11:48 AM EST on Wednesday, November 17, 2004

BY GAIL CIAMPA
Journal Food Editor

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

Steven Shipley, director of culinary relations at Johnson & Wales University, has his own recipe for making Stuffed Turkey Breast.

Digital Extra

Illustrated, printable recipe for Stuffed Turkey Breast

Let's face it, roasting a turkey isn't rocket science. Place turkey in a pan, cook at 325 degrees, baste here and there, and remove when a meat thermometer inserted into a thigh reads 180 degrees. Done.

However, there are challenges that can add up.

How do you cook all the side dishes and breads when your oven is taken up with a big bird? To stuff or not to stuff, that is always a question. Who will tear themself away from guests, or appetizers, to carve the turkey? And where will you put that ravaged carcass in your kitchen already crowded with food, drink and family?

Consider, if you will, a stuffed turkey breast. I wasn't persuaded to embrace this option until watching Steven Shipley, director of culinary relations at Johnson & Wales University, whip it up in a kitchen at the Harborside campus. So I asked him to teach me and readers how to tame a turkey. His lesson was most enlightening.

It included an aromatic way to make gravy; directions on how to save the skin to keep the breast moist while cooking; a do-ahead schedule that will keep you out of the kitchen Thanksgiving morn; and a day free of carcass and drippings.

Of course, your diners have to prefer white meat and won't be crying out for a thigh.

It starts with an easy cornbread stuffing. How easy? Here's the first direction: Make a tray of cornbread using your favorite box mix on Monday or Tuesday, and leave it to dry out for two days.

Next stop, the store. Buy an 8-to-12-pound turkey breast, bone in.

Now the beauty of this recipe is that you can make everything but the gravy on Wednesday and leave the rolled and ready turkey breast in the fridge overnight, ready to roast. Or you can wait until Thanksgiving Day.

If you find it intimidating to trim the turkey breast off the bone, you can ask a butcher to do it. But it isn't hard. First, gently remove the skin, trying not to pierce it, because you are going to wrap it around your turkey breast. Wrap it up and put in the fridge until you roll the breast for cooking.

To remove meat from bone, dig right in using a boning or small, but sharp knife. Start at the top of the breast to slice off the meat. It's amazingly easy as long as you flex the knife to ride down the bone on one side.

Next step is to butterfly, or open up the breast. After some meat pounding to flatten it with a mallet, always between two pieces of plastic wrap to stop splatter, it's ready to stuff.

But wait! Don't get rid of those bones sitting there naked. You're going to roast them on a foil-covered cookie sheet or pan with a mirepoix, a blend of couple of carrots, a large onion cut into chunks and maybe four celery stalks. Cook at 400 degrees until the bones are dark. (It took me about an hour but what aromas it spread around the house.)

Toss the carcass and veggies in a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil then simmer for two hours to make a turkey stock. Don't be afraid to toss in a chicken bouillon cube to add flavor, said Shipley.

Thanksgiving Day, you'll warm up this stock and make turkey gravy. (See the recipe on Page G-5.)

Back to the stuffing: Shipley's cornbread mix starts with browning the sausage first. Next cook onions, peppers, carrots, celery and garlic in butter and combine with that dry old cornbread and chicken broth. Bake for 20 minutes.

Only a small amount of the stuffing will go on the turkey breast. You'll save the rest to serve on the side. Before rolling the turkey breast, season it with a little salt and pepper. Add stuffing down the center. The goal then is to roll the butterflied breast, always making sure protein (i.e. the meat) hits protein (i.e. more meat).

Go fetch that skin you saved and shape it around the breast, covering all the meat. Using butcher's twine, tie up the turkey breast. Put it in a small roasting pan, rub it with some oil, add black pepper and salt, and roast for about an hour and a half, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees or above. Before serving, let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes, tented with foil.

Shipley likes to serve with smashed potatoes. Start with Yukon Gold potatoes because they are high-moisture potatoes and need little attention. Their skin is so thin, you don't even have to peel them because the skin is not annoying to eat.

Slice them up and boil on the stovetop for 20 minutes or until tender. Warm up heavy cream. Use 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup per pound of potatoes and one tablespoon butter per pound. Go up, not down in proportions. Use a potato masher, not electric beaters, and use them sparingly because you don't want the potatoes to get glue-y.

Then sit back, and relax.

CORNBREAD-SAUSAGE STUFFING

8 ounces bulk pork sausage or individual links (regular or spicy)

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and diced small

1 rib of celery, small diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 package (16 ounces) prepared dry cornbread crumbs

1 cup chicken broth

In a large skillet, brown sausage over medium- high heat until no longer pink, stirring to separate meat.

Drain sausage on paper towels; set aside. Pour off grease from skillet.

Melt butter or margarine in the same skillet over medium heat until foamy. Cook and stir onions, peppers, carrots, celery and garlic in butter until onions are softened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in chopped parsley.

Combine cornbread crumbs, sausage and onion mixture in large bowl. Pour the broth over stuffing; toss lightly until evenly moistened. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake stuffing in a lightly buttered casserole dish for 20 minutes or until a light golden brown color.

Note: If you are using stuffing for a whole turkey or turkey breast, allow stuffing to cool in refrigerator before using as a filling.

Makes 12 cups stuffing

STUFFED TURKEY BREAST

8-12 pound turkey breast, bone in

Salt and black pepper

1/2 cup onions cut large dice

1/2 cup celery cut large dice

1/2 cup carrots cut large dice, water to cover

Using a boning knife or a small knife, carefully remove the skin for the turkey breast. Try not to cut any holes through the skin. Using your knife, remove the meat from the bones. Place bones into a 400 degree oven with onions, celery and carrots and roast for 20 minutes or until bones are golden brown. Place in a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil reduce to a simmer for 2 hours. Use to make gravy.

Butterfly one side of the turkey breast cutting towards the straightest side. Place butterflied breast onto a cutting board, top with plastic wrap and flatten breast using a meat mallet until approximately a quarter or a half on and inch thick. Season breast meat lightly with salt and black pepper.

Spread a small amount of cooled cornbread stuffing onto flattened turkey breast meat. Roll into a cylinder, place on turkey skin, roll again into a cylinder and tie with butcher's twine.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto turkey breast and rub oil over skin. Season lightly with salt and black pepper

Roast turkey breast for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometers registers 165 degrees or higher. Allow to rest before slicing.