2. Recipes & Cooking Tips, 4. Christmas, Alana Lowes recipes, Christmas Recipes, Poultry Recipes
ROLLED TURKEY BREAST WITH BEER BRAISED ONIONS & HASSELBACK POTATOES
ROLLED TURKEY BREAST WITH BEER BRAISED ONIONS AND HASSELBACK POTATOES
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 20-25 mins | Cook time: 1 hr 30 mins
A roasted rolled & stuffed turkey breast is a great centre piece for your Christmas or Thanksgiving table. They’re very manageable in terms of size compared to a whole turkey (a small whole turkey starts at 4kg). A turkey breast roast won’t take up loads of space in your fridge & oven either. Another bonus – there’s less wastage as they’re much easier to carve & portion (no bones – all meat).
The beer braised red onions and red hasselback potatoes give a special occasion, even festive vibe as opposed to using the traditional roast veg medley of pumpkin, potato & onions. Not keen on using beer? Swap it out for sparkling apple/pear juice or cider.
Also, here’s a POTATO TIP for slicing the hasselback potatoes: take a thin slice off the bottom of the potato so it sits on your chopping board without wobbling. Then put two wooden spoon handles or chop sticks either side (like train tracks). This will stop your knife from cutting the whole way through the potato.
Recipe and images courtesy of Alana Lowes.
INGREDIENTS
Turkey Breast with Beer Braised Onions
Meat at Billy’s Stuffed and Rolled Turkey Breast (1.5kg)
50g butter, softened
2 tsp seeded mustard
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
¼ tsp salt flakes
4 large red onions, peeled and halved
4 garlic cloves, smashed
330ml beer
5 sprigs of thyme
1 rosemary & garlic turkey gravy
(or to make your own gravy you’ll need 1 tbsp cornflour)
Hasselback Potatoes
12 red roasting potatoes, finely sliced ¾ way through (SEE POTATO TIP ABOVE)
olive oil
50g butter
3 tsp sumac
sea salt
To Serve
Fresh cherries, pitted and halved
Fresh thyme leaves
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced.
THE POTATOES
For the hasselback potatoes, place the cut potatoes into a roasting dish so they fit tightly (this helps them to hold their shape, but if you don’t mind them opening up, then a larger roasting dish is also fine).
Brush with olive oil & season with sea salt. Place the potatoes into the oven and roast for 1 ¼ hr – 1 ½ hrs or until cooked through and crisp.
In a small bowl, mix the sumac & sea salt together for the seasoning once cooked.
TO SERVE
Just before serving, carefully brown the butter until just foaming taking care not to burn it & drizzle all over the potatoes. Season liberally with the sumac, thyme & salt seasoning. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
THE TURKEY & ONIONS
In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, seeded mustard, pepper and salt. Rub this mixture all over the top of the rolled turkey and place the turkey into a large roasting tray.
Place the halved onions cut side up around the turkey along with the garlic cloves. Pour the beer around the turkey and over the onions. Place thyme sprigs on the turkey and onions. Cover everything gently with foil to keep in the moisture. Place into the hot oven with the potatoes.
Roast turkey for approximately 40/50 mins, remove foil for final 20 mins to allow the skin to brown. Allow around 1hr cooking time in total (20 mins for every 500g approx). The total cooking time will depend on your oven.
Ultimately the best way to know if your stuffed turkey breast is ready is to insert a meat thermometer approximately 4cm into the turkey meat and measure the temperature. We recommend these digital Fire Slap ones because they’re fast and accurate.
Poultry needs to cooked to at least 75°C. When it’s cooked, remove and place the turkey onto a plate. Cover loosely with foil to rest for 10-15 mins.
NOTE: Normally a recipe would say insert the thermometer into the centre of the roast but in this case, the centre of the roast is the stuffing. You want to ensure the meat is cooked rather than just the stuffing. Once the stuffing reaches 72°C the meat should be very close to the correct temperature.
While the turkey breast is resting, remove the onions leaving the beer mixture in the tray (or pour into a saucepan if needed). Place the beer mixture over a medium/high heat and pour in the Turkey Gravy. Bring to a simmer and let the beer gravy reduce and thicken to your desired consistency. This should take approximately 8-10 minutes. Taste and season if necessary.
(MAKING YOUR OWN GRAVY? Mix cornflour with a little warm water to make a paste and then whisk the cornflour paste into the beer mixture. Simmer & reduce).
TO SERVE
Slice turkey into 6 thick slices and place on a serving platter with the potatoes and onions. Sprinkle over the fresh cherries, more fresh thyme and finish with a drizzle with the beer gravy.
If you make this recipe, please let us know! Post a pic on Facebook or Instagram and tag us #meatatbillys.
