Crackling crisp skin, self-basting pork roast and a magical melange of fennel, pepper and lemon.
But I was perplexed: Reasonable people can agree turkey breast becomes dry and tasteless all too easy.
Indeed, this recipe was not porchetta, but a simple roulade.
So off I went to make it both more delicious and more complicated.
And friends: Unlike someexperimentsin the past, this one is worth the ride.
This includes the legs and thighs.
Again, the goal here is to get as large a piece as possible.
You should end up with a mirror image of each half.
Line your cutting board with plastic wrap and lay the breasts on top of it.
Your goal is to get the breasts into a rectangle.
You want to slightly overlap the meat so there wont be gaps when we roll it.
you might start with dry herbs, but if you have fresh, all the better.
Roll it and let it season
Its time to roll, baby.
Turn the cutting board so that side is closest to you.
Roll the turkey tightly, using both hands, spaced evenly apart, rolling at the same time.
Make the confit
While the breast is chilling, were making some confit.
Remove anything in the aspic such as peppercorns or garlic, so its just the gelatin.
Take the turkey and skin out of the fridge.
Stretch the skin out as much as possible without tearing, into a nice big rectangle.
Sprinkle the skin with salt and pepper.
You dont need to spread it outit will melt in the sous vide.
You cant over-secure it, so dont worry about using too much twine.
Trim the ends of the twine.
Sous vide
This goes into a sous vide bath at 140F for four hours.
When it comes out, place it in an ice bath for 10 minutes.
Remove it from the bag, and use paper towels to dry it off.
I placed it in front of a fan for 20 minutes just to really dry the skin out.
Heat the oil to 400F, and then lower it to 300-350F.
Carefully place the turkey into the pot.
Be very careful around the pot, as oil may splatter.
Youll need to attend to it while cooking, just to ensure it doesnt burn.
As soon as the sides are crispy, its done.
Move the porchetta from the cutting board to the plate with a spatula so you preserve the look.
You could serve this with gravy, but I recommend a fruit sauce instead, likefermented cranberry sauce.
This is a very rich dish, and the addition of acid will help lighten it.
I served it with lemon, which juiced over the porchetta was very refreshing.
Because of the additional fat, this ended up being a very luxurious dish surprisingly full of flavor.
There is an herbaceous, garlic undernote with a sweet heat from the pepper in the breast.
When you get a bit of that crackling skin in the bite, its just an absolute baller.
Sure, its a long ride, but we got there, didnt we?
Place in a bag, with as little air as possible, and store in the refrigerator.
Break the bird down into two boneless breasts, and the legs.
The rest of the bird can be used for another project.
Place the legs into a vacuum bag and set aside.
On a plastic-wrap-lined cutting board, use the breasts to create a rectangle of meat.
The breasts should slightly overlap to prevent gaps.
Crosshatch the meat with shallow cuts.
Rub this mixture into the turkey, getting into all the crevices.
Vacuum seal it and allow it to rest in the refrigerator overnight, for eight hours.
Shred the meat of one leg, removing any bones, and place aside.
Remove five tablespoons of aspic, clean it of any herbs, and set aside.
Salt and pepper the skin lightly.
Unroll the turkey breast on top of the skin, lining it up as much as possible.
Distribute it evenly, and then spoon the aspic on top.
Reroll the turkey, including the skin this time.
Lower the pot temperature to 300-350F, and carefully add the roll to it, watching for spattering oil.
Continue turning until the entire exterior is crispy, ladleing oil over the top and sides as you go.
Transfer slices from the cutting board to the plate with a spatula to preserve the shape.
Serve with a fruit- based or acidic sauce.
