Impress guests with another great recipe!
A “roulade” is a dish of filled rolled meat or pastry, similar to a “stuffed breast” but taking it one step further with the rolling process. This enhances the look of the completed dish, along with helping everything cook quicker and tenderizing the meat.
Cook Time: 1hr Smoke (optional), + 7-15min Grill
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 Turkey Breast (tip and tenderloin removed)
- 1 Package of Frozen Spinach (defrosted)
- 6-8 Sundried Tomatoes in Oil (diced)
- Monterey Jack Cheese (Sliced)
- 1/4 Tsp. Hot Smoky Paprika
- Salt & Pepper
Tomato Sauce
- 18-24oz (2-3 Cups) Tomato Pure
- 1-2 Garlic Cloves (sliced)
- Chili Flakes
- Oil
- S& P.
Directions
- Prep smoker to 150-200°F, I like using a fruit wood like cherry, but maple and hickory can work as well.
- Working with a breast with the “tenderloin” and “tip” removed is best for even cooking. The “tenderloin” is located under the breast against the breastbone, and the “tip” is the thinner piece of breast meat located at the tip or triangle shape of a typical breast. When removing the tip, you want to make your cut where the meat becomes thicker, resulting in two pieces, one small thin tip and one large thick piece that we will use for this dish.
- Carefully butterfly the breast with a small sharp knife, cutting horizontally against the breast. Do not cut all the way through, as you want one full piece of meat with even thickness.
- Then place some plastic wrap over the butterflied breast, and gently pound thinner using a meat tenderizer/mallet. You are looking for a 1/4″ thickness.
- Lay the meat down with the inside of the breast facing up, season with S&P and Paprika. Then add a thin layer of defrosted Spinach, packing it down and making sure you have a good inch or more of empty space around the spinach. Then almost cover all the Spinach with some slices of Cheese. I find Monterey really helps add some extra flavour and stands up to all the other ingredients much better then your typical mozzarella, but if mozzarella is all you have you can use that too. Then top the Cheese with Sundried Tomato.
- Carefully but with a good amount of pressure, roll everything up.
- Then using butcher twine tie the roll up to help it hold it’s shape during the cooking process, you can also try using tooth picks if you don’t have butcher’s twine. Season outside of roulade with S&P.
- The next smoking step is not a must but it can add an extra layer of flavour to the dish. If smoking, place the tied up roulade onto the pre-heated smoker with the seam facing up and smoke for 1hr.
- While your turkey is smoking you can make your tomato sauce. Of course you could always buy premade sauce but making your own is much more fun and typically cheaper. Get a medium sized saucepan heated up to med-low heat, add some olive oil and the garlic. Sauté the garlic, stirring often, until garlic starts to brown. Then add the Tomato Pure, a pinch of Chili Flakes for a little heat and S&P, stir to combine. Turn heat to low and cover loosely, letting it simmer for 30min, stirring here and there. If you skip the smoking step, you will need to make the sauce before the next grilling step.
- After smoking, you will want to grill the roulade over high heat, turning every couple of minutes for 7-10min depending on the size of the roulade. If you skipped the smoking step, you will want to grill over medium-high heat for 10-15min. Your goal is to cook the meat to 160-165°F but no further or the meat can dry out. You can use a meat probe to check the temp, just be sure you are inserting the probe only into the meat and not the filling.
- Once done, remove from the grill, cover and let rest 10min. Then carefully slice into 1-1.5” sections using a long sharp knife, trying to create nice even slices and keeping the filling inside. Plate sliced turkey on a large platter with the tomato sauce on the bottom of the platter rather then on top of the turkey for better presentation. Season the sliced roulade with a little salt and when serving guests can spoon the tomato sauce over the slices of turkey they pick. This dish can be served with some pasta or grilled veggies.
Recipe by: Michael E. Higgins
