Bacon Pesto Stuffed Turkey Breast

Earlier this year at the World Bacon Championships in Rochester, NY, one of the turn in categories was turkey.  It could be any kind of turkey, it just had to contain bacon in some form.  So, after some thinking and experimentation over the spring, we settled on a turkey breast stuffed with basil pesto and bacon.  Bacon and pesto match well.  At least I think so.  But the judges didn't think so as our entry finished in the middle of the pack.

First, we took a turkey breast and butterflied the meat so that it could be stuffed with the bacon and pesto filling.

Once butterflied, we brined in a batch of our homemade brine solution.

I always use this brine when I am smoking chicken, turkey, or any thing with wings.  It really does tenderize the meat and take out all of those bad juices.  I always reference this recipe in my poultry posts.  So, I decided to make my life (and yours) easier and make a separate link.

BOS's Chicken Brine:

Ingredients:
1 gallon Water
1 cup dry wine
¾ cup Kosher Salt
¾ cup Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
¼ cup Orange Juice
⅛ cup Worcestershire Sauce

I placed the turkey breast in the brine and allowed it to soak for about four hours.

As preparation time drew closer, we prepared the bacon pesto filling.  For the bacon, I took about a half pound of bacon and cut it into small cube.  Then, I browned the bacon until slightly crisp, then I drained the fat.  Once this was done, I stirred the bacon into 1/2 cup of basil pesto.  Then I removed the turkey breast from the brine, rinsed well with cold water, and patted dry.  Then, the breast was stuffed with the pesto mixture, rolled up tight, then tied shut with butchers twine.  Then, I lightly coasted the skin with olive oil and seasoned lightly with salt, thyme, and rosemary.

I smoke roasted the breast on a smoker at 350 F with a piece of pecan wood in my ash pan for smoke flavor.  I roasted the bird until the internal temperature reached 160 F, about one hour.  Then, I removed the breast from the smoker and allowed to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

The meat was tender and juicy.  The flavors mixed well.  The leftovers made a great grilled turkey club of sorts the next day with crusty white bread, provolone cheese, and sliced tomato.  Obviously, this recipe did not work well for us in competition.  But, for at home, I'll be making this again.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Smoke Roasted Steelhead with Basil Pesto

After falling to the Sirens call at Costco, this time from the evil end case in the meat department, I found myself in possession of a nice piece of Steelhead for dinner.  I was looking to prepare a dish that was different than the usual rubbed and grilled piece of fish.  After searching the refrigerator, some leftover pesto was just begging to be used.  So, I fired up the smoker and headed to the kitchen.

The pesto we use is a pre-prepared offering that we find in our dairy case.

This product is pretty good for the price.  It has a nice balance of basil, pine nut, and Parmesan cheese and works well in both pasta and pizza dishes.

My reasoning was simple for this recipe.  Wash and dry the Steelhead fillet, coat with the pesto, bring room temperature, then smoke roast at 350 F until the meat was done and the skin was crispy.

Once I applied the pesto, I added a very light seasoning of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Once my smoker was at 350 F, I added a piece of alder to the ash pan for smoke flavor and them placed the fillet on the top rack with the thick side positioned on the hot side of the smoker chamber.

About 25 minutes later, the fillet was done.  One tell tale sign of your Steelhead being cooked is when the white fat is starting to render from the fillet and the meat starts to become flaky.

Overall, the fillet turned out well.  Alder always pairs well with fish, especially with a fatty fish such as Steelhead.  I would have liked for more of a pesto flavor.  The pesto taste was their, but not as strong as I would have liked.  Since pesto has an olive oil base, I suspect that during the cooking process the majority of the basil and pine nut flavors were carried away in the olive oil dripped from the fillet during cooking.  I will be trying this again, but I think I will add the pesto at the end of the cooking process, either in the smoker or on the grill.  This was a good start to further develop this recipe.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill