Playing with Pesto

Generally, I don't like “stuffed” meats. To get the stuffing cooked, because the stuffing is in the center of the meat, you have to overcook the meat. For example, a stuffed turkey - I don’t do them because I don’t like dry turkey. I do the dressing on the side…

Same with a roast leg of lamb. Putting raw garlic into the leg, be it stuck in a hole poked into the side or a leg roast butterflied and spread with garlic then rolled and tied back up… The garlic stays raw and nasty if you cook to medium rare (as you should). You have to overcook the lamb to well done and then some to get the garlic cooked. Again, nasty.

Is there a way to make a stuffed or rolled and tied piece of meat work? Yes. It’s all about choices.

Here are two efforts using pesto as my stuffing, and pesto has raw garlic, so it’s a good test.

This year at Thanksgiving, I finally got over the notion of needing a whole roasted turkey. Every year, to get the legs done, the breasts get overcooked. So this year I broke the turkey down. Removed the legs, removed the wings (cut off the flats and tips for stock), cut the breast meat off the bones. All that went into my cider brine for 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the carcass, wing tips and flats, neck, and organ meat went into the oven to roast. After roasting and skimming the fat, all that (minus the organ meat) went into a stock pot. Fresh turkey stock for cooking on Thanksgiving at the ready!

So, about that pesto? I butterflied out the breast pieces and smeared them with pesto, then rolled and tied them up. For roasting, I put the legs in the oven first, let them go about a half hour, then added the rolled breasts. Brought everything up to internal temperature of 160°F, then let them rest while all the sides warmed or finished.

I’d say, success. Probably the best turkey I’ve ever cooked! And the pesto/turkey breast was quite a hit at the table and looked fantastic too.

Butterflied breast with pesto

A rolled and tied breast before roasting

The roasted breast pieces, and drumettes too

Slices of the roasted breast. Pretty!

Last night, I did something similar with a pork tenderloin. Butterflied it out, smeared with pesto, rolled and tied, and roasted to an internal temperature of 160°F. Again, a hit.

Why does this work? Both poultry and pork needs to be cooked fully. And hence, lend themselves to “stuffing.” But only if the pieces are small enough in diameter to reach temperature in the center without killing the outside layers of meat. That’s why it works with the cuts I used.

Rolled and tied

Cross section - very pretty!

Alternatively, I know you could use an immersion circulator to cook these and larger cuts without killing the meats. Set at 160°F, no part of the roast will ever get any hotter. All you’d need to do then is pop the done roast in a very hot oven to brown it on the outside, et voilà!

Here’s my post about making pesto