Porchetta-Style Turkey Breast Roulade (Crackling Skin!)
Porchetta, meet Thanksgiving. 🤝 This turkey roulade has a fennel-and-herb spiral in every slice, pancetta tucked inside, and crackling skin that steals the whole show. It's the turkey your gusts will talk about until next year. Gluten-free.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 552kcal
Equipment
Butcher’s twine
Wire rack set inside a rimmed sheet pan
Instant read thermometer
Ingredients
For the Turkey
- 1 4-4½ lbs (1.8-2 kg), whole boneless skin-on turkey breast, both lobes attached
- 2 Tbsp (16g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
For the Herb Filling
- ⅓ cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic, finely grated on a microplane
- 2 Tbsp (12g) fennel seeds
- 2 Tbsp (5g) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp (5g) fresh sage, finely chopped
- ½ tsp (1g) crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Zest of 2 lemons, about 2 Tbsp
- 4-5 oz pancetta, very thinly sliced (this is typically where packages prosciutto and Italian meats are sold)
Instructions
Day 1: Butterfly, Season, Roll, Tie
- Butterfly the breast. Place the breast skin side down on a cutting board with the thicker edge facing you. Holding a long knife parallel to the board, cut horizontally into the thick side, stopping about ½ inch before you cut through, and open it like a book. Work slowly and check your depth often. You want an even sheet, not a hole.
- Pound to even thickness. Cover with plastic wrap and pound the thicker areas with a mallet or heavy pan until the whole sheet is a uniform ½ inch thick, roughly 12x14 inches (30x35 cm).
- Dry brine. Combine 2 Tbsp (16g) kosher salt and1 tsp (4g) baking powder. Sprinkle about ⅓ over the cut interior surface and the remaining ⅔ over the skin side, covering the skin evenly. Set the breast aside, skin side up, while you make the paste.
- Toast and grind the fennel. Toast 2 Tbsp (12g) fennel seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat, shaking often, until fragrant and a shade darker, 2-3 minutes. Grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or mortar. Toasting draws out the sweet anise flavor and removes the raw edge that untoasted fennel carries.
- Bloom the paste. In a small saucepan, warm ⅓ cup (80ml) olive oil over low heat. Add the grated garlic and cook, stirring, until it smells sweet and mellow rather than sharp, 3-4 minutes. Do not let it color. Add the ground fennel, 2 Tbsp chopped rosemary, 2 Tbsp chopped sage, 1 tsp chile flakes, and 1 tsp black pepper, then cook 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest off-heat. (This prevents it from getting bitter!) Cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Fill and roll. Turn the breast interior side up. Spread the cooled paste evenly across the surface, leaving a ¾-inch (2cm) border along the far long edge so it doesn’t squeeze out as you roll. Lay 4-5oz thinly sliced pancetta (or prosciutto) in a single overlapping layer over the paste. Starting from the long edge nearest you, roll the breast into a tight cylinder, keeping steady tension as you go. The tighter the roll, the cleaner the spiral slices.
- Tie. Secure with butcher’s twine at 1-inch intervals, starting with a loop at each end and working toward the middle (see note below for detailed instructions if needed). The roulade should be an even cylinder about 12 inches long. Tuck any loose skin underneath.
- Rest uncovered. Set the tied roulade on a wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered for 48 hours (or up to 72 hours). This is doing two jobs at once: the salt penetrates and seasons the meat throughout, and the circulating cold air dehydrates the skin so it crisp rather than steams. Do not cover it—we want to dry out the skin.
Tip: Even thickness is what lets the spiral roll tightly and cook at one rate. Thin spots overcook while thick spots are still coming up to temperature.
Tip: Cooking the garlic is not optional here. Raw garlic held against raw meat for 48 hours turns acrid.
Day 3: Roast
- Temper. Pull the roulade from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting and leave it on the counter, still on its rack. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the lower third.
- Roast low. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the roll registers 150°F (66°C), about 75-100 minutes. Start checking at the 1 hour 10 minute mark. Check in two or three spots, as the spiral makes for uneven pockets, and you want the coolest reading.
- Crank and crisp. Raise the oven to 475°F (245°C) and roast 10 minutes more, or until the skin is deep golden and crackling and the center reads 155-157°F (68-69°C). Watch it closely at this stage; it goes from beautifully bronzed to burnt quickly.
- Rest. Transfer to a cutting board and rest for 20 minutes, uncovered. Carryover will carry the center to 160-165°F (71-74°C). Tenting with foil will soften the skin, so leave it alone.
- Slice. Snip and remove all twine. Slice into ¾-inch (2cm) rounds with a sharp carving knife, using a smooth drawing motion rather than pressing down, which compresses the spiral.
Notes
- Turkey sourcing: Ask the butcher for a whole double-lobe breast, boned but with the skin left intact and attached. Supermarket “turkey breast roasts” are often netted, pre-tied, and skinless. It will work, but you won’t have any crispy skin (a real loss!).
- The baking powder raises the pH of the skin, which speeds browning and gives you a crisper, more evenly colored result after the long uncovered rest.
- On timing: A 24 hour uncovered rest still produces good results. Under 12 hours, the skin won’t have dried enough to crisp properly, and you’re better off roasting it the same day and accepting softer skin.
- How to tie: Slide a piece of twine under one end of the roll, and tie a secure slip knot. Pull the twine down one inch, loop it around the meat, and tuck it under itself. Repeat this looping pattern every inch until you reach the opposite end. Tie off the final loop with a double knot and trim the excess string.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days, or freeze slices for up to 3 months (the skin softens once frozen).
- Reheating: Warm slices on a rack in a 325°F (165°F) oven until just heated through.
Nutrition
Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 175mg | Sodium: 1077mg | Potassium: 779mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.04g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 4mg
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