Lemon and Herb Stuffed Turkey Breast
This delicious Lemon and Herb Stuffed Turkey Breast is wrapped in pancetta and roasted. It looks impressive and is packed with flavour but it's very easy to make. You can serve it with a simple creamy sauce made with the meat juices.
It makes a really nice change from a roast joint of meat and it's much easier to carve. You can make the stuffed turkey breast up to two days in advance, keep in the fridge and bring to room temperature before roasting. Swap pancetta for smoked streaky bacon if you prefer.
Preparing the stuffed turkey breast can sound a bit tricky when you read it, so I have included lots of step by step photos at the end which I hope will be helpful. Provided it's roasted in the foil and left to rest, it should hold it's shape.
Lemon and Herb Stuffed Turkey Breast
- Serves: 4
- Time: 30 mins prep + 60 mins cooking + resting time
- Cost: £1.93 per serving
- Calories: 390 per serving
Ingredients:
For the stuffed turkey breast:
- 2 chunky pork sausages (or 130g sausage meat)
- Zest of 1 lemon + half the juice
- 1 good teaspoon of each: chopped fresh parsley, thyme & sage
- Good grind of black pepper
- 1 level tablespoon dry breadcrumbs
- Whole turkey breast fillet, roughly 425g in weight
- 110g smoked pancetta slices (or smoked streaky bacon)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the sauce:
- Meat juices
- 500ml chicken stock
- Juice of the remaining half a lemon
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half lengthways
- 2 tablespoons double cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 190 C / 170 Fan / gas mark 5.
- Squeeze the sausage meat from the sausages into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice, herbs and black pepper. Mix well. Add the breadcrumbs and mix again. Set to one side.
- Cover a chopping board with a layer of cling film. Cut the turkey breast fillet in half, horizontally to make two large thin triangle shapes of meat. Lay the triangles on the cling film next to each other cut side up in opposite directions to form a rough rectangle shape.
- Place another layer of cling film over the turkey and gently bash with a rolling pin until the meat is around 1cm thick.
- Peel off the cling film and trim the edges of the turkey fillets to make a neater rectangle around 20x25cm in size. Place the meat trimmings in any gaps or thinner areas. Put the cling film back over the meat and bash again to help seal it together.
- Remove and discard the top layer of cling film. Take the pancetta slices and lay them on top of the turkey, across the shortest slide of the rectangle, ensuring the slices slightly overlap each other.
- Take a piece of foil around the same size as the chopping board. Brush the dull side of the foil with the olive oil and lay it on top of the pancetta slices. Press down firmly.
- Place one hand firmly on top of the foil and the other underneath the board and quickly flip the board over so the foil is touching the worktop. Remove the board and the other layer of cling film.
- Mould the stuffing mixture into a sausage shape roughly 25cm long and place on the centre of the turkey in the middle across the longest side.
- Use the foil to carefully roll up the turkey like a Swiss roll ensuring that the edges of the pancetta overlap each other. Wrap the foil tightly around the turkey and twist the ends to secure.
- Place on a baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until the juices run clear. Pour the meat juices into a jug.
- Remove the foil and put the turkey back onto the baking sheet and into the oven, uncovered. Increase the heat to 220 C / 200 Fan / gas mark 7 and cook for around 5 minutes just to crisp up the pancetta.
- Remove from the oven, cover with a double layer of foil and a damp tea towel. Allow the turkey to rest for around 20 minutes before serving.
- While the meat is resting make the sauce. Spoon the fat off the meat juices and discard. Put the juices into a pan along with the stock, lemon juice and garlic. Season to taste, bring to the boil and simmer gently for around 15-20 minutes until reduced by a third. Turn off the heat, remove the garlic and stir in the cream.
- Slice the turkey into 1cm slices and serve with roast potatoes and vegetables along with the sauce.
