Food & Wine

Christmas stuffed and rolled turkey breast recipe

Stuffed turkey breast on a ceramic plate

Blanche Clark

Posted December 02, 2022

Impress your family and guests at Christmas with this RACV Club recipe for a succulent stuffed and rolled turkey breast.

Looking for the perfect centrepiece for your festive occasion or Christmas Day? Try City Club Executive Chef Jason Camillo’s stuffed and rolled Christmas turkey breast.

With an outside layer of bacon to add flavour and moisture and a stuffing of sausage, breadcrumb, cranberries, herbs and nuts, this roll is a succulent alternative to cooking a whole turkey. But if you do decide to cook a whole turkey, Camillo has some tips to help you achieve brilliant results.

Tips for a traditional turkey roast

Camillo recommends buying the turkey at a high-end butcher, such Peter Bouchier in Toorak or Meatsmith in Fitzroy, St Kilda, Balwyn and Brighton.

“It has to be a really good butcher, or any butcher that you have a good relationship with – someone local rather than the supermarket – because you’ll get a better, fresher product from them,” Camillo says. “Many butchers prepare everything for you. It will be stuffed and organised, and all you need to do is cook it.”

Fresh is best because frozen turkey loses moisture when it is defrosted and ends up dry when cooked. “I use a lot of butter, and it depends on the stuffing inside how moist the turkey is going to be,” Camillo says. “You can also use bacon around the outside of the breast and that will keep it nice and moist.”

For the stuffing, sage goes well with turkey, and fresh peaches, apricots or cherries will give it a festive lift. For gluten free, you can use cooked rice rather than breadcrumbs, but rice doesn’t absorb the juices and keep the turkey moist to the same degree.

Slow cooking keeps turkey moist

Slow cooking is the key to getting the best out of your festive roast. Either start on a high temperature and turn it down, or start on a very low temperature and increase it gradually to get a nice colour on the outside.

“People get scared with turkey and chicken, and they tend to overcook it to be safe,” Camillo says. “The best way is to use a thermometer and cook it to 70°C in the middle. If you’re doing a whole turkey, test the legs because they cook slower than the breasts. You want to get it to 70°C and then take the turkey out and rest it for about half of your cooking time.

Stuffed turkey breast a great alternative

Camillo says stuffed and rolled turkey is a great alternative to whole turkey because it’s easier to cook evenly.

“This is what we do with our duck in Sojourn. We break the whole duck down and cook the breast in a rectangular terrine. The legs are rolled, stuffed and cooked in a different way. Then you get that moist, tender dish.”

Family enjoying Christmas feast with turkey

Roast turkey is the traditional centrepiece for Christmas festivities in Australia. Image: Getty

Christmas stuffed and rolled turkey breast

Serves

6

Time to make

4 hours

Difficulty

Intermediate

Ingredients

Stuffing

  • 2 onions, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp of sunflower oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked and chopped
  • 1 sprig of rosemary 
  • 2 lemons, zested
  • 500g of sausage meat 
  • 50g of dried apricots, each cut into 6 pieces
  • 50 grams dried cranberries
  • 50g of pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
  • 60g of breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 pinches of freshly ground black pepper+

Turkey

  • 2kg turkey breast
  • 200g streaky bacon rashers
  • 50g of duck fat
  • 3 pinches of sea salt
  • 3 pinches of freshly ground black pepper 
  • 6 thyme leaves

White wine jus

  • 250ml of white wine
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp of cornflour, diluted in a little cold water (optional)

Method

Stuffing

  1. Place a large pan over a medium heat and pour in the oil. 
  2. Add the onion. Cover and leave to soften for 3 minutes without colouring. 
  3. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary and lemon zest and cook uncovered for 1 minute. 
  4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. 
  5. In a large bowl, mix the sausage meat, dried apricots, pistachios, cranberries, breadcrumbs and egg. Add the cooled onion mixture, followed by the flat-leaf parsley and black pepper.

Turkey and wine wine jus

  1. Flatten out the turkey breast to 3cm thick and arrange in a rectangular shape, around 30cm x 15cm (trim if necessary).
  2. Lay out the bacon vertically, slightly overlapping the pieces. Lay the turkey over the bacon (30 x 15cm) season with salt and pepper. Place the stuffing down the centre of the turkey and roll tightly to form a roll. Tie with butcher’s string to hold the turkey together.
  3. Heat the duck fat in a large pan and sear to get an even colour (golden brown all over). Then place the roll on a tray with the rack and cook in a preheated 160°C oven for 1hour 20 minutes covered with aluminium foil. Turn the oven temperature up to 185°C, remove the foil, and cook for a further 20 minutes.
  4. Remove from the oven and roasting dish and rest for 20 minutes covered with foil in a warm spot.
  5. Place the roasting dish over a high heat, then add the wine and reduce until almost evaporated, lifting of all the caramelised bits of turkey on the bottom of the dish (a secret tip is to use a pastry brush to help lift off the caramelised bits. It also helps reduce the washing up).
  6. Add stock and bring to the boil, then leave to simmer and reduce to a jus consistency. If you like a thicker sauce, whisk in the diluted cornflour.
  7.  Slice your turkey, and serve with your favourite trimmings, vegetables and condiments. Drizzled with your fabulous jus.