourmet Group foodies for a pre-Thanksgiving feast!
The Menu
Appetizer
Sides
Dessert
Turkey Roulade with Mushroom-Pancetta Stuffing
Serving Size and Removing the Bone
- This recipe originally called for a single 2 1/2 lb breast to serve 6 people. Both times I made this recipe, the fresh bone-in turkey breasts I purchased were around 5 lbs. After I had the butcher remove the bone and the skin, I ended up with two turkey breast portions of 1 1/2 lbs each. Instead of cooking just one breast portion, I decided to double the stuffing recipe and make two roulades (which is reflected in recipe below.) If you have a number of sides, a 1 1/2 pound breast should feed 4-6 people. Make only 1/2 of the stuffing if you go with a single 1 1/2 pound breast.
- See note in recipe for using individual tenderloins which allows you to skip the whole bone removal process!
Tips & Tweaks for Turkey Roulade
- As mentioned, I selected this recipe for gourmet group, not an everyday meal. That means it’s intermediate level vs. beginner level.
- To make the stuffing more substantial and flavorful, I doubled the amount of pancetta and added chopped walnuts. Everyone loved it!
- Since gravy is usually the best part of a turkey dinner, I didn’t want to skip having any type of sauce. But I also didn’t want to drown out the delicious stuffing. Browned Butter flavored with fresh sage turned out to be the perfect option. When I served this roulade for a family dinner, we discovered the browned butter was also delicious on mashed potatoes.
- A cooking thermometer is a must for this recipe, as well as letting the meat rest before slicing
The Process
After butterflying and pounding your turkey breasts to 1/2 inch thickness, season and pat 1/2 of the prepared stuffing onto each breast. Rolling Roulade Tip: I found that using butcher paper, parchment or plastic wrap underneath the turkey aids in the rolling process.
I used my large roasting pan because my roulades were fairly long and I was making two of them. Browning the roulades separately also worked best because my burner was located in the center of the pan.
After browning each roulade I returned them both to the roasting pan and finished baking them in the oven at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
It’s a good idea to keep track of the number of strings you’ve tied around your roulade. That way you can be sure they’re all removed before you begin carving. True story – both times I’ve made this roulade, a string was missed. But I always warn my guests ahead of time to be on the look out for a stray string. If they find one, I make light of it and let them know it’s good luck to find the string. Always good to keep it casual and fun right?
Sorry about the ghastly lighting in this picture, but I wanted to show you the delicious brown butter being drizzled on the turkey slices. Note to self – no more smart light demos for our dinner guests during photo shoots (especially with lights set to green and purple!)
Thanks for adding a Star Rating (IN RECIPE) To Let Others Know What You Thought!
Turkey Roulade with Mushroom-Pancetta Stuffing
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter divided
- 1 c. finely chopped leek white part only
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 8 oz. diced pancetta
- 16 oz. fresh mushrooms finely chopped (I used Baby Bella, but other varieties would also work)
- 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
- 2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme divided
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 4 tbsp. fresh parsley chopped
- 4 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 boneless, skinless, butterflied turkey breasts about 1 1⁄2 lb. each
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Browned Butter (optional)
- 1 stick unsalted butter optional
- 4 fresh sage leaves optional
Instructions
- Place rack in middle of oven and preheat to 325°F.
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add leek and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes, until soft.
- Add pancetta and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook 3-5 minutes, until mushrooms release moisture. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring frequently, 3-5 minutes, until mushrooms begin to brown. Stir in walnuts, 1 tsp. thyme and garlic during final minute of cooking. Note – I did the preceding steps in two batches because I was doubling the stuffing. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool. Once cooled, stir in parsley, Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Arrange first turkey breast on a cutting board and make a horizontal cut halfway up along length of one of longer sides. (The goal is to cut breast almost in half so it can open up like a book.) Continue slicing, folding back top half of breast, until blade reaches 1/2 inch from opposite edge. Fold open butterflied breast and lay a piece of plastic wrap over top. With a meat mallet, pound to 1/2 inch thickness, taking care not to pound holes in thinner spots. Remove plastic and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Spread one half of stuffing evenly over turkey breast surface. Starting at either edge where breast is butterflied open, roll, jellyroll style, snugly but without squeezing out filling. Secure roulade with kitchen twine in 3-6 places around its circumference, then tie a longer loop around length to hold ends in place. Repeat steps for butterflying, stuffing and tying the second turkey breast.
- In an large ovenproof skillet or roasting pan over medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Pat surface of roulades dry and season with remaining 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, salt and pepper.
- Place one roulade in skillet, seam side up, and cook about 10 minutes, turning with tongs every 3 to 4 minutes, until nicely browned on top 3 sides. Set first breast aside and brown second breast.
- Return first roulade to pan and flip both roulades so they are seam side down. Place pan in oven. Roast 30-40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 165°F.
- Transfer to a carving board, loosely tent with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes before removing strings. Carve into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, and serve drizzled with browned butter, if desired.
Browned Butter (optional)
- If using browned butter, while the turkey is baking, cook butter until browned (see video link in post), adding fresh sage leaves during last 30-60 seconds. Remove sage leaves, then drizzle browned butter on sliced turkey roulade.
Notes
- Stuffing can be made in advance. Bring to room temperature before patting onto turkey.
- Browned Butter can be made ahead and gently rewarmed in a pan or in the microwave
Very tasty recipe. Just loved those flavors. Trying lots of your recipes for my pre-birthday week. What fun. Thanks for a delicious week Cath!
I am impressed! This roulade is an ambitious recipe, but it is delish. I ❤️ the fact that you are adventuring through a bunch of recipes to celebrate your birthday. 🎂🎉
This looks amazing. We will definitely be trying it. Maggie’s never had a spinach salad with warm dressing. Sound like a great combo. Wish I had some right now. Love browned butter, nummy!