Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast With Cornbread Stuffing Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated August 30, 2018
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Joshua Bousel

Recipe Details

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Breast With Cornbread Stuffing Recipe

Active 60 mins
Total 3 hrs
Serves 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 skinless, boneless turkey breasts

For the Brine:

  • 2 quarts ice cold water

  • 1/3 cup kosher salt

  • 1/4 cup white sugar

For the Stuffing:

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 1/4 pound breakfast sausage

  • 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (about 1 small onion)

  • 1/3 cup finely chopped celery (about 1 small stalk)

  • 1/3 cup peeled and finely chopped Granny Smith apple (about 1/2 apple)

  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

  • 3 cups crumbled cornbread

  • 1/2 cup chicken stock

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 24 slices bacon (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Directions

  1. To make the brine: Combine water, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to dissolve. Submerge turkey breasts in brine and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

  2. To make the stuffing: While turkey is brining, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add in sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add in onions, celery, and apple and cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place sausage mixture in a large bowl along with cornbread, chicken stock, sage, 1 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Mix to thoroughly combine.

  3. Create a bacon weave by laying 6 strip of bacon out horizontally side by side. Interlace 6 more pieces of bacon vertically with horizontal bacon, as you would making a lattice-top pie. Repeat with remaining 12 slices of bacon to make a second weave.

  4. Remove turkey breasts from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Butterfly turkey breasts open and pound out to a square of even thickness. Lay each breast on one bacon weave. Spread half of the stuffing in an even thickness over each of the breasts, leaving about 1/2 an inch edge with no stuffing. Roll tightly into a cylinder with bacon on the outside. Wrap turkey rolls tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to firm up, about 1 hour to overnight.

  5. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place turkey rolls on cool side of grill, cover, and cook until an instant read thermometer reads 150°F degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the turkey. If bacon has not colored or crisped sufficiently, quickly sear over hot side of grill until desired doneness. Remove from grill and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut turkey into 3/4-inch slices and serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Grill

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
782Calories
33gFat
32gCarbs
87gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories782
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 33g43%
Saturated Fat 10g51%
Cholesterol 234mg78%
Sodium 1864mg81%
Total Carbohydrate 32g12%
Dietary Fiber 1g2%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 87g
Vitamin C 2mg8%
Calcium 203mg16%
Iron 4mg24%
Potassium 1158mg25%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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